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THE 


MILLENNIAL 
HARBINGER 
ABRIDGED 


BENJAMIN  LYON  SMITH. 


Introduction  by 

CHARLES  LOUIS  LOOS. 


VOLUME  I. 


Copyriglit,  liH'2.|-'i  '."'In;   ^ti-mlrt.i'   I'l. 


li:ili!jif;  !  •.iiiipany. 


<,:iw>:,Tr/WATi,  o. . 
THE  STANDARD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

Publishers    of  Christian  Litcr.iturc. 


^^ 


M(ol 


DED  ICA  TI O  N. 

Sweetest  name  given   to  woman  : 
Meaning  to  vie  mother  and  wife, 

''(his  mark  is  hviaglg  dedicnitd. 


PREFACE. 


Alexander  Campbell  began  his  editorial  work  with  the  Christian 
Baptist.  The  first  number  of  this  magazine  was  dated  July  4,  1823, 
Mr.  Campbell  being  then  in  his  thirty-fifth  year.  The  Christian  Bap- 
tist was  devoted  to  the  work  of  criticism  of  the  sins  and  mistakes  of 
denominationalism. 

After  continuing  the  publication  of  the  Christian  Baptist  several 
years,  Mr.  Campbell  realized  the  need  of  constructive  work,  and  he 
discontinued  the  publication  of  the  Christian  Baptist,  and  on  Jan.  1, 
1830,  he  gave  the  world  the  first  number  of  the  Millennial  Harbinger, 
a  monthly  magazine,  published  from  Bethany,  Va.,  now  West  Virginia. 

One  of  the  reasons  of  the  change  of  name  was  that  he  feared  his 
brethren  would  be  called  Christian  Baptists,  a  name  which  was  being 
given  them.  One  reason  for  the  selection  of  the  name  Millennial  Har. 
binger  w^as  the  profound  influence  the  doctrine  of  the  second  coming  of 
Christ  was  having  over  all  religious  minds  at  that  time.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell planned  to  give  large  attention  to  this  subject,  and  hence  called 
the  new  magazine  the  Millennial  Harbinger. 

The  gifted  Robert  Richardson,  and  in  later  years  Robert  Milligan 
and  W.  K.  Pendleton,  were  called  to  his  assistance  in  the  editorial 
work.  Mr.  Campbell  continued  as  editor  until  1863,  when  he  sold  the 
Harbinger  to  W.  K.  Pendleton,  who,  w'ith  Charles  Louis  Loos  as  assdsN 
ant  editor,  continued  its  publication  until  1870. 

The  Harbinger  was  a  storehouse  of  the  best  constructive  thought  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Reformation.  There  have  already  been  republished 
several  volumes  from  this  great  magazine  of  truth;  viz.: 
"The  Christian  System;"  "The  Debate  on  Universalism;"  "Christian 
Baptism;"  "Debate  on  Spiritualism;"  "Christian  Preacher's  Compan- 
ion;" "Popular  Lectures  and  Addresses;"  "Acts  of  Apostles,"  by  A. 
Campbell;  and  "The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and  "Communings  in 
the  Sanctuary,"  by  R.  Richardson.  The  matters  contained  in  these 
publications  have  been  largely  omitted   from   this  work. 

The  Millennial  Harbingkk  AitHiiH;i;i)  is  an  attempt  to  rescue  from 
oblivion  much  that  is  of  permanent  value;   to  arrange  it  topically  an;i 


IV  PREFACE. 

chronologically;  to  eliminate  matters  of  mere  local  and  temporary 
character,  and,  by  carefully  indexing,  to  render  it  accessible  and  avail- 
able. 

The  Harbinger  was  not  a  symmetrical  publication;  it  was  a  maga- 
zine, not  a  book;  many  subjects  that  we  might  wish  had  been  fully 
discussed  are  not  mentioned;  many  are  partially  treated,  and  many 
are  repeatedly  discussed,  as  they  seemed  of  recurring  interest;  hence 
the  Millennial  Harbinger  Abridged  will  not  be  found  either  sym- 
metrical, systematic  or  exhaustive. 

The  work  of  selecting,  abridging  and  editing  was  done  as  a  special 
work  from  1888  to  1894,  while  serving  as  minister  of  the  First  Chri* 
tian  Churdh  of  Topeka,  Kan.;  building  a  new  church  house,  and  acting 
as  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Kansas  State  Board  of  Missions. 
It  has  been  a  labor  of  love. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  myself  greatly  indebted  to  W.  K.  Pendleton 
for  his  interest  and  advice  in  the  planning  and  doing  of  this  work; 
to  Jabez  Hall  for  his  help  freely  extended,  and  to  Charles  Louis  Loos, 
the  surviving  editor,  for  his  encouragement  and  for  the  Introduction. 

That  the  attention  and  interest  of  our  brethren,  and  especially  our 
preaching  brethren,  might  be  recalled  to  the  teaching  of  the  fathers: 
that  we  might  become  endued  with  their  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  Word 
of  God;  that  we  might  catch  their  habits  of  careful  study  of  the  Divine 
Word  until  it  shall  dwell  in  us  richly;  that  we  might  hold  fast  to  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free  and  for  which  the  fathers 
endured  persecution;  that  we  might  catch  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
fathers  and  realize  that  every  motive  which  justified  them  in  making 
this  great  plea,  now  urges  ua  to  send  it  all  over  this  land  and  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth — these  are  the  purposes  which  caused 
the  preparation  of  these  volumes  for  the  press. 

We  commend  them  to  our  God,  asking  him  to  use  them  for  bis  high 
glory  and  for  the  help  of  his  people. 

Cincinnati,  0.,  May  15,  1902. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


VOLUME  I. 

pa<;e9. 

Preface  iii 

Iiitroductiun. — Charles  Louis  Loos ix 

Extracts  from  Prefaces  of  Various  Volumes  of  the  Harbinger  .        .        xv 

BOOK  I. -GOD. 

I'^xisteuce  of  God 1-5 

Providence  of  God 5 

Proofs  of  Providence 8 

Preservation             12 

Government  of  God 16 

General  and  Special  Providence 25,  47 

BOOK   IL— JESUS   CHRIST. 

Divinit}'  of  Jesus  Christ 53 

Character  of  Jesus 53 

The  Claims  of  the  Messiah 61 

The  Second  Coming  of  Christ     . iVt 

The  Relation  of  Jesus  to  God 97 

BOOK   HL— THE    HOLY  SPIRIT. 

The  Gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 109 

Earnest  of  the  Holy  Spirit 115 

BOOK  IV.— THE   BIBLE. 

The  Bible 1^9 

Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures 150,  201 

Principles  of  Interpretation l.'jS 

The  Double  Sense  of  Scripture 167 

Bible  Reading 175 

The  Bible  Cause 179 

Effects  of  the  Scriptures 181 

Questions  about  the  Bible 182 

Prerequisites  about  Proper  Interpretation 100 

Different  Theories  of  the  Scriptures 192 

Interpretation  of  the  Scriptures 201 

Sin  unto  Death  and  Sin  against  Holy  Spirit 2C6 

Plan  of  the  Apocalypse 207 

BOOK   v.— THE   KINGDOM   OF  HEAVEN. 

Patriarchal  Age  of  the  World 221 

Abraham 226 

Two  Promises            226 

Covenant  of  Circumcision 227 

Sinaitic  Covenant 228 


VI 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Two  Seeds 

The  Blessing  of  Abraham 

The  Jewish  Institution 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  .... 

Elements  of  a  Kingdom       .        .        .        . 

The  Name 

Constitution 

The  King  

The  Subjects  of  the  Kingdom     . 

The  Laws  of  the  Kingdom 

The  Territory  of  the  Kingdom 

Manners  and  Customs      .... 

Induction  into' the  Kingdom 

The  Coming  of  the  Kingdom 

The  Ascension  of  the  Messiah    .        .  .      . 

The  Coronation  of  the  Messiah 

Present  Administration  of  the  Kingdom 

Address  to  Citizens  of  the  Kingdom     . 

A  Word  to  Friendly  Aliens 

A  Word  to  Belligerent  Aliens 


PAGES. 

238 
229 
230 
236 
238 
239 
241 
244 
245 
246 
247 
249 
249 
250 
257 
257 
259 
265 
272 
275 


BOOK  VI.— RELIGION  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 

Religion 

Mahometism 

Judaism 

Christianity 

Number  of  Adherents  of  Various  Religions 

Number  of  Adherents  of  Various  Divisions  of  Christianity 

Power  of  Religion 

Christianity  Adapted  to  Man 


289 
.  .  389 
293 
294 
295 
295 
296 
310 

The  Christian 315-318 

A  Synopsis  of  Christianity 

Evidences  of  Christianity 

The  Truth  and  Divinity  of  the  Bible 

The  Foundations  of  Chi-istianity 

Arguments  for  Christianity 

Revelation  Possible  and  Probable 

Tract.«  for  the  People ;  or,  Evidence 

Introduction  to  Debate  on  Evidence 


317 
329 
351 
352 
358 
375 
381 
391 


BOOK  VII.— THE  GOSPEL. 

The  Gospel 

Its  Credibility 

Sermon  on  the  Law  and  the  Gospel 


399 
403 
409 


BOOK  VIIL- DOCTRINES  OF  REDEMPTION. 

Regeneration 

Terms  of  Regeneration 

Facts 

Testimony 

Faith •        .        .        .        . 

Repentance        

Reformation 


439 
443 
442 
443 
445 
448 
452 


TABLE    OF    COXTEXTS.  vll 

PAGES. 

Regeiieraiiuu 455 

The  Bath  of  llegciieruiiou  .' 458 

New  Birth 458 

iteuewiug  of  the  Holy  Spirit 459 

The  New  Life 4t)0 

Physical  Regeueraliuii 402 

The  Use  of  the  Theory  of  liegeuoratioii 463 

The  Regeneration  of  the  Church 465 

The  Regeneration  of  the  World 482 

Regeneralion  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth 483 

The  Moral  Regeneration  of  the  Age 484 

God's  Part  of  the  Work 491 

Regeneration  and  Remission  of  Sins 495 

Syllabus  on  Regeneration •'iOO 

(Regeneration,  Justification,  Sanctification,  Adoption  501) 

Justification 503 

Remission  of  Sins ,        .         .        .        .  510 

Criticism  of  Teaching 529 

New  Testament  Use  of  Term  Regeneration 539 

Recapitulation 571 

Eternal  Life 579 


INTKODUCTIOIS\ 

CHABLES    LOUIS   LOOS. 

The  history  of  the  reformation  we  advocate  is,  as  we  need  not 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  declare,  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting 
chapter  in  the  religious  annals  of  the  United  States.  This  will  becom-j 
more  evident  to  men  as  this  extraordinary  movement  will  reach  its 
fuller  historical  development,  and  its  true  character  and  power  thus 
become  better  known.  A  cause  like  ours,  that  in  a  land  so  full  of 
light,  so  wonderfully  astir  with  the  mighty  spirit  of  the  freest  inquiry 
and  judgment,  has  in  a  single  lifetime  won  more  than  a  million  of 
adherents,  representing  the  best  intelligence  and  the  most  evangelical 
Christian  faith  of  the  nation,  will  every  day  more  and  more  impera- 
tively demand  the  attention  and  regard  of  men. 

The  history  of  its  progressive  development  furnishes  the  reliable 
sources  from  which  a  correct  knowledge  of  its  true  motives  and  char- 
acter must  be  learned.  The  world  has  long  since  come  to  know,  that 
often  after  the  lapse  of  but  a  few  generations  the  adherents,  and  even 
the  public  advocates,  of  a  great  religious  reform  lose  the  accurate 
knowledge  of  its  true  history,  and  so  come  to  misunderstand  its  real 
motives  and  principles,  and  are  thus  led  inevitably  to  misrepresent 
it  to  the  people  of  their  times.  There  is  always  a  tendency  to  this 
departure  from  the  fundamental  ground  of  a  great  historic  reformatory 
movement. 

Fortunately  for  us  and  other  inquirers,  the  entire  progress,  except- 
ing its  extreme  incipient  stage,  of  our  work  of  reform  is  embodied 
in  an  abundant  journalistic  literature,  that  in  a  very  masterful  spirit 
and  form  has  noted  and  expounded,  by  the  hands  of  the  leading  men 
engaged  in  it,  every  step  of  its  unfolding.  What  an  interesting  and 
instructive  study  this  progressive  historical  panorama  affords  to  us, 
who  cherish  in  our  hearts  as  a  precious  treasure  this  noblest  effort 
to  bring  back  the  church  of  God  to  its  primitive  condition  in  faith, 
form  and  life! 

The  oldest  men  yet  living  among  us,  whose  hearts  still  burn  with 
the  hallowed  and  soul-stirring  memories  of  the  heroic  days  of  our 
early  history,  should  cherish  as  of  inestimable  value  this  precious 
literature,  and  refresh  in  its  pages  their  recollections  of  the  men  and 
the  events  that  made  that  period  so  great,  and  by  this  means  reassure 
their  confidence  in  the  glorious  principles  for  which  we  have  so  long, 
so  heroically  and  so  victoriously  battled.  And  the  later  born  among 
us   should   here   diligently  seek   a   correct   understanding   of   a   cause 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

that  deserves  the  highest  appreciation   of  the   enlightened   Christian 
mind  and  the  ardent  devotion  ot  the  earnest  Christian  neart. 

THE    STADIA. 

Our  reformation  presents  to  us  a  process  of  constant  and  very 
manifest  development,  both  in  the  minds  of  the  men  who  were  the 
chief  actors  in  this  wonderful  drama,  and  also  in  its  external  expres- 
sion in  doctrine  and  practice.  This  is  one  of  its  most  interesting 
features.  The  enlightened  student  of  history  always  gives  particular 
attention  to  this  fact  that  characterizes,  and  normally  and  necessarily 
so,  the  course  of  all  great  onward  movements  of  men,  notably  of  all 
real   reforms. 

The  first  stadium  of  our  reformation,  beyond  its  initiatory  years,  is 
unfolded  historically  in  the  Christian  Baptist.  This  journal  recounts 
the  interesting  story  of  those  reformers  coming  gradually  but  stead- 
ily to  the  consciousness  of  the  real  meaning  and  the  wide-reaching 
logical  bearing  of  the  original  great  motive  of  their  reformatory  effort. 
The  forward  steps  taken  in  this  remarkable  period  were  the  strides 
of  giants  in  strength  and  in  the  distance  measured  by  them  from  year 
to  year.  It  was  an  era  of  heroic  purposes  and  action,  reaching 
through  a  sabbatical  stage  of  seven  years,  from  1823  to  1830. 

When  this  stadium  had  been  passed  through,  notable  advance  had 
already  been  made  by  the  reformers.  The  principles  that  had  been 
proclaimed  in  the  beginning,  and  had  become  the  motive,  the  life  and 
inspiring  energy  of  their  heroic  undertaking,  had  by  this  time,  by 
full  and  earnest  discussion  and  the  severe  test  of  practical  applica- 
tion, become  established  as  immortal  in  their  truth,  justice  and  power 
in  the  conviction  and  ardent  acceptance  of  myriads  of  earnest  Chris- 
tian men  and  women.  This  pioneer  revolutionary  stadium  had  con- 
firmed this  reformation  as  a  great  permanent  fact  in  the  religious 
history  of  our  land.  A  new  period  of  riper  and  more  far-reaching 
thought,  aims  and  action  now  opened  before  the  reformers,  both  lead- 
ers and  people.  They  were  entering  upon  the  second  clearly  marked 
and  momentous  stadium  of  our  history. 

SECOND    STADIUM 1830. 

The  eminent  men  who,  to  use  Walter  Scott's  favorite  expression, 
"stood  at  the  binnacle  and  at  the  helm  of  the  ship  Restoration,"  saw 
with  clear  vision  that  the  time  had  fully  come  for  building  for  per- 
manent strong  life,  for  the  actual  realization  of  the  aims  and  hopes 
that  had  inspired  them  thus  far.  This  was  a  most  important  hour 
with  them.  The  name  Christian  Baptist  itself  indicated  a  state  of  still 
tentative  efforts.  The  progress  that  had  been  made  during  the  life 
of  this  valiant  journal  was  owing  to  the  wisdom  and  the  intellectual, 
well-cultivated  power  of  the  leaders,  their  extraordinary  zeal,  and  the 


INTRODUCTION.  xl 

lolty  priiitiples  .vhieh  guided  them.  The  name  ol'  the  juuinal  that 
iaauguiaLed  the  uew  period  m  the  progress  of  their  enterprise,  at 
ouee  revea.b  a  couOdeut,  joylul  outlooJc  into  the  future.  They  had 
now  reached,  they  thought,  the  aawn  ol  a  millennial  day  that  would 
see  the  church  in  the  beautiful  garments  of  its  primitive  faitli  and 
life,  and  in  tlie  glory  of  its  primitive  power.  The  new  journal  was  to 
tbem  The  Millennial  Harbinger.  This  name  reveals  to  us  especially 
the  thoughts  and  hopes  that  now  filled  the  great  leader.  Such,  we 
know  from  personal  intercourse  with  our  heroic  men  of  that  day, 
were  at  that  hour  the  sensations  that  stirred  their  hearts,  and  gave 
unwonted  energy  to  their  life.  I  would  that  it  were  in  my  power  to 
depict  to  the  reader  the  joy  that  pervaded  all  hearts  that  were  in  full 
fellowship  with  this  effort  to  restore  apostolic  Christianity.  The  par- 
ticular questions  that  now  filled  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  master 
spirits  among  these  reformers — Alexander  Campbell  always  in  the 
front — demonstrate  to  us  the  eminent  qualities  in  mental  power,  in 
clear  vision,  in  supreme  devotion  to  the  cause  of  God,  and  in  ardent 
desire  to  see  accomplished  a  complete  and  not  an  imperfect  work  of 
reform.*     Let  us  thank  God  that  our  fathers  were  such  men! 

It  was  the  questions  of  Organization,  Co-operation,  and  Edification 
that  now  rose  into  high  prominence.  It  will  be  noticed  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  Millennial  Harbinger  that  the  subject  of  Organization 
at  once  became  a  chief  topic  of  discussion. 

A.  Campbell  and  his  wisest  fellow  reformers  said  that  a  proper 
organization  of  the  individual  churches,  in  all  that  this  implies,  and 
always  such  an  organization  as  the  New  Testament  justifies — mark 
this! — was  essential  to  the  divine  order  of  the  entire  church,  and 
alone  could  give  to  the  particular  congregations  and  to  the  church  in 
general  enduring  life  and  power,  and  was  necessary  to  justify  the 
high  claim  to  a  restoration  of  the  apostolic  order  of  things.  The  con- 
gregations, as  can  be  easily  understood,  were  at  this  time,  as  a  gen- 
eral fact,  yet  very  defective  in  this  respect. 

The  subject  of  Co-operation  also  soon  began  to  urge  itself  with 
force  upon  the  attention  of  the  enlightened  men  among  us  at  that  time. 
It  was  clearly  seen  that  the  particular  churches  could  not  remain 
separated  from  each  other;  the  unity  of  the  church  must  be  real  and 
evident,  not  only  in  thought  and  faith,  but  also  in  action.  It  is  this 
conviction  that  led  first  to  district  co-operation,  and  in  time  to  State 
and  National  associated   efforts  for  Home  and   Foreign  Missions. 


•A.  Campbell,  in  one  of  those  familiar  addresses  so  customary  with  him,  once  soid 
t<>  a  comiinny  f>f  ns  ministerial  stiidonts:  "Never  become  men  of  one  i<ioa.  however 
nttractive  it  may  be.  It  will  make  you  one-siilecl  men.  ami  break  up  the  integrity  and 
Strength  of  your  Iifi<.  The  only  oitr  i<lea  worthy  of  your  entire  devotion,  is  the  great 
cause  of  God  in  Christ,  not  any  one  part  of  it." 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

With  these  themes  of  high  moment  was  coupled  also  at  an  early 
hour,  and  in  progressive  development,  that  of  Edification  in  its  largest 
sense;  t.  e.,  the  vital  question  of  the  building  up  of  the  church  in  all 
its  interests  and  power.  This  looked  primarily  to  the  establishing  of 
a  well-qualified  ministry,  to  teach  the  congregations  and  to  proclaim 
and  advocate  the  gospel  of  Christ  among  men,  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  A.  Campbell  and  other  leaders  saw  that,  in  spite  of  the  many 
able  preachers  in  our  ranks  at  that  time,  this  reformation  was  as 
yet  very  "imperfectly  furnished  with  such  a  ministry  as  it  needed 
and  deserved,  to  educate  the  congregations  and  to  represent  our  cause 
— the  cause  of  God — faithfully,  and  with  dignity  and  power,  among 
men.  It  was  a  firm  conviction  of  A.  Campbell,  one  which  he  con- 
stantly uttered  privately  and  publicly  with  the  force  of  an  axiomatic 
truth,  that  our  reformatory  work  would  never  succeed  without  a 
well-educated  ministry.     This  led  him  to  establish  Bethany  College. 

It  was  for  many  reasons  not  a  very  easy  task  to  bring  the  people 
generally  to  a  proper  understanding  and  appreciation  of  these  things, 
and  above  all  to  proper  action  in  relation  to  them.  The  men  of  to-day, 
[  am  confident,  have  a  very  imperfect  notion  of  the  years  of  patient 
and  strong  teaching  it  required  to  bring  individuals  and  the  congre- 
gations to  correct  thought  in  matters  that  were  so  vital  to  the  welfare 
of  the  reformation,  and  that  are  so  very  clear  to  most  of  us  now. 
But  there  are  many  still  among  us,  who,  after  the  rich  instruction 
and  experience  of  seventy  years,  have  not  yet  learned  these  lesson'3 
which  our  fathers,  during  the  period  of  which  I  am  speaking,  strove 
so  earnestly  to  teach.  Fortunately,  there  were,  during  the  very  first 
decades  of  our  history,  many  eminent  men  who  not  only  understood 
clearly  the  reformation  in  its  motives  and  principles,  but  who  also 
"were  united  in  an  accurate  discernment  of  what  it  needed  for  its 
success.  This  unity  of  mind  and  spirit  of  our  leaders  prevailed  and 
brought  victory. 

The  Millennial  Harbinger,  which  appeared  in  January,  1830,  made 
these  subjects  of  which  I  am  speaking,  in  their  full  development  and 
their  practical  execution,  of  special  prominence  during  the  entire 
period  of  its  existence,  especially  while  A.  Campbell  was  its  master 
spirit. 

But  still  other  questions  of  serious  moment  arose  among  us.  We 
could  not  escape  the  common  fate  of  the  church  in  every  age  and  in 
every  land.  At  a  comparatively  early  date  men  "arose  among  us 
speaking  perverse  things,  and  seeking  to  draw  disciples  after  them."' 
Dr.  J.  Thomas's  propagandism  of  "Materialism,"  "Soul-sleeping"  in 
Virginia  and  elsewhere  in  the  East,  with  a  certain  following  in  the 
West;  the  attempt  of  Jesse  B.  Ferguson,  at  Nashville,  to  found  a  "lib- 
eral,"  "broad-gauge"  religion  among  us,  the  evident  fruit,  as  A.  Camp- 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

bell  ouce  said  to  me,  of  his  Unitarianism;  the  proposal  to  receive  into 
fellowship  the  Unitarian  "Christian"  churches  in  the  East,  were  all 
promptly  and  victoriously  met  by  A.  Campbell  in  the  Millennial  Har- 
binger. 

The  history  of  these  exciting  incidents  should  not  be  forgotten; 
the  lesson  it  teaches  is  urgently  needed  to-day.  Our  fathers  never 
"hunted"  heresy — nor  do  we;  but  when  it  obtruded  itself  upon  them, 
they   boldly  met  it  and  vanquished  it. 

A.  Campbell's  debates  with  Bishop  Purcell  in  Cincinnati,  and  with 
N.  Rice  in  Lexington;  his  amicable  written  discussion  with  B.  W. 
Stone  on  the  divinity  of  Christ,  with  Dr.  l.ynd  on  questions  lying 
between  us  and  the  Baptists,  and  with  Mr.  Skinner  on  Universalism, 
will  open  to  the  reader  of  the  Millennial  Harbinger  an  interesting 
vision  oi  the  stirring  events  that  marked  our  history  in  our  early 
days  when  heroic  battles  had  to  be  fought. 

The  literature  that  embodies  this  history  should  not  be  lost. 
D.  S.  Burnet  did  us  a  good  service  by  publishing  in  one  volume  an 
excellent  compend  of  the  Christian  Baptist.  A  still  more  valuable 
treasure  to  us  will  be  a  liberal,  wise  selection  from  the  riper  journal- 
istic literature  in  the  Millennial  Harbinger.  We  must  therefore  most 
heartily  commend  the  undertaking  to  give  to  this  generation  the 
volume  to  which  what  I  have  here  written  is  an  introduction. 

Orchard  Island.  Mich.,  July,  1901. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  PREFACES, 


THE  MILLENNIAL  HARBINGER. 

No.  1.  Bethany,  Vihginia,  Monday.  Janiaky  4,  1830.  Vol.  1. 

I  saw  auotliiT  iiifssciij^iT  tlyin^  tlimugli  the  midst  of  hcuvi-ii,  having  ovciia.slinggf>od 
ju'ws  to  priK'hliin  to  tho  iiihiibilaiUs  of  tlic  (,'artli,  fVru  lo  every  nation,  and  tribe,  and 
t^ingiie,  and  people— saying  with  a  loud  voice.  Fear  God  and  give  glory  to  him,  for  tho 
hour  of  his  judgments  is  come:  and  worship  him  who  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea, 
and  tho  fountains  of  water.— JouN. 

Great  is  the  truth  and  mighty  above  all  things,  and  will  prevail. 

PROSPECTUS. 

This  work  shall  be  devoted  to  the  destruction  of  Sectarianism, 
Infidelity,  and  Antichristian  doctrine  and  practice.  It  shall  have  for 
its  object  the  development  and  introduction  of  that  political  and  relig- 
ious order  of  society  called  thk  Mii.LEN.MrM,  which  will  be  the  con- 
summation of  that  ultimate  amelioration  of  society  proposed  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures. 

Subservient  to  this  comprehensive  object,  the  following  subjects 
shall  be  attended  to: 

1.  The  incompatibility  of  any  sectarian  establishment,  now  known 
on  earth,  with  the  genius  of  the  glorious  age  to  come. 

2.  The  inadequacy  of  all  the  present  systems  of  education,  literary 
and  moral,  to  develop  the  powers  of  the  human  mind,  and  to  prepare 
man  for  rational  and  social  happiness. 

3.  The  disentanglement  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  the  perplexities 
of  the  commentators  and  system-makers  of  the  dark  ages.  This  will 
call  for  the  analysis  of  several  books  in  the  New  Testament,  and  many 
disquisitions  upon  the  appropriated  sense  of  the  leading  terms  and 
phrases  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  in  religious  systems. 

4.  The  injustice  which  yet  remains  in  many  of  the  political  regu- 
lations under  the  best  political  governments,  when  contrasted  with  the 
justice  which  Christianity  proposes,  and  which  the  millennial  order 
of  society  promises. 

5.  Disquisitions  upon  the  treatment  of  African  slaves,  as  prepara- 
tory to  their  emancipation,  and  exaltation  from  their  present  degraded 
condition. 

6.  General  religious  news,  or  regular  details  of  the  movements  of 
the  religious  combinations,  acting  under  the  influence  of  the  prosely- 
ting spirit  of  the  age. 

7.  Occasional  notices  of  religious  publications,  including  reviews 
of  new  works,  bearing  upon  any  of  the  topics  within  our  precincts. 


xvl  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

8.  Answers  to  interesting  queries  of  general  utility,  and  notices  of 
all  things  of  universal  interest  to  all  engaged  in  the  proclamation  of 
the  Ancient  Gospel,  and  a  restoration  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Things. 

9.  Miscellanea,  or  religious,  moral,  and  literary  varieties. 

Much  of  the  useful  learning  which  has  been  sanctified  to  the  eluci- 
dation of  those  interesting  and  sublime  topics  of  Christian  expectation, 
will,  we  intend,  be  gleaned  from  the  Christian  labors  of  those  distin- 
guished men  of  liberal  minds  who  are  ranked  among  the  most 
renowned  Fathers  of  Christian  Literature,  and  much  aid  is  expected 
from  a  few  of  the  more  enlightened  brethren  of  our  own  time. 

PREFATORY  REMARKS. 

Time,  the  great  innovator,  brings  to  pass  everything.  Gradual  but 
unceasing  is  its  march.  It  never  slumbers.  It  never  pauses.  It  gives 
maturity   to   everything. 

When  we  are  taught  to  read  the  volume  of  nature,  or  rather  the 
great  library  of  God,  and  have  made  some  proficiency  in  the  volume 
of  Revelation,  we  discover  that  there  is  an  admirable  analogy  between 
the  volumes  of  Creation  and  Redemption.  As  is  the  progress  of 
natural,  so  has  been  the  progress  of  supernatural  light.  First,  there 
are  the  glimmerings  of  dawn — then  the  twilight — then  the  risen  day, 
and  then  the  radiance  of  noon.  So  is  not  only  the  faith  of  the  just, 
which  brightens  more  and  more  until  the  perfect  day;  but  also  such 
are  the  developments  of  the  light  of  life. 

Starlight  and  moonlight  ages  are  no  more.  The  sun  of  mercy 
has  arisen.  But  as  in  the  natural,  so  in  the  moral  world,  there  are 
clouds  and  obscurations.  There  are  interceptions  of  the  light  of  the 
sun.  There  are  eclypses  partial  and  total.  In  a  total  eclypse  there  is 
the  darkness  of  night.  There  have  been  both  partial  and  total  eclypses 
of  the  Sun  of  Mercy  since  his  rising.  Not  only  have  there  been  cloudy 
and  dark  days,  but  actual  darkness  like  that  of  night- 
Had  not  a  thick  vapor  arisen  from  the  unfathomable  abyss  and  hid 
the  Sun  of  Mercy  and  of  Life  from  human  eyes,  neither  the  beast  nor 
the  false  prophet  could  have  been  born.  Wild  beasts  go  forth  in  the 
night,  and  in  darkness  commit  their  depredations.  So  the  apocalyptic 
"loild  beast"  was  the  creature  of  night  and  of  darkness. 

Vapors  arise  from  the  waters,  and  from  the  unfathomable  ocean  * 
the  densest  fogs  arise.  When  we  dream  of  troubles,  we  wade  through 
deep  waters.  Hence,  the  commotions  and  troubled  agitations  of  com- 
munities, are  symbolized  by  the  waters  of  the  great  abyss.  From 
these  commotions,  these  deep  waters  arose  the  symbolic  fog,  the  figu- 
rative vapors  which  overspread  the  heavens  and  hid  the  Sun  of  Right- 


•  Called  in  the  King's  Translation  the  bottomless  pit;  but  most  improperly.    The 
sea  was  usually  called  the  unfathomable  abyss. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xvll 

eousness  from  the  eyes  of  mortals.  The  volumes  of  traditions,  the 
cabalistic  dogmas,  the  eastern  philosophy,  the  pagan  speculations,  com- 
bined and  modified,  intercepted  entirely,  or  totally  eclypsed  the  light 
of  the  Moral  Sun.  Nearly  all  the  earth  was  overspread  in  this  dark- 
ness. The  middle  of  this  period  has,  properly,  been  called  the  Dark 
Ages. 

Though  the  eclypse  was  total  in  Rome,  it  was  not  so  everywhere. 
But  the  fairest  portions  of  the  Old  World  shared  in  it,  and  it  was 
partial  almost  everywhere,  where  it  was  not  total. 

Why  teas  this  sof  is  one  question;  but.  Was  it  so?  is  another. 
That  it  was  so  needs  no  proof,  because  all  agree  in  the  belief  of  the 
fact.  We  know  some  reasons,  which  may  yet  be  offered,  why  it  was 
60.  But  now  we  only  appeal  to  the  fact  that  it  was  so.  This  darkness 
has  been  only  partially  dissipated. 

The  Bible  was  brought  out  of  prison,  and  Luther  bid  it  march.  He 
made  it  speak  in  German,  and  thus  obtained  for  it  a  respectful  hearing. 
It  was  soon  loaded  with  immense  burthens  of  traditions  drawn  from 
the  cloisters  and  the  cells  where  it  had  so  long  been  incarcerated.  It 
soon  became  unable  to  travel  with  its  usual  speed,  and  then  stopped 
the  Reformation.  They  took  the  points  off  the  arrows  of  truth,  and 
blunted  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  so  tliat  the  enemies  of  the  truth  could 
not  be  conquered. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  finding  that  notes 
and  comments,  that  glosses  and  traditions  were  making  the  word  of 
God  of  little  or  no  effect — I  say,  the  pious  of  several  of  the  great 
phalanxes  of  the  rival  Christian  interests  did  agree  to  unmanacle  and 
unfetter  the  testimony  of  God,  and  send  it  forth  without  the  bolsters 
and  crutches  furnished  by  the  schools;  and  this,  with  the  spirit  of  in- 
quiry which  it  created  and  fostered,  has  contributed  much  to  break  the 
yoke  of  clerical  oppression,  which  so  long  oppressed  the  people — I  say 
clerical  oppression;  for  this  has  been  and  yet  is,  though  much  cir- 
cumscribed, the  worst  of  all  sorts  of  oppression.  The  understandings, 
the  consciences,  the  feelings,  the  bodies  and  the  estates  of  men  have 
been  seized  by  this  relentless  tyrant.  All  who  have  demanded  first 
fruits  and  tithes;  all  who  have  paralyzed  the  mind  and  forced  the 
assent,  or  secured  the  homage  of  the  conscience,  have  not  been  tyrants. 
Neither  have  all  they  who  have  rejected  and  reprobated  this  system, 
been  humane,  courteous,  and  merciful.  There  are  exceptions  even 
among  priests.  If  the  clergy  never  could  reform  the  system,  the  system 
always  could  reform  them.  To  repudiate  the  system,  is  to  desecrate 
the  priests,  and  whosoever  has  profaned  or  made  common  the  priests, 
has  been  not  only  unchurched,  but  unchristianized.  Such  have  been 
the  past  fates  of  those  who  ventured  to  depart  from  the  consecrated 
way.    But  a  new  order  of  things  has  within  the  memory  of  the  present 


xviii  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

generation  begun.  Many  of  the  priests  have  become  obedient  to  the 
I'aith,  and  the  natural,  political,  and  religious  rights  of  men  have  begun 
to  be  much  better  understood.  All  these  auguries  are  favorable  to  the 
hopes  of  the  expectants  of  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  order  of 
things.  But  nothing  has  so  much  contributed  to  the  hopes  of  the  in- 
telligent, and  nothing  can  more  conduce  to  the  regeneration  of  the 
church,  than  the  disentanglement  of  the  Holy  Oracles  from  the  intri- 
cacies of  the  variant  rules  of  interpretation  which  the  textuaries  have 
fashioned  into  a  system  the  most  repugnant  to  all  we  call  reason,  com- 
mon sense,  and  analogy. 

In  the  happiest  state  which  we  can  ever  expect  on  earth,  we  can 
only,  as  individuals,  enjoy  as  much  of  the  favor  of  God  as  the  most  in- 
telligent and  devout  of  the  first  converts;  and,  as  communities,  we 
could  enjoy  no  more  Christian  peace  and  joy  than  some  of  the  first 
congregations  after  the  first  promulgation  of  the  gospel.  Greater  tem- 
poral felicity  might  be  enjoyed,  but  the  spiritual  attainments  of  many 
of  the  congregations  can  not,  in  the  aggregate  mass  of  religious  com- 
munities, be  much,  if  at  all,  surpassed. 

Place  the  whole  of  any  community,  or  even  the  great  mass  of  any 
community,  under  influences  similar  to  those  which  governed  them, 
and  what  the  most  sanguine  expect  from  a  Millennium  would  in  social 
and  religious  enjoyments  be  realized.  But  there  is  no  fixing  bounds 
to  the  maximum  of  social  and  refined  bliss  which  would  fiow  from  the 
very  general  or  universal  prevalence  and  triumphs  of  evangelical  prin- 
ciples. To  see  a  whole  nation  bowing,  with  grateful  and  joyous  homage, 
to  the  King  Eternal,  immortal,  and  invisible,  mingling  all  their  affec- 
tions in  their  admiration  and  love  of  him  who  had  obtained  immor- 
tality for  man,  would  open  a  new  fountain  of  enjoyments  of  which 
we  have  not  yet  tasted.  To  see  even  a  few  scores  of  intelligent  Chris- 
tians, in  whom  we  confide  as  fellow-soldiers  and  fellow-citizens,  and 
joint  heirs  of  the  heavenly  inheritance,  meeting  around  one  and  the 
same  Lord's  table,  and  uniting  in  the  praises  and  adorations  of  one 
and  the  same  common  Lord  and  Saviour,  imparts  to  us  a  joy  which 
we  are  unable  to  express.  What  we  should  feel,  or  how  we  should  feel, 
among  myriads  of  such,  is  not  for  us  now  to  conjecture.  But  of  this 
in  its  proper  place. 

All  I  wish  to  remark  on  this  occasion  is,  that  the  first  step  towards 
the  introduction  of  this  glorious  age  is  to  dissipate  the  darkness  which 
covers  the  people  and  hides  from  their  eyes  the  Sun,  the  quickening, 
renewing,  animating  Sun  of  Mercy.  We  expect  no  new  Sun,  no  new 
revelation  of  the  Spirit,  no  other  than  the  same  gospel  and  the  same 
religion,  only  that  it  shall  be  disinterred  from  the  rubbish  of  the  dark 
ages,  and  made  to  assume  its  former  simplicity,  sublimity,  and 
majesty.     The  demons  of  party  must  be  dispossessed,  and  the  false 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xix 

spirits  cast  out.  The  human  mind  must  be  emancipated  from  the 
bondage  of  error,  and  information  not  only  augmented,  but  extended 
to  all  the  community. 

I^ight  is  certainly  increasing — charity  enlarging  the  circle  of  its 
activities — the  mountains  of  discord  diminishing,  and  the  deep  valleys 
which  separated  Christians,  are  filling  up.  But  much  is  to  be  done 
before  all  flesh  shall  enjoy  the  salvation  of  God.  If  all  who  love  the 
Lord  and  the  salvation  of  men,  would  unite  their  energies  and  bury 
the  tomahawk  of  party  conflicts,  no  seer  could  predict  how  rapid  would 
be  the  march  and  how  extensive  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel. 

But  the  mighty  agent,  or  rather  the  successful  means,  of  this  most 
desirable  revolution,  will  be  the  ancient  gospel.  There  are  many 
gospels  now  preached.  The  gospels  of  every  sect  are  something  dif- 
ferent from  each  other,  and  something  different  from  the  apostolic. 
There  can  be,  in  truth,  but  one  gospel;  but  there  may  be  many  new 
modified  and  perverted  gospels.  Some  make  their  own  god  and  wor- 
ship him;  and  all  who  create  a  new  god  invent  a  gospel  to  suit  his 
character.  Surely  no  man  of  good  common  sense  can  imagine  that 
the  god  of  the  Calvinists  and  the  god  of  the  Arminians  are  the  same 
god.  He  that  fancies  that  the  god  of  the  Trinitarians  and  the  god  of 
the  Unitarians  are  one  and  the  same  divinity,  can  easily  believe  in 
transubstantiation. 

The  wisdom  and  the  power  of  God,  when  combined,  will  be  surely 
adequate  to  accomplish  the  most  extraordinary  promises  on  record. 
Now  the  placing  of  all  na,tions  under  the  dominion  of  his  Son,  under 
the  reign  of  favor,  under  the  influence  of  all  that  is  pure,  amiable,  and 
heavenly,  is  promised;  and  by  what  means  so  likely  to  be  accom- 
plished as  by  that  instrument  which  is  emphatically  called  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  the  Almighty?  That  instrument  is  the  old  gospel 
preached  by  the  Apostles.  This  is  almighty,  through  God,  to  the 
pulling  down  all  the  strongholds  of  infidelity  and  profanity,  to  the 
subversion  of  Atheism,  Deism,  and  Sectarianism.  It  proved  its  power 
upon  the  nations  once,  and  it  begins  to  prove  its  power  again.  The 
sword  of  the  Spirit  has  been  muffled  with  the  filthy  rags  of  philosophy 
and  mysticism  until  it  can  not  cut  through  the  ranks  of  the  aliens. 
But  so  soon  as  this  gospel  is  promulged  in  its  old  simplicity  and  in 
its  native  majesty,  it  will  prove  itself  to  be  of  God,  and  as  adequate  as 
in  days  of  yore.  It  will  pierce  the  hearts  of  the  King's  enemies;  and 
while  it  slays  their  enmity,  it  will  reconcile  them  to  the  authority  and 
government  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

In  prosecuting  one  of  the  great  objects  of  this  paper,  and.  indeed, 
the  leading  object,  this  point  will  not  be  lost  sight  of.  Our  modern 
gospels,  like  the  metaphysics  of  the  schools,  have  been  inoperative. 
except  to  alienate  men  from  one  another,  and  to  fill  some  with  spiritual 


XX  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

pride,  and  to  abase  others  under  a  moro&e  humility.  Here  we  see 
them  exulting  in  enthusiasm,  and  there  melancholy  under  a  system  of 
doubts.  Between  these  two  classes  there  is  the  opinionative,  the  specu- 
lative, the  cold  and  stiff  formalist — exact  in  the  ceremonies,  and 
precise  in  all  the  forms  of  religion,  without  the  power.  Some,  from 
a  bolder  and  more  independent  mind,  and  from  a  happier  constitu- 
tional temperament,  dared  to  be  pious  and  to  aspire  after  a  higher 
enjoyment  of  the  spirit  of  religion.  But  these  do  not  give  character 
to  the  age. 

One  of  the  two  great  Reformers  attacked  the  practices,  and  the 
other  the  opinions  *  of  the  earlier  part  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
former  was  by  far  the  most  useful  and  puissant  reformer.  He  gave 
the  deadliest  blow  to  the  Beast.  The  other,  intent  on  making  men 
think  right,  only  made  converts  from  among  the  converted.  This 
has  always  been  the  case.  As  Luther  excelled  Calvin,  so  did  Wesley 
excel  the  Erskines.  They  both  began  upon  communities  called  Prot- 
estants, but  degenerating  Protestants.  Wesley  directed  his  energies 
to  the  works  of  men,  and  the  Erskines  to  their  heterodox  opinions. 
Wesley  excelled  his  own  more  metaphysical  brother,  Fletcher.  Fletcher 
was  as  far  superior  to  Wesley  as  a  reasoner  and  metaphysician,  as 
Calvin  was  to  Luther.  But,  as  a  reformer,  Wesley  was  as  far  superior 
to  Fletcher  as  Luther  was  to  Calvin.  The  reason  is  obvious:  the 
gospel  called  for  a  change  of  conduct — for  obedience  on  new  principles. 
It  presented  great  operative  principles,  but  called  for  immediate  sub- 
mission to  new  institutions.  Luther's  plan  was  more  in  unison  with 
this  than  Calvin's;  and  Wesley's  more  than  Fletcher's.  Hence  more 
visible  and  more  useful  in  their  tendencies.  Practical  men  always 
have  been  the  most  useful;  and,  therefore,  practical  principles  have 
been  more  beneficial  to  mankind  than  the  most  ingenious  and  refined 
speculations.  Symmes  might  have  amusingly  lectured  a  thousand 
years  upon  his  visions  and  his  fancies;  but  Christopher  Columbus,  in 
one  voyage,  added  a  new  world  to  the  old  one. 

The  ancient  gospel  spoke  by  facts,  and  said  little  about  principles 
of  action  of  any  sort.  The  facts,  when  realized  or  believed,  carried 
principles  into  the  heart  without  naming  them;  and  there  was  an 
object  presented  which  soon  called  them  into  action.  It  was  the  true 
philosophy,  without  the  name,  and  made  all  the  philosophy  of  the 
world  sublimated  folly.  It  was  ridiculous  to  hear  Epicureans  and 
Stoics  reasoning  against  Paul.  While  they  were  talking  about  atoms 
of  matter  and  refined  principles,  about  virtue  and  vice,  Paul  took 
hold  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Dead,  and  buried  them  in  their  own 
dreams.     He   preached    Jesus   and   the  Resurrection;    he   proclaimed 


*  Each  of  them  attacked  both  sentiment  and  practice;  but  I  mean  one  of  them  paid 
chief  regard  to  practice— the  other,  to  correct  views. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xxl 

reformation  and  forgiveness  of  sins;  and  before  they  awolte  out  of 
their  reveries,  he  had  Dionysius  the  Mayor  of  the  City,  the  Lady 
Demaris,  and  other  notable  characters,  immersed  into  Jesus. 

The  ancient  gospel  left  no  man  in  a  reasoning  mode  about  any 
principle  of  action.  It  left  him  in  no  doubt  about  the  qualities  or 
attributes  of  faith.  It  called  for  the  obedience  of  faith;  and  by  giving 
every  man  an  opportunity  of  testing  and  showing  his  own  faith  by  his 
works,  it  made  no  provision  for  cases  of  consciences,  nor  room  for 
philosophic  doubting.  Hut  I  do  not  here  eulogize  it,  but  only  intend 
to  say  that  it  is  the  only  and  the  all-sufficient  means  to  destroy  anti- 
christ, to  heal  divisions,  to  unite  Christians,  to  convert  the  world,  and 
to  bless  all  nations;  and  viewing  it  in  this  light,  we  shall  find  much 
use  for  it  in  all  that  we  shall  attempt  in  this  work. 

In  detecting  the  false  gospels,  nothing  will  aid  us  so  much  as  an 
examination  of  their  tendencies,  and  a  comparison  of  their  effects  with 
what  the  Millennium  proposes.  The  gospel  of  no  sect  can  convert 
the  world.  This  is  with  us  a  very  plain  proposition;  and  if  so,  the 
sectarian  gospels  are  defective,  or  redundant,  or  mixed.  To  one  of 
these  general  classes  belong  most  of  them. 

When  opposed  by  the  interested,  by  those  whom  the  corruptions 
of  Christianity  feed  with  bread  and  gratify  with  honor,  I  will  call  to 
mind  the  history  of  all  the  benefactors  of  men,  and  draw  both  comfort 
and  strength  from  the  remembrance  that  no  man  ever  achieved  any 
great  good  to  mankind  who  did  not  wrest  it  with  violence  through 
ranks  of  opponents — who  did  not  fight  for  it  with  courage  and  perse- 
verance, and  who  did  not,  in  the  conflict,  sacrifice  either  his  good 
name  or  his  life.  John,  the  harbinger  of  the  Messiah,  lost  his  head. 
The  Apostles  were  slaughtered.  The  Saviour  was  crucified.  The 
ancient  confessors  were  slain.  The  reformers  all  have  been  excom- 
municated. I  know  that  we  shall  do  little  good  if  we  are  not  perse- 
cuted. If  I  am  not  traduced,  slandered,  and  misrepresented,  I  shall 
be  a  most  unworthy  advocate  of  that  cause  which  has  always  provoked 
the  resentment  of  those  who  have  fattened  upon  the  ignorance  and 
superstition  of  the  mass,  and  have  been  honored  by  the  stupidity  and 
sottishness  of  those  who  can  not  think  and  will  not  learn.  But  we 
have  not  a  few  friends  and  associates  in  this  cause.  There  are  many 
with  whom  it  shall  be  my  honor  to  live  and  labor,  and  my  happiness 
to  suffer  and  die. 

The  ancient  gospel  has  many  powerful  advocates;  and  the  heralds 
of  a  better,  of  a  more  blissful  order  of  things,  social  and  religious, 
are  neither  few  nor  feeble.  No  seven  years  of  the. last  ten  centuries, 
as  the  last  seven,  have  been  so  strongly  marked  with  the  criteria  of  the 
dawn  of  that  period  which  has  been  the  theme  of  many  a  discourse, 
and  the  burthen  of  many  a  prayer.  Editor. 


xxii  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

PREFACE.— 1831. 

The  first  thought  of  the  Almighty  Maker  of  this  stupendous  uni- 
versie,  in  reference  to  this  system,  was  the  ultimate  and  ineffable  glory 
and  bliss  of  his  rational  offspring.  When  creation  is  contemplated  in 
accordance  with  the  character  of  its  Great  Architect,  this  idea  sug- 
gests itself  to  the  mind.  The  most  august  palace  ever  reared  by 
human  hands  was  for  the  residence  of  him  who  designed  it.  His 
splendid  and  happy  inhabitation  was  the  first  thought  in  the  designer; 
and,  in  subordination  to  this,  was  the  whole  scheme  originated  and 
conducted.  That  which  was  first  in  the  design  is,  however,  always  last 
in  the  execution.  For  although  the  Prince  first  thought  of  his  mag- 
nificent abode  in  the  castle  which  he  erected,  it  was  not  till  every- 
thing pertaining  to  its  perfect  completion  was  accomplished,  that  he 
made  it  the  mansion  of  his  glory.  The  painter's  last  touch  precedes 
the  entrance  of  the  illustrious  resident.  The  first  thought  is  the  end, 
and  the  first  act  the  beginning  of  all  things. 

Before  the  real  temple  of  Jehovah  will  be  perfected  and  the  city  of 
the  Great  King  ready  for  his  reception,  the  scaffolding  must  be  con- 
sumed. But  the  Most  High  God  dwells  not  in  temples  made  by  human 
hands.  He  builds  a  temple  for  himself.  And  that  temple  will  be 
the  purified  and  glorified  spirits  of  the  saints.  They  are  the  materials 
of  God's  own  house.  "I  will  dwell  among  them  and  walk  in  them," 
says  the  Almighty.  But  all  the  saints  shall  be  placed  as  stones  in 
this  heavenly  temple  before  its  gates  are  opened,  before  the  New 
Jerusalem  descends  from  the  present  heaven,  and  becomes  the  new 
and  eternal  mansion  of  Nature's  Immortal  King.  Hence  the  general 
conflagration  of  the  scaffolding  of  the  works  of  nature  and  of  grace 
is,  in  the  visions  of  future  things,  to  precede  the  first  note  of  the 
eternal  song  to  him  who<  will  inhabit  thenceforth  the  new  praises  of 
eternity. 

The  material  systems  are  but  the  scaffoldings  to  the  different  stories 
of  the  heavenly  temple  of  many  mansions.  As  respects  our  race,  it 
is  nature  first,  grace  second,  and  glory  third  and  last  of  all.  When 
all  the  lumber  of  seven  thousand  years  shall  have  been  consumed, 
and  the  dome  of  glory  everlasting  perfected,  the  first  thought  of  the 
Great  Contriver  shall  be  intelligibly  expressed  to  the  universe  ot 
glorified  reason.  God,  all  in  all,  is  the  chorus  of  the  eternal  song. 
The  tongues  which  sing  it  shall  not  be  eternal  mutes.  Every  opposing 
mouth  shall  be  stopped,  when  the  great  consummation  vindicates  the 
plan  and  progress. of  the  supreme  government  of  all  systems.  Let 
us,  then,  kiss  the  Son,  be  silent,  and  adore. 

Man  was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  His  little  creations  are  imita- 
tions of  the  Great  Creator.    We  form  designs  and  attempt  their  accom- 


EXTRACTfi    FROM    PREFACES.  xxiii 

plishment.  Our  first  thought  is  the  end  of  our  efforts;  and  if  we  live 
tc  perfect  our  plans,  we  do  no  more  than  give  expression  to  the  first 
idea.  The  volume  can  not  be  read  till  the  last  word  is  written;  but 
the  reading  of  it  is  always  in  the  intention  of  the  writer.  The  effect 
to  be  produced  is  the  ultimatum  in  his  intention  who  writes  a  book. 
He  thinks  that  he  may  write,  and  writes  that  it  may  be  read;  but  the 
reading  is  solicited  for  the  end  proposed  to  himself. 

When  our  bodies  are  immersed  in  water  and  our  souls  into  the 
Holy  Spirit,  our  plans  are  all  religious.  If  we  value  intelligence,  it 
is  for  its  purifying  tendencies;  if  we  value  purity,  it  is  for  its  blissful 
termination.  Bliss  is  our  goal — intelligence  and  purity  is  the  race- 
course. 

Human  happiness  is  our  end  and  aim  in  all  our  editorial  labors. 
But  as  in  the  scheme  of  Heaven,  wickedness  must  be  punished,  and 
the  wicked  afflicted;  so  in  the  most  benevolent  designs  those  who 
oppose  the  way  of  righteousness  must  be  chastised,  were  it  only  by 
the  exposure  of  their  schemes. 

We  still  flatter  ourselves  that  we  shall  have  less  occasion  for  thj 
invective,  and  more  room  for  the  development  of  the  renovating  truth. 
It  is  always,  however,  difficult  to  remove  the  rubbish  without  raising 
the  dust;  and  the  Babel  repairers  have  always  obstructed  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  Lord's  city  and  his  earthly  temple. 

Kind  nature  has  given,  as  Anacreon  saith,  to  each  animal  a  defen- 
sive weapon,  from  which  it  has  withholden  an  offensive  one.  Timidity 
is  to  the  sheep  what  horns  are  to  the  goat;  the  swiftness  of  foot  of  the 
haro  is  its  shield  against  the  teeth  of  the  dog;  to  the  lion  she  has 
given  teeth  and  paws;  to  the  ox,  horns;  to  the  horse,  his  hoofs;  and 
to  (he  wild  cut,  its  viusk.  Each,  when  attacked,  relies  for  protection 
upon  its  natural  armor  of  defense.  Truth  has  argument;  and  error, 
vituperation  and  anathema  for  its  defense. 

Reason,  we  repeat,  is  the  strength  and  dignity  of  man.  He  who 
has  to  employ  another  weapon  in  his  own  defense,  degrades  himself 
as  well  as  his  cause.  Cannons  are  the  last  reason  of  kings,  it  is  said; 
but  this  is  an  abuse  of  speech.  Brutal  force  might  as  justly  be  called 
the  eloquence  of  a  highwayman.  The  anathema  of  a  clerical  council 
and  the  denunciations  of  a  mercenary  press  are  the  last  reasons  of 
errorists:  but  these,  like  cannon  balls,  are  not  addressed  to  the  under- 
standing, nor  the  conscience;  but  to  the  animal  fears  of  men. 

The  press  is  as  venal  as  the  pulpit,  when  error  is  to  be  propagated; 
and  when  passion  and  pride  are  to  be  gratified,  a  falsehood  or  a  male- 
diction is  more  suitable  than  the  Sermon  upon  the  Mount.  Satan's 
kingdom  has  been  built  up  by  lies,  as  uniformly  as  that  of  the  Messiah 
by  truth.  In  the  controversy  about  the  body  of  Moses,  Michael  rea- 
soned, but  (lid  not  sland-^r  nor  revile:  whil?  Satan  reviled  and  did  not 


xxiv  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

reason.  Ever  since  error  was  believed  among  men,  it  has  been  sus- 
tained by  the  same  means  by  which  it  was  first  introduced. 

By  some  strange  fatality  the  opposers  of  reform  have  always 
defeated  themselves.  It  is  true  they  formerly  succeeded  in  keeping 
a  part  of  their  kingdom  from  an  apostasy  from  error.  Those  who 
succeeded  in  opposing  Luther,  succeeded  in  keeping  up  the  supersti- 
tions of  popery;  and  the  children  of  them  who  opposed  him  are  now 
inheriting  their  father's  errors.  In  this  way  their  gain  was  the  loss 
and  ruin  of  their  own  posterity.  What  they  lost  of  their  kingdom  was 
little  in  comparison  of  what  they  lost  in  their  own  persons  and  families. 
In  every  war  against  the  New  Testament  the  loss  is  loss,  the  gain  is 
loss,  and  every  victory  is  a  defeat.    Thus  error  always  defeats  itself. 

Men  are  never  more  deceived  than  in  their  calculations  upon  success 
in  opposing  reformation  principles.  Even  after  their  battles  are  wisely 
planned,  their  preliminary  schemes  successful,  and  victory  in  sight, 
the  trophies  often  recede  from  the  eye,  and  the  crown  from  the  touch 
of  the  confident  aspirant.  No  doubt  that  Herod  felt  himself  secured 
in  his  throne,  and  obtained  a  quietus  to  his  fears  after  the  slaughter 
of  the  infants  in  Bethlehem.  But  he  knew  not  that  the  infant  whose 
death  alone  he  meditated  was  sleeping  securely  in  Egypt. 

When  the  chief  priests,  at  the  head  of  an  exasperated  populace, 
sustained  by  a  Roman  governor,  had  crucified  the  Prince  of  Life,  they 
rejoiced  that  victory  was  won,  and  their  lordship  over  the  people 
retained  in  spite  of  the  wonderful  revolutionist.  But  transient  was 
their  joy,  and  short-lived  their  exultations!  The  dead  Jesus  is  found 
instructing  his  disciples  to  wage  a  more  successful  war  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world.  The  Apostles  alarm  the  Sanhe- 
drim by  the  thousands  who  heard  them  gladly,  and  they  began  to 
machinate  anew  against  these  propagators  of  what  they  called  the 
odious  heresy.  The  ringleaders,  Peter  and  John,  are  thrust  into 
prison.  The  heretics  secured,  the  priesthood  again  exult.  Their  joy, 
however,  is  soon  turned  into  sorrow.  To-morrow  morning  the  prison- 
ers are  speaking  to  the  people,  and  the  people  still  hear  them  gladly. 
Every  scheme  to  suppress,  and  every  victory  which  the  enemies  of 
the  ancient  gospel  imagined  they  obtained  against  it,  only  furthered 
its  progress  and  gave  it  the  ascendant  over  its  rival  systems.  Even 
the  martyrdom  of  Stephen,  the  dispersion  of  the  great  congregation 
which  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  fierce  opposition  of  Saul  of  Tarsus, 
for  a  time — all  conspired  to  give  momentum  and  celerity  to  the  march 
of  reformation. 

Every  effort  to  reform  has  been  opposed  by  those  whose  professions 
ought  to  have  placed  them  in  the  van  of  the  preachers  of  righteousness. 
But  experience  has  proved  that  those  in  power  with  the  people  are 
always  afraid  of  revolution.     There  were  those  at  home  as  well  as 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xxv 

those  abroad  who  opposed  the  American  Revolution.  Often  was  the 
contest  represented  as  very  doubtful,  and  sometimes  thought  to  be 
almost  suppressed;  but,  like  a  smothered  fire,  it  broke  out  again  with 
all-conquering  power.  The  enemies  of  liberty  and  equal  rights  in  the 
old  country,  speaking  through  their  representatives  in  Parliament, 
often  said,  "A  few  more  ships  of  the  line,  and  a  regiment  or  two  more 
dispatched  to  the  colonies,  and  the  rebels  are  vanquished."  They 
raised  new  armaments,  and  equipped  new  ships,  and  sung,  "Down  with 
the  insurgents!"  but  all  in  vain.  The  rights  of  man  triumphed,  and 
will  triumph  again! 

Luther's  Reformation  was  often  represented  as  expiring  in  agonies. 
Still  it  lived  and  progressed.  The  councils  of  the  Pope  and  his 
Cardinals  were  held  often  and  at  short  intervals.  The  lesser 
and  the  greater  excommunications  were  threatened,  and  relied 
upon.  But  what  did  they  avail?  The  "bull"  of  excommunication  is 
issued  to  gore  Luther  and  his  friends;  but  what  of  that?  The  very 
instant  the  councils  had  done  all  they  could,  the  cause  began  to  tri- 
umph. 

Even  yet  the  enemies  of  reform  rely  upon  such  measures;  and 
because  some  of  the  reformers  have  suffered  the  greater  excommuni- 
cation from  the  hands  of  the  general  union  councils  de  propaganda 
fide,  the  Luminary  of  the  anti-reformists  proclaims  the  speedy  desola- 
tions of  New  Testamentism  in  Kentucky.  A  few  months  are  allowed 
for  the  funeral  obsequies,  and  the  days  of  mourning  for  the  reformers 
shall  be  ended. 

But  as  soon  will  the  Baptist  Chronicle  and  its  friends  prevent  the 
rising  of  the  sun,  as  suppress  the  progress  of  reform  in  this  common- 
wealth. There  is  a  redeeming  principle  in  this  community  which  no 
man  nor  set  of  men  can  impede.  Since  my  last  visit  to  this  country 
the  conquests  of  the  spirit  of  inquiry  and  research,  everywhere  appar- 
ent, and  the  progress  of  many  great  minds  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  institution,  far  surpass  anything  I  had  learned  from  the 
most  flattering  communications.  The  immense  congregations  which 
we  meet  in  every  town  and  village,  as  well  as  in  the  country,  which 
no  inclemency  of  weather  nor  unpleasantness  of  the  roads  prevents, 
with  the  crowds  of  inquirers  flocking  to  the  hospitable  firesides  of  the 
friends  of  reform,  constitute  one  of  the  signs  of  the  times  here,  which 
no  perversity  of  mind  can  misinterpret. 

The  chain  of  Xerxes  did  as  much  fetter  the  sea,  as  the  Franklin 
Decrees  can  restrain  the  Inquisitiveness  which  is  everywhere  abroad. 
The  minds  of  the  Kentucky  reformers  have  done  as  much  homage  to 
the  Frankfort  triumvirate  as  Mount  Athos  did  to  that  vain  and 
haughty  monarch,  who  presumed  to  command  it  into  obeisance.  Some 
men  are  slow  to  leaxn,  even  in  the  school  of  expedence,  or  they  would 


XX vi  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

ere  now  have  learned  that  the  human  mind  can  not  be  restrained  by 
prohibitions,  nor  made  to  think  per  orders  of  those  in  power. 

PREFACE.— 1833. 

Time,  the  material  of  which  life  is  made,  never  pauses.  In  its 
onward  current  to  the  ocean  of  eternity,  it  carries  with  it  all  the  busy 
tribes  of  men.  Our  fathers — where  are  they?  and  the  Prophets — do 
they  live  forever?  Lord,  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  we  may 
apply  our  hearts  to  wisdom  and  understanding! 

The  year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Thirty-three  has 
arrived.  Almost  eighteen  full  centuries  are  completed  since  life  and 
incorruptibility  arose  from  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  in  the  person  of 
Messiah,  to  bless  a  dying  world.  The  Apostacy  is  in  its  dotage,  and 
the  Man  of  Sin  tottering  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  The  world  is 
in  travail;  a  new  age  is  soon  to  be  born;  and  the  great  regeneration 
is  at  hand.  The  parchments,  the  leagues  and  covenants  that  bind  the 
nations  in  their  social  and  unsocial  compacts,  are  moth-eaten.  The 
foundations  of  the  political  mountains  and  hills  are  crumbling  down 
to  dust;  and  the  imbecilities  of  all  human  policies  to  give  to  man  the 
knowledge  of  his  rights  and  the  enjoyment  of  them,  are  becoming 
manifest  to  all.  A  solemn  expectation,  an  eager  longing  for  some 
great  change,  the  sure  prelude  of  a  mighty  system  of  revolutions,  is 
marked  in  the  pensive  countenances  of  all  who  think  and  believe  that 
the  Lord  Almighty  reigns.  Expectation  is  on  tiptoe,  stretching  forward 
into  the  mysterious  future,  ready  to  hail  with  acclamation  the  har- 
binger of  better  times.  Jew  and  Gentile  now  unite  in  the  anxious 
anticipation  of  a  great  deliverer,  whose  right  to  rule  the  nations  none 
dare  dispute. 

Our  little  party  jealousies  and  strifes,  our  ecclesiastical  bickerings 
and  feuds,  are  all  arguments  of  irresistible  demonstration  that  the 
Christian  profession  has,  in  the  long,  dark  night  of  error,  mistook  its 
way,  and  been  jostled  off  the  foundation  of  God. 

The  voice  of  reformation  has  been  lifted  up,  and  the  banners  of  the 
ancient  constitution  of  Messiah's  kingdom  have  been  unfurled.  The 
ancient  standard  has  been  dug  up  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  ages  of 
delinquency;  but  of  the  immense  multitudes  who  acknowledge  its  the- 
oretic excellence  and  practical  utility,  how  few  are  inspired  with  that 
holy  spirit  of  unconditional  submission  to  the  authority  of  the  Prime 
Ministers  of  Messiah's  realm,  which  distinguished  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross  in  the  days  of  uncorrupted  Christianity. 

A  remnant  has  always  been  found  in  times  of  the  greatest  delin- 
quency; and  in  the  close  of  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  we  have  reason 
to  rejoice,  that  there  is  a  goodly  number  of  the  Gentiles  who  rally 
under  the  testimony  of  Jesus,   and   are  zealous  for  his   institutions. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xxvii 

The  theory  of  reformation  is,  however,  far  in  advance  of  the  practice, 
and  to  this  fait  special  rcyard  icill  be  had  in  the  volume  which  voe  have 
just  commenced.  It  is  no  common  thing  to  be,  in  the  constitutional 
import  of  the  word,  a  practical  Christian,  or,  ratlier,  a  Christian  in 
fact.  To  admire  and  commend  such  a  one  is  easy  and  pleasing  to 
all;  but  to  exhibit  and  fill  up  all  the  outlines  of  a  child  of  God,  a 
citizen  of  heaven,  and  an  heir  of  immortality,  is  not  the  result  of  a 
wish  or  a  prayer,  but  of  the  untiring  efforts  of  an  enlightened  under- 
standing, and  a  pure  heart,  to  be  conformed  to  the  whole  declared  will 
of  our  I'^ather  who  is  in  heaven.  Euitok. 

PREFACE.— 1835. 

Every  day's  experience  develops  more  fully  the  profound  depths 
of  the  philosophy  of  the  Divine  Author  of  the  Christian  faith.  Wis- 
dom, knowledge,  and  goodness  infinite  appear  in  all  his  aphorisms. 
Errors  of  some  sort  may  be  found,  have  been  found,  and  will  be 
found  in  some  of  the  maxims  and  sayings  of  the  wisest  of  the  wise 
men  of  all  times,  either  ancient  or  modern;  but  no  man's  age,  wisdom, 
knowledge,  or  experience  has  yet  found  one  flaw  in  the  reasonings, 
one  error  in  the  conclusions,  one  mistake  in  all  the  recorded  sayings 
of  Jesus  the  Nazarene.  Moreover,  it  is,  to  me  at  least,  most  clearly 
evident,  that  if  human  life  were  extended  for  the  term  of  seven  thou- 
sand years;  and  if  one  man's  experience  were  so  enlarged  as  to 
engross  within  it  the  experience  of  all  the  men  that  have  lived  or 
shall  live  in  that  long  period,  he  would  at  the  close  of  his  life  have  as 
much  reason  as  w-hen  he  first  began  to  think  for  himself,  to  exclaim, 
C  the  depths  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ! 
How   infinite!      How   unsearchable! 

This  fact  constitutes  no  weak  argument  in  proof  of  his  celestial 
and  divine  descent.  We  might  stake  our  hope  of  eternal  life  upon 
the  inability  of  man.  philosopher  or  sage,  to  detect  an  error  or  a 
falsehood  in  all  that  is  recorded  of  him.  But  it  was  not  for  this 
purpose  that  we  have  made  this  remark;  we  have  been  led  to  it  when 
about  to  quote  a  maxim  from  Jesus  as  pertinent  to  the  commencement 
of  a  new  volume.  That  maxim  is,  "F!ufpricnt  for  every  day  is  its 
own  trouble."  From  which  I  learn,  first,  that  every  day  has  its  oicn 
trouble;  and,  in  the  second  place,  that  its  own  trouble  is  sufficient  for 
every  day.     This  I  did  not  know  some  twenty-five  years  ago. 

In  the  bright  sketches  of  a  vivid  imagination  I  foresaw,  in  the 
glowing  visions  of  the  future,  many  clear  and  cloudless  days,  without 
a  sorrow  or  a  sigh.  But  I  was  as  one  that  dreamed.  Every  day, 
with  all  its  pleasures  and  its  joys,  has  had  its  troubles,  too. 

Though  by  kind  nature  happily  inclined  ever  to  contemplate  the 
bright  side  of  the  picture,  the  (iiFapi)ointnients  of  every  day  have  at 


xxviii  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

length  thrown  some  dark  clouds  into  all  my  paintings  of  the  remnant 
of  life.  There  are  no  moue  golden  days,  free  from  cai-es  and  fears, 
within  the  horizon  of  my  future  anticipations.  But  the  philosophy 
of  Jesus  happily  interposes  in  my  behalf,  and  admonishes  me  not  to 
increase  the  troubles  of  to-day  with  those  of  to-morrow;  but  to  regard 
the  troubles  of  the  present  as  sufficient  without  the  addition  of  the 
anticipated  evils  of  the  future.  While,  then,  the  maxim  of  the  Great 
Teacher  assures  us  that  every  day  "has  its  own  trouble,"  it  kindly 
admonishes  us  to  regard  its  own  trouble  as  sufficient. 

From  the  preface  to  the  volume  of  1838  we  extract  this:  The 
theory  and  practice  of  Christianity  are  as  distinct  as  the  theory  and 
practice  of  medicine.  Few  persons  are  eminent  in  both.  The  busy 
theorist  has  not  time  to  practice;  and  the  busy  practitioner  has  not 
time  to  theorize.  We  teach  that  right  thinking  must  precede  right 
speaking  and  right  acting;  but  should  we  stop  at  the  end  of  right 
thinking,  and  be  satisfied  with  ourselves,  we  should  prove  ourselves 
to  be  wrong  thinkers  of  no  ordinary  type. 

We  have  had  the  Gospel  and  Christianity  restored  on  paper  and 
in  speech;  we  want  to  see  them  living,  moving,  and  acting  on  the 
stage  of  time,  on  a  larger  scale  and  with  more  brilliant  light  and 
power  than  has  hitherto  appeared. 

To  extend  the  Christian  profession,  rather  than  to  elevate  it,  has 
been  too  much  the  spirit  of  modern  enterprise.  To  extend  it  is, 
indeed,  most  desirable  and  most  consonant  to  the  suggestions  of  the 
Christian  spirit;  but  few  seem  to  apprehend  that  to  elevate  it  is  the 
surer  and  speedier  way  to  extend  it.  The  boundaries  between  the 
church  and  the  world  are  not  sufficiently  prominent  to  strike  the 
attention  of  the  truly  inquisitive.  The  heavenly  character  of  Christ's 
religion  is  so  deeply  veiled  under  the  garb  of  expedient  conformity 
to  worldly  maxims  and  worldly  interests,  that  it  is  too  dimly  seen 
to  command  the  attention  of  even  those  who  ardently  seek  for  some 
substantial  joys  to  fill  an  empty  mind. 

Our  brethren  in  the  cause  of  reformation  are  indeed  surrounded 
with  some  unpropitious  circumstances.  They  began  with  theory,  and 
their  opponents  are  determined  always  to  keep  them  in  it.  The 
reformer  is  too  often  regarded  as  the  assailant,  and  the  objects  of 
his  benevolence  feel  as  though  they  ought  to  stand  upon  the  defen- 
sive. So  have  we  been  often  regarded.  But  while  we  earnestly 
contend  for  the  faith  anciently  delivered,  we  ought  to  remember 
that  even  that  faith  was  delivered  for  the  sake  of  its  living,  active, 
and  eternal   fruits. 

In  1840  he  says:  "Years  roll  on:  the  pulse  of  time  never  ceases, 
the  wheels  of  Nature  carry  down  all  the  living  with  a  constant  and 
rapid  motion.     We  are  born,  we  live,  we  die,  and  are  forgotten  amidst 


EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES.  xxix 

the  bustle  of  coming  years.  We  are  now.  the  actors — the  dramatis 
pcrsonae  on  the  stage  of  time.  Each  one  plays  his  part,  and  retires 
behind  the  curtains  of  death.  But  the  sequel  is  on  another  theatre, 
before  other  spectators  and  auditors.  The  plaudits  and  the  hissings 
are  eternal.  We  play  for  crowns  and  kingdoms — for  deathless  fame 
and  imperishable  treasures.  A  heaven  is  lost,  or  a  heaven  is  won 
at  the  close  of  the  last  act. 

"There  are  many  subordinate  parts  in  the  great  drama  of  human 
e.xistence.  There  are  also  very  conspicuous  and  high  places — great 
responsibilities — immense  prizes — while  every  one  has  his  own  destiny 
at  stake,  and  all  are  to  be  rewarded  according  to  their  works. 

"Such  reflections  crowd  upon  us  on  the  commencement  of  a  new 
volume  in  the  progress  of  a  great  revolution — a  reformation — a 
change  for  the  better  in  the  ecclesiastic  and  moral  relations  and 
positions  of  society.  We  feel  our  obligations  and  responsibilities  to 
be  very  great.  The  cause  on  hand  is  above  all  causes  now  before 
the  bar  of  public  opinion.  It  demands  all  our  powers — it  calls  for 
all  our  resources.  The  question  is  variously  propounded;  but  the 
substance  is,  Who  shall  rule  in  Zion? — Jesus  or  the  Pope? — Christ  or 
Antichrist? — the  twelve  Apostles  or  twelve  hundred  Synods  and  Coun- 
cils?— the  New  Testament  or  a  human  creed? — the  Word  of  the  Lord 
or  the  Opinions  of  men? — Union  or  Schism? — Catholicity  or  Sectari- 
anism?— one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  or  three  Lords,  three 
faiths,   and   three  baptisms?" 

Preface,  1841:  "In  the  present  volume  some  points  claim  our 
special  attention:  such  as,  the  necessity  of  a  more  conciliatory  spirit 
towards  the  more  evangelical  professors — the  necessity  and  practica- 
bility of  the  enjoyment  of  larger  measures  of  spiritual  influence — 
education  in  all  its  branches,  domestic,   scholastic,   and   ecclesiastic." 

In  1843  we  find:  "There  is  yet,  however,  much  wanting  in  very 
many  of  our  churches  to  bring  them  up  to  their  own  acknowledgments. 
We  want  a  thorough  church  organization,  a  more  efficient  ministry, 
in  and  out  of  the  church;  Elders,  Deacons,  and  Evangelists;  and, 
above  all,  more  spirituality  and  moral  excellence;  much  less  con- 
formity to  the  world — and  a  more  cordial,  devout,  and  unreserved 
submission  to  the  Lord,  are  points  in  which  we  are  very  generally 
yet  wanting;  to  all  of  which,  especially  to  the  subject  of  church 
organization  and  family  education,  shall  we  devote,  the  Lord  being 
our  helper,  the  pages  of  the  present  volume." 

In  1S44  he  says:  "Had  I  the  means  of  accomplishing  my  desires, 
I  would  have  a  Quarterly  Christian  Review,  of  solid  and  substantial 
reading,  composed  of  sacred  literature,  various  Biblical  criticism, 
reviews  of  new  publications  on  Theology,  notices  of  persons  and 
things  ecclesiastical." 


XX3C  EXTRACTS    FROM    PREFACES. 

In  1848  Mr.  Campbell  says:  "Still  we  would  not  have  our  readers 
ilor  the  public  conclude  that  we  do  not  think  that,  in  several  instances 
and  in  some  points,  certain  matters  have  had  an  exaggerated  impor- 
tance given  to  them  by  over-zealous  and  less  informed  brethren — 
that  there  has  been  much  mismanagement,  also  some  unchristian 
developments  and  speculations  promulged  amongst  us,  as  well  as  a 
too  dogmatical  spirit  displayed  on  the  part  of  certain  writers,  editors, 
and  preachers.  We  have,  indeed,  had  as  little  of  these  as  could  have 
been  rationally  expected  amongst  so  many  disconnected  and  unasso- 
ciated  editors,  writers,  preachers,  and  teachers,  coming  from  parties 
and  schools  as  numerous  and  as  various  as  all  the  parties  and  schools 
of  Protestant  Christendom.  Had  we  not  had  cohorts  of  other  minds 
well  read  and  better  balanced,  zealous,  indefatigable,  and  influential, 
we  must  have  been  greatly  disappointed  or  signally  defeated.  It  is 
all,  indeed,  the  Lord's  doing  and  marvellous  in  our  eyes." 

In  1849  he  says:  "It  was  well  for  the  cause  that  no  one  presumed 
to  print  anything  for  many  years,  till  its  main  principles  were  well 
matured  by  a  few.  During  the  first  ten  years,  while  matters  were 
under  investigation  and  oral  discussion,  but  one  single  pamphlet 
appeared  on  the  legal  and  evangelical  dispensations.  We  did  not  then 
grow  so  rapidly  into  scribes  and  editors  as  we  have  since  done.  Some 
amongst  us,  converted  in  their  minority,  very  soon  after  their  major- 
ity deem  themselves  competent  to  enter  upon  the  responsible  duties 
and  calling  of  editors  and  teachers  of  old  men  and  fathers." 


BOOK  I. 


GOD 


THE  MILLENNIAL 
HARBINGER  ABRIDGED. 


BOOK    I. 

GOD. 

EXISTENCE    OF    GOD. 

Dr.  Robert  Richardson,  as  "K.  R.,"  writes  in  the  Millennial  Har- 
binger, 183G,  page  219,  et  seq.: 

The  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  necessarily  presupposed  in  the 
consideration  of  the  preservation  and  government  of  the  world,  is  so 
extremely  evident,  that  it  can  scarcely  with  propriety  be  considered 
a  matter  to  be  seriously  argued.  It  is  the  amiable  Fenelon  who 
observes,  "that  so  far  from  being  a  thing  that  wants  to  be  proved, 
it  is  almost  the  only  thing  of  which  we  are  certain."  It  is  indeed  a 
remarkable  instance  of  human  weakness  and  folly,  that  so  obvious 
a  truth  should  ever  have  been  doubted,  and  more  especially  by  some 
persons  of  erudition  and  high   attainments. 

It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  very  few  have  openly  pro- 
fessed Atheism,  the  far  greater  number  of  Freethinkers  having 
attempted  to  conceal  their  hatred  of  religion  under  the  garb  of  Deism, 
ar.  being  more  specious,  and  therefore  less  abhorrent  to  the  universal 
reason  of  mankind.  On  this  account  Deism  has  been  regarded  as 
Atheism  under  another  name,  and  with  great  propriety;  for  as  the 
admitted  existence  of  the  sun  brings  along  with  it  that  of  light  and 
heat,  by  which  only  we  are  enabled  to  know  that  such  a  thing  as  the 
sun  exists,  so  a  sincere  belief  in  the  existence  of  God,  naturally  and 
necessarily  involves  an  acknowledgment  of  the  truth  of  revelation, 
and  ol  his  regard  for  his  creatures  in  the  preservation  and  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  which  the  Deists  have  refused  to  admit.  Hence 
the  doctrines  of  Epicurus,  who  supposed  that  the  gods  spent  their 
time  in  luxurious  ease,  and  that  they  did  not  concern  themselves  in 
tne  affairs  of  mortals,  were  regarded  even  by  Plato  as  amounting  to 
Atheism.  And  many  of  the  Deists  have  upon  their  death-beds  either 
acknowledged  the  error  of  their  system  and  the  truth  of  revelation, 
liKe  Voltaire,  or  like  Hume,  who  when  dying  seemed  to  amuse  him- 
self with  a  game  of  chess,  and  have  hy  thus  over-acting  their  part, 
betrayed  the  secret  misgivings  and   forebodings  of  conscience. 


2  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

In  later  times,  infidelity  has  assumed  a  different  form,  and  modern 
philosophists  have  become  so  chary  of  committing  themselves,  and 
so  exceeding  modest,  that  they  will  neither  affirm  nor  deny  the  exist- 
ence of  God;  but,  affecting  to  be  governed  solely  by  their  senses  and 
their  experience,  confess  themselves  wholly  ignorant  of  the  matter. 
They  absurdly  imagine  that  they  are  independent  of  all  reasonings 
and  inferences,  when  they  reject  faith  and  testimony,  together  with 
the  proof  of  the  divine  existence  drawn  from  nature,  and  depend 
solely  upon  the  knowledge  derived  through  the  senses;  while  at  the 
same  time  they  are  unable  to  attain  conclusions  even  from  the  impres- 
sions made  upon  their  own  senses  without  a  process  of  reasoning  from 
effect  to  cause,  precisely  similar  to  that  which  they  reject  in  regard 
to  the  Divine   Being. 

But  it  were  vain  to  argue  either  with  thosie  who  imagine  the  world 
to  have  been  made  and  preserved  by  chance,  thus  making  Chance  put 
an  end  to  Chance  and  introduce  order,  design,  necessity,  and  fate; 
or  with  those  who  disbelieve  the  existence  of  God  without  denying  it, 
for  none  of  them  will  believe  any  more  than  they  can  help  on  this 
subject,*  or  what  suits  their  theory;  and  their  reason  consists  only  in 
contradicting  the  universal  reason  of  mankind.  For  if  the  proposition 
that  there  is  a  Supreme  Intelligent  First  Cause  is  not  believed  by 
them,  though  it  be  sustained  by  the  wonderful  marks  of  design  and 
contrivance  in  the  universe  in  the  nice  adaptation  of  the  most  delicate 
machinery  to  the  most  important  and  useful  purposes,  whether  iu 
the  human  mind  with  its  various  co-operating  faculties  of  curiosity, 
attention,  imagination,  memory,  and  judgment;  or  in  the  material 
part  of  creation  with  all  its  infinite  variety  of  skill  and  purpose;  they 
are  wholly  without  the  pale  of  argument,  and  beyond  the  reach  of 
reason. 

To  the  Christian,  however,  the  volume  of  nature  is  full  of  mean- 
ing. He  perceives  the  impress  of  an  almighty  and  beneficent  Being 
in  everything  around  him.  To  him  God  is  all  and  in  all.  His  whole 
employment  is  to  study  and  to  imitate  the  divine  character.  In  his 
view,  indeed,  the  universe  is  but  a  revelation  of  the  attributes  of  God, 
and  his  studies  of  nature  are  an  investigation  of  the  power,  wisdom, 
and  goodness  displayed  by  the  Author.  Every  new  discovery  of  his 
perfections  fills  his  bosom  with  delight,  and  animates  his  soul  with 
pure  and  elevated  principles,  and  he  rejoices  to  know  that  eternity  ' 
is  a  period  fitted  to  the  lesson  he  is  to  learn — the  nature  of  the  Infinite 
Jehovah. 


•In  other  matters  many  of  the  Sceptics  have  been  the  most  credulous  of  mankind. 
Charles  II.,  on  witnessing  the  credulity  of  tlic  younger  Vossius  when  on  his  visit  to 
England,  exclaimed,  "There  is  nothing  which  Vossius  refuses  to  believe  except  the 
Bible." 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  3 

The  Christian,  therefore,  is  a  constant  and  an  improving  pupil. 
His  is  not  the  bigotry  wliich  fixes  upon  a  few  imperfect  dogmas,  as 
containing  all  that  can  be  known  of  God;  nor  is  his  the  enthusiasm 
which  a  proud  and  vain  imagination  leads  beyond  the  confines  of 
nature,  reason,  and  revelation.  For  him  the  darkness  of  Ignorance 
is  no  refuge;  but  he  loves  the  light  of  Truth.  The  investigations  of 
science,  and  the  true  knowledge  of  nature  only  serve  to  impress  still 
more  deeply  his  convictions  of  the  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of 
Him  who  "created  all  things  and  for  whose  glory  they  were  and  are 
created."  It  is  indeed  always  the  effect  of  true  science  to  develop 
the  purpose  and  skill  of  the  Divine  Architect.  Thus  the  reason  of  the 
peculiar  formation  of  the  human  eye  was  not  understood  till  Newton 
discovered  the  nature  and  laws  of  light,  when  it  was  found  that  these 
fixed  laws  had  been  understood  and  acted  on  by  him  who  made  the 
eye,  which  is  so  perfectly  accommodated  to  these  laws  that  the  most 
ingenious  artist  could  not  imagine  an  improvement  of  it.  Nor  was 
i*.  known  why  the  bee  should  in  all  countries,  and  at  all  times,  shape 
its  cells  precisely  in  the  same  manner,  the  proportions  accurately 
alike  and  the  size  the  very  same  to  the  fraction  of  a  line;  till  the  most 
refined  mathematical  analysis  discovered  that  this  form  and  size  were 
of  all  others  best  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  saving  room,  and  work, 
and  materials.  "This  discovery,"  says  Brougham,  "was  only  made 
about  a  century  ago:  nay,  the  instrument  that  enabled  us  to  find  it 
out — the  tlmional  calculus — was  unknown  half  a  century  before  that 
application  of  its  powers.  And  yet  the  bee  had  been  for  thousands  of 
years,  in  all  countries,  unerringly  working  according  to  this  fixed  rule, 
choosing  the  same  exact  angle  of  120  degrees  for  the  inclination  of 
the  sides  of  its  little  room,  which  every  one  had  for  ages  known  to  be 
the  best  possible  angle,  but  also  choosing  the  same  exact  angles  of 
210  and  70  degrees  for  the  parallelograms  of  the  roof,  which  no  one 
had  ever  discovered  till  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Maclaurin  solved 
that  most  curious  problem  of  maxima  et  viinima.  the  means  of  inves 
tigating  which  had  not  existed  till  the  century  before,  when  Newton 
invented  the  calculus,  whereby  such  problems  can  now  be  easily 
worked." 

But  it  is  not  alone  the  deep  researches  of  science  which  confirm 
the  Christian,  for  the  evid'^nces  of  an  intelligent  and  designing  Being 
are  displayed  in  bold  relief  to  the  eyes  and  understandings  of  men, 
even  the  most  illiterate,  in  the  wise  and  beneficent  arrangements  upon 
the  face  of  nature.  He  marks,  therefore,  not  merely  the  adaptation 
of  the  eye  to  light,  but  its  adjustment  to  the  conditions  and  circum- 
stances of  different  animals,  as  in  the  case  of  the  bat  and  the  mole, 
the  eagle  and  the  lynx.  He  admires  the  wisdom  which  has  given  to 
those  creatures  which   live  in   mud,   not  only  a  hard  and  horny  eye, 


4  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

but  furnished  them  instead  of  eyelids  with  a  little  brush  to  clean  the 
eye;  and  which,  while  it  has  given  to  man  eyelids  to  moisten  and 
protect  the  eye,  has  omitted  them  entirely,  as  unnecessary,  in  fishes 
whose  eyes  are  washed  by  the  water  in  which  they  swim.  He  con- 
templates with  delight  the  beautiful  proportions  of  the  deer  and  ths 
swift  antelope  upon  the  mountains;  and  while,  on  the  lake  he  loves 
to  view 

"The  pilot  swan  majestic  wind, 
With  all  his  cygnet  fleet  behind, 
So  softly  sail,  or  swiftly  row 
With  sable  oar  and  silken  prow  " — 

he  considers  the  design  and  skill  shown  in  the  formation  of  that 
"sable  oar" — the  web-foot,  which  the  inventors  of  steamboat  paddles 
have  never  yet  been  able  even  to  imitate. 

While  the  Christian  thus  regards  the  proofs  of  design  and  con- 
trivance manifested  in  creation,  he  reasons  that  "had  he  to  accom- 
plish such  purposes,  he  should  (if  possessed  of  sufficient  power  and 
skill)  have  used  some  such  means,"  and  therefore  concludes  that  these 
owe  their  origin  to  a  Being  supremely  wise  and  infinitely  powerful. 
"This  process  of  reasoning,"  says  Brougham,  "is  truly  inductive,  ani 
is  not  like,  but  identical  with,  that  by  which  we  infer  the  existence 
of  design  in  others  (than  ourselves)  with  whom  we  have  daily  inter- 
course. The  kind  of  evidence  is  not  like,  but  identical  with,  that 
by  which  we  conduct  all  the  investigations  of  natural  and  moral 
science." 

Thus  the  Christian,  while  he  surveys  the  beauty,  order,  variety, 
and  immensity  of  creation — whether,  with  the  scientific  Euler,  he 
examine  the  singular  and  perfectly  organized  creatures  which  sport 
in  a  drop  of  water — whether,  with  the  philosophic  Newton,  he  con- 
tfjmplate  those  vast  heavenly  bodies,  those  worlds  innumerable,  which 
move  with  inimitable  order  and  precision  through  the  regions  of  space 
to  the  remotest  boundaries  of  the  universe;  or,  with  the  simple  rustic, 
view  the  changing  seasons — the  fruits  of  summer  and  of  autumn — 
the  stern  severities  of  winter,  grand  and  magnificent  in  its  terrors — 
or  the  new-born  leaves  and  flowers  of  spring  (equivalent  to  a  new 
creation),  clothing  field  and  forest  in  a  drapery  forever  charming  and 
forever  new — one  thought  is  ever  present,  one  conclusion  ever  certain, 
that  it  is  God  "that  doeth  wonders" — whose  "name  is  excellent  in  all 
the  earth,"  and  whose  "glory  is  above  the  heavens;"  and  while  with 
the  Psalmist  he  would  exclaim,  "0  Lord!  how  manifold  are  thy  worksl 
in  wisdom  hast  thou  made  them  all;"  conscious  of  his  own  dependent 
weakness,  he  humbly  "trusts  in  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  and  his 
hope  is  in  the  Lord  his  God,  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea 
and  all  that  therein  is:  who  keepeth  truth  forever." 


THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  5 

"But  the  Lord  shall  find  out  them  that  hate  him."  "They  shall  be 
as  chaff  before  the  wind."  "Their  way  shall  be  dark  and  slippery." 
"They  shall  be  taken  in  their  pride  and  consumed  with  terror,  that 
they  may  know  that  God  ruleth  even  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

THE    PllOVIDENCE   OF   GOD. 

"/  tcill  say  of  the  Lokd,  he  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress:  my  God: 
ill   him  will  I  trust." — Davik. 

The  general  idea  of  Divine  Providence  may  be  expressed  in  the 
periphrasis — The  care  of  God  in  the  preservation  and  government  of 
the  world.  Or,  it  is  the  superintendence  of  the  Creator  over  the 
affairs  of  the  universe. 

The  idea  of  creation,  then,  is  by  no  means  included.  Creation 
must  necessarily  precede,  since  it  gives  occasion  to,  both  preservation 
and  government.  For  if  nothing  were  created,  there  would  be  nothing 
to  take  care  of — nothing  to  superintend.  The  creation  of  the  world, 
then,  was  just  what  we  are  accustomed  to  style  it — an  act  of  creation, 
and  not  a  work  of  providence. 

The  notion  of  m.iracle  is  also  excluded.  A  miracle  consists  essen- 
tially in  a  sudden  change  or  suspension  of  what  are  termed  the  known 
or  established  laws  of  nature.  We  can  have  no  idea  of  a  miracle  with- 
out including  such  a  change  or  contravention  of  the  regular  course 
of  things.  On  this  account,  as  we  have  no  information  of  what  was 
the  regular  course  of  things  before  creation,  we  can  not  say,  correctly 
speaking,  that  even  the  creation  of  the  world  was  a  miracle.  "He 
spoke,  and  it  was  done — Hk  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast" — but  the 
records  of  eternity  are  not  before  us,  and  we  have  not  the  tongues 
nor  the  vocabulary  of  angels.  How  it  may  be  termed  by  those  glo- 
rious inhabitants  of  heaven  who  "can  not  die,"  who  were  "with  the 
Lord  in  the  beginning  of  his  way  before  his  works  of  old — when  there 
were  no  depths  nor  fountains  abounding  with  water;  before  the  moun 
tains  were  settled  and  before  the  hills" — we  know  not.  In  our  lan- 
guage we  call  It  cKK.vTioN.  and  can  not  consistently  with  soundness 
of  speech  terra  it  miracle.  No  more  can  the  agency  termed  Provi- 
dence, which  sustains  and  regulates  the  universe,  be  styled  miracu- 
lous. For  a  miracle  interrupts  that  very  order  which  this  agency 
preserves,  and  which  by  being  thus  preserved  in  unvaried  regularitv 
through  a  long  succession  of  ages,  has  become  known  as  the  order 
of  nature.  So  long,  then,  as  it  is  one  thing  to  sustain  the  order  of 
the  universe,  and  another  to  interrupt  it — one  thing  to  enforce  a  law, 
and  another  to  break  it:  so  long  will  the  idea  of  miracle  be  different 
from  that  of  the  divine  agency  in  the  preservation  and  government 
of  the  world. 


6  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

These  distinctions  we  conceive  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance, 
and  absolutely  essential  to  the  correct  understanding  of  the  subject. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  power;  it  is  a  question  of  definition — of  the 
use  of  words.  If  it  were  a  question  of  power,  we  could  easily  grant 
that  there  is  a  stupendous  power  displayed  in  creating  the  world,  as 
in  any  miracle;  and  it  could  as  easily  be  shown  that  't  requires  as 
great  power  to  sustain  as  to  create  the  universe.  The  creating  of 
Adam  an  adult  displayed  as  much  power  as  would  be  exhibited  in 
raising  a  man  from  the  dead — but  not  any  more  than  is  required  to 
clothe  the  little  germ  contained  in  a  grain  of  corn  with  a  neio  body. 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high,  with  its  tassel,  its  silk,  its  ears,  and  its 
shining  leaves.  Any  one  of  these  is  just  as  possible  as  another,  and 
no  one  of  them  is  a  whit  more  wonderful  than  another,  if  power  were 
the  question.  But  it  is  simply  the  application  of  terms.  The  first 
we  call  creation — the  second,  a  miracle — the  third,  the  providence  of 
God,  who  gives  "to  every  seed  its  own  body."  It  is  necessary,  in 
order  to  avoid  confusion  of  ideas,  to  employ  these  terms  in  their  legit- 
imate signification. 

Further:  when  we  thus  distinguish  between  creation,  miracles,  and 
providences,  we  do  not  thereby  exclude  from  the  latter  the  idea  of 
divine  interference,  any  more  than  from  the  two  former.  The  hand 
of  the  Almighty  is  indeed  displayed  in  all,  and  in  one  as  mu:h  as  in 
another.  In  the  former,  indeed,  his  purposes  may  be  more  suddenly 
accomplished,  but  not  more  certainly,  nor  in  many  cases  more  unex- 
pectedly than  in  the  latter.  The  mode  and  means  of  action  may  be 
different,  but  there  is  an  agent  in  all,  and  that  agent  is  the  same.  It 
is  very  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  every  Divine  interference  must 
of  necessity  be  miraculous — that  a  Creator  is  not  required  to  sustain 
those  very  laws  whose  operation  a  miracle  for  a  moment  interrupts, 
or  that  this  momentary  interruption  is  a  greater  interference  than 
was  required  to  sustain  for  ages  these  principles  in  constant  action 
— that  a  greater  degree  of  power  is  needed  or  a  different  agent  to 
produce  cessation  or  change  of  action,  than  to  originate  and  sustain 
that  action — that  it  requires  an  agent  to  produce  an  effect  by  other 
than  the  ordinary  means;  and  that  none  is  needed  to  accomplish  as 
great  a  purpose  by  the  wise  control,  direction,  and  employment  of 
influences  with  which  we  happen  to  be  more  familiar.  It  is  indeed 
the  very  idea  and  definition  of  Providence,  that  it  is  the  Divine 
agency  exerted  in  sustaining  and  governing  the  universe.  It  differs 
from  miracle  in  this,  that  its  designs  are  brought  to  pass  by  means  of 
the  established  laws  and  through  the  ordinary  channels:  while  a 
miracle  is  the  accomplishment  of  a  purpose  by  other  means. 

We  are  indeed  fallen  upon  "evil  days  and  evil  times,"  when  infidel- 
ity and  atheism  seem  to  have  taken  the  place  of  the  opposite  extremes, 


THt:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  7 

credulity  and  idolatry.  Formerly  every  hero  and  every  hearth — every 
object  of  beauty  and  every  element  of  nature  hatl  a  tutelar  deity. 
But  now  the  chief  wisdom  is  made  to  consist  in  a  stupid  attempt  to 
explain  everything  by  referring  and  restricting  it  to  what  are  called 
natural  principles,  and  a  still  more  absurd  halting  at  what  are  termed 
secondary  causes;  as  though  the  mere  knowledge  of  the  mode  in  which 
a  principle  acts  could  explain  the  principle  itself,  or  as  if  the  idea 
of  secondary  causes  did  not  abs-olutely  involve  that  of  a  First  Cause. 
And  it  is  most  unfortunate  that  even  those  who  believe  in  a  Supreme 
Ruler  have  partaken  more  or  less  of  the  deleterious  influence  of  this 
vain  philosophy,  and  that  they  have  permitted  the  foolish  wisdom  of 
this  world  to  substitute  any  unexplained  explanation  for  the  power 
o''  God;  or  any  unmeaning  or  undefinable  "Nature"  for  the  Deity  him- 
self. Such  was  not  the  doctrine  nor  the  language  of  the  ancient  Chris- 
tians. With  them  it  was  not  the  mere  operations  of  Nature — the  mere 
clouds,  but  "God"  who  gave  them  "showers  of  rain  from  heaven  and 
fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  It  was 
not  to  any  "electric  influence"  or  any  "internal  heat"  they  attributed 
their  enjoyment  of  life;  but  it  was  "in  God  they  lived,  were  moved, 
and  had  their  being."  Nor  was  it  to  any  concurrence  of  "secondary 
causes"  they  were  wont  to  refer  the  judgments  they  witnessed  and 
the  deliverances  they  experienced.  These  were  with  them  the  "wrath 
of  God,"  the  chastenings  of  "the  Lord" — It  was  "the  Lord"  who 
"stood"  with  them  and  "delivered"  them — who  "supplied  all  their 
need,"  and  "of  whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to  whom"  were  "all 
things" — to  whom  they  gave  the  glory.  By  the  Providence  of  God, 
then,  we  mean  His  care  and  superintendence  in  preserving  and  gov- 
erning the  world.  By  the  preservation  of  the  world  is  implied  the 
upholding  the  being,  the  powers,  and  attributes  of  all  created  things; 
and  by  its  government  is  signified  a  controlling  and  overruling  power 
over  everything  which   is  thus  upheld. 

The  subject,  therefore,  is  naturally  divided  into  preservation  and 
government.  And  as  the  Divine  Being  exercises  a  particular  care 
over  certain  departments  of  His  universal  empire,  it  will  be  conve- 
nient to  make  a  further  division  into  a  general  and  a  special  provi- 
dence, either  of  which  may  include  preservation  as  well  as  government. 

How  important  is  it  that  in  returning  to  the  institutions  of  primi- 
tive Christianity,  we  should  return  also  to  that  constant  dependence 
upon  God  for  all  things,  and  that  deep  sense  of  the  unceasing  and 
watchful  care  and  presence  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  by  which  the 
disciples  were  characterized  in  the  beginning! — Blessed  are  they  who 
put  their  trust  in  Him! — He  sustains  all  things — Hi.s  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion,  and  his  kingdom  is  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. 


8  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

PROOF  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

"Say  not  unto  the  angel.  There  is  no  providence;  lest  God  should 
be  angry  at  your  voice,  and  destroy  the  works  of  your  hands." 

The  Sadducees,  like  the  Atheists,  denied  the  superintendence  of 
God  over  the  universe.  This  indeed  is  implied  in  what  is  said  of 
them  (Acts  xxii.  8),  viz.,  that  "they  say  there  is  no  resurrection, 
neither  angel  nor  spirit."  For  the  exclusion  of  angel  and  spirit,  nec- 
essarily excluded,  among  the  Jews,  the  idea  of  providence,  which  the 
word  ANGEL  with  them  was  frequently  employed  to  express.  Thus 
Abraham  says,  "God  shall  send  his  angel  before  thee  to  take  a  wife 
for  Isaac" — that  is,  God  shall  superintend  and  direct  you  in  this 
matter.  And  Jacob — "The  God  who  fed  me  all  my  life  long — the 
angel  who  redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads" — signifying  the 
protecting,  preserving,  guiding  providence  of  God  which  he  had  expe- 
rienced during  his  life.  Thus  also  David — "The  angel  of  the  Lord 
encampeth  about  them  that  fear  him;"  and  again,  "He  shall  give  his 
angels  charge  concerning  thee,"  etc.  We  may  observe  here  that  this 
last  passage  is  evidently  restricted  to  ordinary  preservation  and  pro- 
tection by  our  Lord's  answer  to  Satan,  "Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord 
thy  God" — that  is,  by  rushing  into  unnecessary  hazards.  In  Isa. 
xxxvii.  36,  also,  it  is  said,  "the  angel  of  the  Lord"  smote  Sennacherib's 
army.  What  this  "anger  was,  we  learn  from  II.  Kings,  xix.  7 — 
"Behold,  I  will  send  a  blast  upon  him;"  i.  e.,  the  samiel  or  simoon. 
Thus  too  in  Ps.  Ixxviii.  49,  the  plagues  of  Pharaoh  are  called  "evil 
angels;"  so  that  it  is  evident  that  the  Jews  were  accustomed  often  to 
use  the  term  angel  as  expressive  of  the  providential  interference  of 
God,  and  applicable  to  the  natural  agency  by  which  he  accomplished 
his  purposes.  Thus  Paul  quotes  the  104th  Psalm — "Who  makes  winds 
his  angels  [agents]  and  flames  of  fire  his  ministers;"  the  emphasis 
here  being  evidently  upon  the  word  angel  as  distinguished  from  Son. 
Hence  too  the  parting  salutation  among  the  Jews — "The  angel  of  God 
keep  you  company"  (Tobit.  v.  10).  Hence  also  the  phrases,  "The 
good  angel  will  keep  him  company"  (ver.  21);  and  "Mine  angel  is 
with  you"   (Baruch  vi.  7). 

The  Sadducees  among  the  Jews,  were,  in  this  respect,  like  the 
Epicureans  among  the  Greeks,  who,  as  we  formerly  mentioned, 
admitted  the  existence  of  a  God,  but  denied  a  providence,  supposing 
that  the  Deity  delighted  in  calm  and  undisturbed  repose. 

"  Immortali  cevo  summa  cum  pace  fruatur. 

Semota  a  nostris  rebus,  sejunctaque." 
From  earth  remote,  of  endless  life  possess'd, 
No  human  cares  disturb  his  peaceful  rest. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  9 

Thus  speaks  Lucretius,  who  has  embodied  the  tenets  of  their  phil- 
osophy in  his  celebrated  poem  De  rcr.  nat.,  which,  to  use  the  language 
of  Gillies,  "is  the  boldest  monument  which  the  world  is  ever  likely  to 
witness,  of  learning,  genius,  and  impiety." 

It  would  be  unnecessary  to  attempt  to  disprove  the  notion  that 
there  is  no  Providence,  except  by  showing  it  to  be  congenial  with  the 
absurdities  of  Epicureans,  Sadducees,  and  Atheists,  were  it  not  that 
few  properly  appreciate  the  necessary  connection  which  exists  between 
the  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being,  and  in  his  preservation  and  govern- 
ment of  the  world.  It  is  certainly  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  such 
a  Being,  who  has  created  the  beautiful  universe,  adorned  it  with  so 
many  glorious  objects,  and  furnished  so  many  sources  of  happiness, 
should  nevertheless  be  wholly  unconcerned  about  his  creatures,  and 
indifferent  to  their  welfare.  But  apart  from  this  consideration,  it  is 
as  great  an  absurdity  to  suppose  that  the  world  can  preserve  and 
govern  itself,  as  that  it  could  make  itself.  "For  it  is  not  with  the 
being  and  nature  of  things,"  as  Sherlock  well  observes,  "as  it  is  with 
the  works  of  art,  which,  though  they  can  not  make  themselves,  yet, 
when  they  are  made,  can  subsist  without  the  artist  that  made  them — 
the  workman  does  not  give  being  to  the  materials,  but  only  to  the 
form — but  whatever  receives  its  being  from  another,  as  all  creatures 
do,  has  nothing  to  support  its  being  but  the  cause  that  made  it;" 
that  is,  there  is  nothing  created  which  has  a  self-subsisting  nature, 
or  a  necessary  and  independent  existence.  This  may  be  regarded  as 
abstruse  reasoning.  There  is  no  one,  however,  who  will  consider  the 
incessant  changes  which  occur  in  the  universe,  the  constant  activity 
of  animated  nature,  and  the  systematic  arrangements,  operations,  and 
motions  of  all  created  things,  who  can  for  a  moment  suppose  that 
these  do  not  require  an  agent  as  much  as  creation — and  the  same 
agent,  since  he  only  who  created,  knows  how  to  govern  and  preserve 
them.  To  be  sure,  we  do  not  comprehend  how  they  are  sustained, 
but  neither  do  we  comprehend  how  they  were  originally  created.  And 
certainly  it  requires  as  much  power,  and  is  as  striking  a  proof  of 
divine  agency,  to  clothe,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  naked  earth 
with  verdure  and  the  fields  with  flowers — to  unfold  the  leafy 
umbrellas  of  the  grove,  or  bend  the  boughs  of  the  orchard  and  present 
to  the  hand  the  golden  fruits  of  autumn,  as  to  create  them  at  the  first. 
No  one  can  show  how  an  oak  can  be  brought  out  of  an  acorn  without 
divine  agency,  any  more  than  how  it  could  be  created  out  of  nothing 
without  such  agency.  The  argument  therefore  drawn  from  nature, 
proves  as  much  for  a  Providence  as  it  does  for  a  Creator;  and 
every  consistent  Deist  must  admit  the  superintendence  of  God 
over  the  universe  upon  the  same  principles  upon  which  he  infers 
his  existence. 


10  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

It  is  not  a  little  strange  that  any  one  who  believes  in  revelation 
should  deny  the  doctrine  in  question.  For  the  fact  that  a  revelation 
has  been  given,  apart  from  anything  contained  in  that  revelation,  at 
once  refutes  the  Epicurean  hypothesis,  and  proves  that  the  Divine 
Being  does  interest  himself  in  the  affairs  of  men. 

When,  how^ever,  w^e  examine  the  Scriptures  themselves — when  we 
reflect  upon  the  history  of  the  human  family,  mark  the  fulfillment  of 
prophecy,  and  contemplate  the  judgments,  the  deliverances,  and  the 
Innumerable  acts  of  love  and  condescending  mercy  experienced  by 
the  race  of  Adam  at  the  hands  of  the  beneficent  Creator,  no  language 
can  be  found  adequate  to  express  the  unmeasured  depth  of  his  good- 
ness, and  no  human  power  able  to  enumerate  the  countless  instances 
of  his  watchful  care  and  superintendence. 

Some  arguments,  drawn  from  the  Scriptures,  we  will  briefly  notice: 

1.  In  the  sacred  oracles  God  has  delivered  to  the  human  family 
from  the  beginning  great  and  precious  promises — promises  which  have 
been  accomplished  in  every  age,  which  are  now  in  the  act  of  accom- 
plishment, or  which  are  yet  to  be  accomplished;  and  which,  involving 
as  they  do  the  fates  and  fortunes  of  empires  as  well  as  individuals, 
of  cities  and  the  globe  itself,  necessarily  depend  entirely  upon  the 
divine  agency  for  their  fulfillment.  Without  supposing  such  an  agency 
in  human  affairs,  such  directing,  governing,  and  overruling  power 
over  the  destinies  of  the  kingdoms  and  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and 
the  laws  and  elements  of  the  material  universe,  no  one  can  explain 
the  accomplishment  of  these  promises  and  predictions. 

2.  It  is  upon  this  doctrine,  too,  that  all  prayer  is  founded.  It  is 
the  belief  that  God  will  hear — the  confident  assurance  that  he  will 
grant  the  just  petitions  of  his  people,  by  which  they  are  emboldened 
to  approach  the  throne  of  favor — by  which  even  they  are  entitled  to 
expect  the  boon — for  he  that  doubts  must  not  suppose  "he  will  receive 
anything  from  the  Lord."  Without  a  sincere  conviction  and  lively 
sense,  then,  of  the  divine  agency  in  the  preservation  and  government 
of  the  world,  prayer,  one  of  the  most  important  and  necessary  duties 
and  highest  privileges  of  the  Christian,  becomes  nothing  but  a  cere- 
monious mockery — an  absurd  theory — and  a  useless  practice. 

3.  The  denial  of  the  doctrine  is  characteristic  of  the  wicked.  Thus 
David  says,  "They  encourage  themselves  in  an  evil  matter;  they  com- 
mune of  laying  snares  secretly;  they  say,  Who  shall  see  them?"  (Ps. 
1x1  v.  5).  "He  hath  said  it  in  his  heart,  God  hath  forgotten,  he  hideth 
his  face,  he  will  never  see  it"  (Ps.  x.  11).  "Yet  they  say.  The  Lord 
shall  not  see,  neither  shall  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it"  (Ps.  xciv.  7). 
'Is  not  this  great  Babylon,"  said  Nebuchadnezzar,  "that  I  have  built 
for  the  house  of  the  kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the 
honor  of  my  majesty?"     But  "while  the  word  was  yet  in  the  king's 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  11 

mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  O  king  Nebuchadnezzar, 
to  thee  it  is  spoken:  the  kingdom  is  departed  from  thee.  And  they 
shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy  dwelling  shall  be  with  the  beasts 
of  the  field:  they  shall  make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times 
shall  pass  over  thee,  until  thou  know  that  the  Moat  llitjh  ruleth  in  the 
kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  he  will." 

4.  The  superintending  rare  of  God  is,  on  the  other  hand,  the  fre- 
quent theme  of  the  righteous  under  former  institutions.  Thus  Job 
xxi.  4,  "Doth  he  not  see  my  ways  and  count  all  my  steps?"  And 
David  (Ps.  xxxiii.  18,  19),  "Behold,  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them 
that  fear  him — upon  them  that  hope  in  his  mercy;  to  deliver  their 
soul  from  death  and  keep  them  alive  in  famine."  Again,  Ps.  xciv. 
8,  9,  10,  "Undor-stand,  ye  bruti.sh  among  the  people;  and  ye  fools,  when 
will  ye  be  wise?  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  And 
he  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see?  He  that  chasteneth  tho 
heathen,  shall  not  he  correct?  And  he  that  teach eth  men  knowledge, 
shall  not  he  know?  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  man  that  they 
are   vanity."      From   this   belief   Hezekiah    prays,    "Incline   thine    ear, 

0  Lord,  and  see  and  hear  all  the  words  of  Sennacherib,  which  he  hath, 
sent  to  reproach  the  living  God."     And  Jeremiah  exclaims,  "O  Lord, 

1  know  that  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself:  it  is  not  in  man  that 
walketh   to  direct  his  steps." 

5.  In  the  New  Testament  the  same  doctrine  is  expressly  taught. 
Paul  declares  to  the  Lycaonians  (Acts  xiv.  17),  "He  left  not  himself 
without  witness,  in  that  he  did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven, 
and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  And 
again,  to  the  Athenians,  "In  him  we  live,  are  moved,  and  have  our 
being,  as  certain  of  your  own  poets  have  said.  For  we  are  also  his 
offspring."  And  finally,  he  "who  spoke  as  never  man  spoke,"  thus  in 
his  own  beautiful  and  impressive  manner,  taught  his  disciples:  "Are 
not  two  .sparrows  sold  for  a  penny?  yet  neither  of  them  falleth  to  the 
ground  without  the  will  of  your  Father.  Nay,  the  very  hairs  of  your 
head  are  all  numbered"  (Matt.  x.  29,  30).  No  language  can  more 
emphatically  express  the  notice  and  superintendence  of  God.  No  man 
can  tell  the  number  of  the  hairs  of  his  own  head — hut  God  has 
numbered  them  every  one! 

It  would,  however,  require  me  to  transcribe  much  of  both  Old  ani 
New  Testament,  were  all  the  references  and  allusions  to  the  divine 
agency  in  the  preservation  and  government  of  the  world,  to  be  noticed 
and  enumerated.  Enough  of  evidence  has  been  presented  from  reason 
and  revelation  to  place  the  doctrine  beyond  dispute,  and  lead  every 
one,  we  trust,  to  say  with  David,  "O  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  m^ 
and  known  me.  Thou  knowept  my  down-sitting  and  up-rising:  thou 
understandest  my  thoughts  afar  off.     Thou   compa.ssest  my  path  and 


12  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

my  lying-down,  and  art  acquainted  with  ail  my  ways.  For  there  is 
not  a  word  in  my  tongue,  but  lo,  O  Lord,  thou  Icnowest  it  altogether. 
Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and  before,  and  laid  thine  hand  upon  me. 
Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me — it  is  too  high,  I  can  not 
attain  unto  it.  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit,  or  whither  shall  1 
flee  from  thy  presence?  If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there: 
if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold  thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings 
of  the  morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even  there 
shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me.  If  I  say, 
Surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me,  even  the  nighij  shall  be  light  about 
me — yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee,  but  the  night  shineth  as 
the  day;  the  darkness  and  the  light  to  thee  are  both  alike."  To  Him, 
therefore,  "through  whom  and  by  whom  and  to  whom  are  all  things." 
be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen.  r.  r.,  1836. 

PRESERVATION. 

0  Lord!   thou  preservest   man  and   beast. — David. 

By  preservation  is  meant  the  constant  supply  of  the  necessary  wants 
of  all  animated  creatures,  and  the  sustaining  their  being  and  their 
powers  and  faculties,  together  with  the  natural  or  fixed  order  and 
constitution  of  the  universe.  As  the  main  spring  of  a  watch  con- 
stantly yet  silently  supplies  to  the  wheels  that  power  which  enables 
them  to  fulfill  the  purposes  or  perform  the  motions  for  which  they  were 
fitted  by  art,  so  it  is  by  the  continued  agency  of  the  Creator  that  all 
things  are  sustained  in  their  appointed  courses,  and  enabled  to  accom- 
plish those  actions  or  operations  upon  which  the  well-being,  and  even 
the  existence,  of  the  universe  depend.  The  preservation  of  the  world 
ip  to  be  distinguished  from  the  government  of  it,  as  we  have  already 
stated;  and  this  distinction,  as  Sherlock  has  ably  shown,  is  of  much 
importance.  For,  as  to  sustain  the  natural  faculties  and  powers  of  all 
creatures,  is  merely  to  continue  that  constitution  or  being  with  which 
they  were  at  first  created,  it  follows  that  the  sins  of  wicked  men  are 
in  no  wise  chargeable  upon  God,  even  though  his  power  preserve  the 
action  of  the  very  faculties  which  they  misuse.  It  becomes  the  Cre- 
ator to  preserve  the  natures  and  faculties  of  the  beings  he  has  formed, 
and  if  they  misuse  these  powers  he  can  no  more  be  blamed  for  this 
than  for  creating  them  at  first  with  such  powers.  Hence  all  the 
objections  offered  upon  the  score  of  God's  sustaining  wicked  men  in 
life  and  being  fall  to  the  ground.  The  mere  preservation  of  their 
natural  powers  does  not  imply  the  exertion  of  any  influence,  or  the 
suggestion  of  any  motive  to  induce  them  to  employ  those  faculties  in 
an  unlawful  manner,  or  for  a  wicked  purpose.  And  it  is  evident  that 
the  withholding  any  power  in  every  instance  in  which  it  was  about 
to  be  abused,  would  entirely  change  the  constitution  of  things — make 


THE    AJILLESXIAL    IIARISIXGER    ABRIDGED.  13 

men  mere  puppets,  and  often  I'rustrate  the  purposes  of  God  both  in 
delivering  the  righteous  and  punishing  the  wicked  in  this  world.  That 
God  does  uccasionally  thus  withhold  his  blessings  and  interfere  with 
men  in  many  ways,  is  certain.  But  this  we  will  consider  under  the 
head  of  government,  as  it  is  quite  a  different  branch  of  the  subject, 
and  entirely  distinct  from  that  constant  and  uninterrupted  agency  by 
which  the  natural  constitution  of  things  is  r.ustained  and  perpetuated. 

This  agency  is  not  less  certain,  because  it  is  insensibly  and  silently 
exerted.  The  motions  of  the  earth  and  of  the  heavenly  bodies  are 
constant,  but  imperceptible.  The  grateful  dews  of  heaven  descend 
invisibly,  and  are  perhaps  noticed  only  in  the  bloom  they  leave  upon 
the  meadows.  Thus  the  invisible  agency  of  the  Divine  Being  is  per- 
ceived and  demonstrated  in  its  effects;  as  the  human  spirit,  though 
unseen,  is  known  by  the  actions  which  it  performs;  and  the  Creator 
thus  sustains  the  universe,  as  the  human  heart  supplies  life  to  the 
frame  by  its  unwearied  action  by  night  and  by  day,  when  we  are 
awake  or  asleep,  in  motion,  or  at  rest,  though  we  may  be  wholly 
unconscious  and  insensible  of  its  beating. 

That  the  power  of  God  is  exerted  in  sustaining  and  preserving  the 
world  equally  as  in  its  creation,  is  expressly  asserted  by  the  apostle 
Peter.  "By  the  w'ord  of  God,"  says  he,  "the  heavens  were  of  old,  and 
the  earth  subsisting  from  the  water  and  by  water,  by  which  the  world 
that  then  was,  being  deluged  with  water,  perished.  But  the  present 
heavens  and  the  earth,  by  the  same  icord  are  treasured  up,  being  kept 
for  fire  to  a  day  of  judgment,  and  destruction  of  ungodly  men."  The 
same  phraseology  is  here  used  to  express  the  Divine  agency  in  pre- 
serving the  world  as  in  creating  it.  The  worlds  were  made  by  the 
"word  of  God" — they  are  "treasured  up"  and  "kept"  by  "the  same  word." 

It  is,  too,  upon  the  preserving  care  of  God  and  his  goodness  in 
supplying  the  wants  of  his  creatures  that  the  ancient  saints  have 
delighted  to  dwell.  "By  terrible  things  in  righteousness,"  says  David, 
"wilt  thou  answer  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation;  who  art  the  confidence 
of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  of  them  that  are  afar  off  upon  the 
sea:  which  by  his  strength  setteth  fast  the  mountains;  being  girded 
with  power:  which  stilleth  the  noise  of  the  sea,  the  noise  of  their  waves 
and  the  tumult  of  the  people.  They  also  that  dwell  in  the  uttermost 
parts  are  afraid  of  thy  tokens;  thou  niakest  the  outgoings  of  the 
morning  and  evening  to  rejoice.  Thou  visitest  the  earth,  and  waterest 
it:  thou  greatly  enrichest  it  with  the  river  of  God,  which  is  full  of 
water:  thou  preparest  them  corn,  when  thou  hast  so  provided  for  it. 
Thou  waterest  the  ridges  thereof  abundantly;  thou  settest  the  furrows 
thereof:  thou  makest  it  soft  with  showers;  thou  blessest  the  springing 
thereof:  thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness;  and  thy  paths 
drop   fatness.     They   drop   upon   the  pastures   of  the  wilderness;    and 


14  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  little  hills  rejoice  on  every  side.  The  pastures  are  clothed  with 
flocks:  the  valleys  also  are  covered  over  with  corn:  they  shout  for 
joy,  they  also  sing."  And  again  in  the  104th  Psalm: — "Bless  the  Lord, 
0  my  soul.  0  Lord  my  God,  thou  art  very  great;  thou  art  clothed 
with  honor  and  majesty:  who  coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with  a 
garment;  who  stretchest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain;  who  layeth 
the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters;  who  maketh  the  clouds  his 
chariot;  who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind;  who  maketh  his 
angels  spirits;  his  ministers  a  flaming  flre;  who  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  removed  for  ever.  Thou  coveredst 
it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  garment:  the  waters  stood  above  the  moun- 
tains. At  thy  rebuke  they  fled:  at  the  voice  of  thy  thunder  they  hasted 
away.  They  go  up  by  the  mountains;  they  go  down  by  the  valleys 
unto  the  place  which  thou  hast  founded  for  them.  Thou  hast  set  a 
bound  that  they  may  not  pass  over,  that  they  turn  not  again  to  cover 
the  earth.  They  give  drink  to  every  beast  of  the  field:  the  wild  asses 
quench  their  thirst.  By  them  shall  the  fowls  of  heaven  have  their 
habitation,  which  sing  among  the  branches.  He  watereth  the  hills 
from  his  chambers:  the  earth  is  satisfied  with  the  fruit  of  thy  works. 
He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  the  herb  for  the  service 
of  man,  that  he  may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the  earth;  and  wine  that 
maketh  glad  the  heart  of  man,  and  oil  to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and 
bread  which  strengtheneth  man's  heart.  The  trees  of  the  Lord  are 
full  of  sap;  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  which  he  hath  planted;  where  the 
birds  make  their  nests:  as  for  the  stork,  the  fir-trees  are  her  house. 
The  high  hills  are  a  refuge  for  the  wild  goats,  and  the  rocks  for  the 
conies.  He  appointed  the  moon  for  seasons:  the  sun  knoweth  his 
going  down.  Thou  makest  darkness,  and  it  is  night,  wherein  all  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  do  creep  forth.  The  young  lions  roar  after  their 
prey,  and  seek  their  meat  from  God.  The  sun  ariseth,  they  gather 
themselves  together,  and  lay  down  in  their  dens.  Man  goeth  forth 
unto  his  work,  and  to  his  labor,  until  the  evening.  0  Lord,  how  mani- 
fold are  thy  works!  in  wisdom  hast  thou  jnade  them  all:  the  earth 
is  full  of  thy  riches;  so  is  this  great  and  wide  sea,  wherein  are  things 
creeping  innumerable,  both  small  and  great  beasts.  There  go  the 
ships;  there  is  that  leviathan,  whom  thou  hast  made  to  play  therein. 
These  wait  all  upon  thee,  that  thou  mayest  give  them  their  meat  in 
due  season.  That  thou  givest  them,  they  gather:  thou  openest  thine 
hand,  they  are  filled  with  good.  Thou  hidest  thy  face,  they  are 
troubled;  thou  takest  away  their  breath,  they  die,  and  return  to 
their  dust.  Thou  sendest  forth  thy  spirit,  they  are  created;  and  thou 
renewest  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  endure 
forever:   the  Lord  shall  rejoice  in  his  works." 


THE    MILLEXMAL    tlAh'BIXGIJK    ABRIDGED.  15 

The  same  doctrine,  as  we  have  already  shown,  is  taught  under  the 
New  Institution.  How  striking  and  beautilul  are  the  sayings  of  our 
Lord  in  his  sermon  on  the  mounti  "I  charge  you,  be  not  anxious 
about  your  life,  what  you  shall  eat  or  what  you  shall  drink;  nor  about 
your  body,  what  you  shall  wear.  Is  not  life  a  greater  gift  than  food, 
and  the  body  than  raiment?  Observe  the  fowls  of  heaven.  They 
neither  sow  nor  reap.  Thoy  have  no  storehouse;  but  your  heavenly 
Father  feeds  them.  Are  you  not  much  more  valuable  than  they? 
Besides,  which  of  you  can  by  his  anxiety  prolong  his  life  one  hour? 
And  why  are  you  anxious  about  raiment?  Mark  the  lilies  of  the  field. 
How  do  they  grow?  They  toil  not:  they  spin  not.  Yet  I  affirm  that 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  equally  adorned  with  one  of 
these.  If,  then,  God  so  array  the  herbage,  which  to-day  is  in  the  field, 
and  to-morrow  will  be  cast  into  the  oven,  will  he  not  much  more 
array  you,  O  you  distrustful  I  Therefore  say  not  anxiously  (as  the 
heathens  do).  What  shall  we  eat;  or  what  shall  we  drink;  or  with 
what  shall  we  be  clothed?  For  your  heavenly  Father  knows  that 
you  need  all  these  things.  But  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
the  righteousness  required  by  him;  and  all  these  things  shall  be 
superadded  to  you."  It  was  he  also  who  taught  his  disciples 
to  address  to  the  Father  the  petition,  "Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread." 

It  were  much  to  be  desired  that  Christians  manifested  in  our  day 
that  confidence  in  the  superintending  care  of  God  which  so  well  becomes 
their  profession.  It  must  be  very  evident  to  the  most  casual  observer, 
that  in  this,  as  well  as  in  almost  everything  else,  they  have  sadly 
apostatized  from  ancient  Christianity.  Nothing  is  more  certain  indeed 
than  that  in  this  respect  they  are  now  far  excelled — (I  am  ashamed 
to  write  it) — even  by  the  ignorant  Turks!  These  indeed  have  a  strong 
dependence  upon  Providence.  We  are  told  that  while  Burchardt  was 
on  the  road  to  Mecca,  where  provisions  are  often  scarce,  he  contrived 
very  dexterously  to  put  some  bread  which  had  been  left  into  his 
sleeve.  Upon  this  a  Turk  said  to  him,  "Now  I  have  discovered  you! 
You  are  a  Christian  dog,  and  because  you  did  not  trust  Providence  for 
a  single  day,  you  have  stolen  the  bread." 

There  is  nothing  more  conducive  to  the  happiness  as  well  as  the 
safety  of  the  Christian,  than  to  encourage  himself  in  a  constant 
dependence  upon  God,  "who  giveth  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy;"  and 
nothing  more  honorable  to  him  or  consonant. with  his  profession  than 
to  abound  in  thanksgivings  to  Cod  "at  all  times  for  all  things."  Nor 
is  there  on  the  other  hand  anything  more  incompatible  or  inconsistent 
with  his  character  than  unthankfulness  and  ingratitude.  We  can  not, 
however,  better  close  our  reflections  upon  this  subject  than  by  the 
following 


16  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"word   from   old    HUMPHREY   ON    UNREASONABLENESS. 

"Surely  man  is  the  most  unreasonable  of  all  God's  creatures.  Feed 
the  birds  of  the  air,  or  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  they  will  be  sat- 
isfied;  but  the  more  that  is  given  to  man,  the  more  he  requires." 

"If  he  have  riches,  he  will  hug  his  bags  of  gold,  and  carry  out  his 
plans  to  increase  them.  If  he  have  estates,  he  will  join  house  to 
house,  field  to  field,  and  vineyard  to  vineyard:  give  him  a  country, 
or  a  kingdom,  and  he  will  crave  for  more. 

"When  we  rise  in  the  morning,  we  expect  to  pass  through  the  day 
prosperously.  If  we  lie  down  to  rest  at  night,  we  expect  to  enjoy 
refreshing  slumber.  If  we  propose  a  journey,  we  expect  to  perform 
it  unmolested  and  uninjured. 

"If  we  pass  through  one  birthday,  we  expect  to  arrive  at  another 
in  good  health;  to  eat  and  to  drink,  to  ride  and  to  walk,  to  wake  and 
to  sleep,  in  peace;  without  considering  that  these  things  can  not  take 
place  unless  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  keep  us  from  a  thousand 
temptations,  and  deliver  us  from  ten  thousand  dangers. 

"So  continually  are  we  partaking  of  God's  blessings,  that  we  look 
on  them  as  things  of  course;  the  seed  we  sow  must,  in  our  apprehen- 
sion, spring  up  abundantly;  our  tables  must  be  provided  for,  and  the 
mercies  of  yesterday  must  be  supplied  to-day,  and  those  of  this  year 
continued  to  us  through  the  next.  How  seldom  do  we  offer  up  the 
prayer,  'Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,'  with  a  full  consciousness 
of  our  entire  dependence  on  our  heavenly  Father  for  our  earthly  sup- 
plies; and  how  frequently  do  we  feel  more  gratitude  to  our  fellow 
worms  for  a  passing  act  of  kindness,  than  to  the  Lord  of  life  and 
glory,  for  his  permanent  and  unmerited  mercies.  We  bow  and  cringe 
to  a  fellow-sinner,  to  obtain  at  his  hands  the  empty  baubles  of  an 
hour;  while  the  love  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  the  means  of  favor, 
and  the  hope  of  eternal  glory,  are  sought  for  with  indifference. 

"Let  us  look  more  on  our  common  mercies  as  the  gifts  of  God. 
Let  our  health  and  our  strength,  our  days  and  our  nights,  our  bits  and 
our  drops,  and  our  meanest  comforts,  be  regarded  as  being  bestowed 
by  a  heavenly  benefactor,  and  bear  in  mind  our  own  unworthiness, 
that  we  may  be  more  reasonable  in  our  desires,  and  more  grateful 
when   they  are  attained."  R.   R.     1836. 

GOVERNMENT    OF    GOD. 

"Let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and 
knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the  Lord  which  exercise  loving-kindness,  judg- 
ment, and  righteousness  in  the  earth;  for  in  these  things  I  delight, 
saith   the   Lord." — Jeremiah. 

Government  implies  overruling  power,  authority,  or  dominion 
exercised  by  any  one,  either  in  person  or  by   delegation.     The  idea, 


THE    MILLKSSIAL    tlAliliISai:i{    AlililDQEU.  17 

then,  of  the  divine  government  of  the  universe  is,  that  God  exerts 
such  an  overruling  power  in  directing  and  controlling  the  order, 
motions,  powers,  and  actions  of  all  created  things  or  beings.  It  does 
not  consist  in  a  mere  permitting  certain  events  to  happen,  or  a  mere 
general  superintendence  over  the  regular  operations  and  laws  of  the 
universe;  but  in  an  active  and  overruling  influence  or  agency, 
employed  in  the  accomplishment  of  certain  important  purposes,  which 
purposes  constitute  the  proper  ends  of  government.  These  are  mainly 
the  disappointing  of  the  designs  of  the  wicked  and  the  protection  of 
the  innocent — the  distribution  of  punishments  to  the  wicked,  and 
rewards  to  the  righteous. 

Such  are  the  objects  of  all  government,  and  hence  the  ultimate 
relation  of  all  government  is  to  intelligent  beings,  and  though  all 
things  are  governed  whether  animate  or  inanimate,  mind  or  matter, 
it  is  upon  the  higher  orders  of  creation  which  are  possessed  of  under- 
standing and  accountability  that  all  the  purposes  of  government  ter- 
minate, as  it  is  for  them  indeed  that  inferior  things  exist.  Thus  the 
earth  which  we  inhabit  is  for  the  abode  of  man.  "The  heaven,  even 
the  heavens,"  says  David,  "are  the  Lord's;  but  the  earth  hath  he 
given  to  the  children  of  men."  And  while  the  elements,  and  that 
inferior  constitution  of  things  which  exist  for  man,  are  controlled, 
they  are  rather  the  instruments  than  the  proper  subjects  of  the  divine 
government. 

Government  differs  from  preservation  in  this,  that  while  the  latter 
merely  sustains  the  established  order  or  existence  of  things,  the 
former  directs  and  employs  what  is  thus  sustained  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  purposes  specified.  Thus  while  Paul  declared  to  the 
Athenians  that  "God  gave  to  all  life  and  breath  and  all  things,"  he 
also  afl[irmed  that  "he  was  Loud  of  heaven  and  earth."  The  acts  of 
preservation,  too,  are  constantly  required — but  this  is  not  the  case 
with  many  of  the  acts  which  belong  to  government.  Thus  under 
human  government  we  enjoy,  for  a  long  time,  peace  and  protection, 
without  any  visible  action  on  the  part  of  the  government,  and  we 
remain  as  it  were  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  any  law  until  that  law 
is  broken.  A  man  may  be  a  thief  or  a  murderer  in  his  heart,  but  it 
i<;  only  when  he  commits  evil  or  attempts  to  do  so,  that  government 
makes  itself  visible  in  prevention  or  punishment.  So  with  the  divine 
government;  and  whenever  the  actions  of  any  one  are  likely  to  affect 
any  other  person,  then  it  is  that  the  providence  of  God  is  concerned, 
either  to  permit,  prevent,  punish,  or  reward  such  actions.  There  are, 
however,  some  other  special  acts,  as  changing  laws,  fulfilling  treaties, 
covenants,  etc.,  arising  from  the  various  internal  or  external  relations 
of  society,  in  which  the  agency  of  government,  whether  it  be  human 
or  divine,  may  be  displayed. 


18  THE    AlILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.- 

That  the  absolute  control  of  all  the  various  departments  of  crea- 
tion is  in  the  hands  of  God,  is  clearly  taught  in  the  Scriptures.  "He 
doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto 
him,  What  doest  thou?"  "The  Lord  reigneth,"  says  David,  "let  the 
earth  rejoice."  "All  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  given  unto  me," 
said  Jesus,  the  "King  whom  God  hath  set  upon  Zion's  holy  hill,"  upon 
whose  "shoulders"  now  rests  the  "government,"  and  whose  "reign" 
shall  continue  until  all  his  enemies  are  subdued.  For  it  is  to  him 
that  the  reins  of  universal  empire  are  now  committed,  and  to  him  that 
"angels  and  authorities  and  powers  are  made  subject."  Seated  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  his  foes  shall  be  made  his  footstool;  and  though 
the  "kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together  against  the  Lord  and  against  his  Anointed,  he  that  sitteth 
in  the  heavens  shall  laugh,  the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision — for 
to  the  Son  hath  he  given  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.  He  shall  break  them 
with  a  rod  of  iron,  he  shall  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel." 
"The  Father  loveth  the  Son,"  said  Jesus,  "and  hath  given  all  things 
into  his  hands" — "Blesised,  therefore,  are  they  who  put  their  trust  in 
him,"  and  who  "honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor  the  Father."  "For 
the  Lord,"  says  David,  "is  the  salvation  of  the  righteous,  and  he  is 
their  strength  in  time  of  trouble." 

We  will  now  briefly  consider  the  means  by  which  the  purposes  of 
the  divine  government  are  accomplished  as  it  regards  the  human 
family. 

1.  By  the  agency  of  the  elements,  or  by  what  are  called  natural 
phenomena.  Thus  in  displaying  his  goodness  and  long-suffering,  "he 
sends  rain  upon  the  just  and  unjust,"  and  gives  to  men  "showers  of 
rain  from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  their  hearts  with  food 
and  gladness."  Or,  in  order  to  punish  and  reform  the  disobedient,  he 
deprives  them  of  these  blessings,  as  he  declares  in  Amos  iv.  6,  "And 
I  also  have  given  you  cleanness  of  teeth  in  all  your  cities,  and  want 
of  bread  in  all  your  places:  yet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  saith 
the  Lord.  And  also  I  have  withholden  the  rain  from  you,  when  there 
were  yet  three  months  to  the  harvest:  and  I  caused  it  to  rain  upon 
one  city,  and  caused  it  not  to  rain  upon  another  city:  one  place  was 
rained  upon,  and  the  place  whereupon  it  rained  not  withered.  So  two 
01  three  cities  wandered  into  one  city,  to  drink  water;  but  they  were 
not  satisfied:  yet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord.  I  have 
smitten  you  with  blasting  and  mildew:  when  your  gardens,  and  your 
vineyards,  and  your  fig-trees,  and  your  olive-trees  increased,  tho 
palmer-worm  devoured  them;  yet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  saith 
the  Lord."     By  the  controlling  of  natural  influences  Jeremiah  distin- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  19 

gulshes  (Jod  from  the  idols  of  the  heathen.     He  asks,  "Are  there  any 
among  the  vanities  of  the  Gentiles  that  can  cause  rain?     Or  can  the 
heavens  give   showers?     Art   not  thou   he,   O   Lord  our   God?"     The 
Lord   himself  inquires  of   Job,   "Canst   thou   lift   up   thy   voice  to   the 
clouds,  that  abundance  of  waters  may  cover  thee?     Canst  thou  send 
lightnings  that  they  may  go  and  say  unto  thee.  Here  we  are?"    "What- 
soever the  Lord  pleased,"  says  David,  "that  did  he  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,  in   the   seas  and   all   deep  places.     He   causeth   the   vapors  to 
ascend  from  the  ends  of  the  earth:  he  maketh  lightnings  for  the  rain: 
he  bringeth   the  wind  out  of  his  treasuries"    (Ps.   cxxxv.).     And  in 
Ps.  cxlviii.  he  represents  the  "stormy  wind"  as  "fulfllling  his  word.' 
Paul  in  Hebrews,  quoting  Ps.  civ.,  says.  He  "maketh  winds  his  angels 
and  flaming  fire  his  ministers."     H  was  accordingly  by  a  strong  east 
wind  that  God  brought  the  locusts  from  the  deserts  upon  the  land  of 
Egypt — and  by  a  west  wind  that  he  cast  them  into  the  Red  Sea.     It 
was  by  lightnings  and  fire  and  hail  that  he  destroyed  the  crops  of  the 
Egyptians  and  "all  that  was  in  the  field."     "He  destroyed  their  vines 
with   hail,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "and  their  sycamore  trees  with   great 
hailstones.     He  gave  up  their  cattle  also  to  the  hail,  and  their  flocks 
to  hot  thunderbolts" — and  thus  "cast  upon  them  the  fierceness  of  his 
anger"  by  "sending,"  as  he  says,  "evil  angels  among  them."     Again, 
it  was  by  "the  wind"  that  he  "brought  quails  from  the  sea"  for  the 
children  of  Israel.     (Num.  xi.  31.)     "He  caused,"  says  David,  "an  east 
wind  to  blow  in  from  heaven;   and  by  his  power  he  brought  in  the 
south  wind:   he  rained  flesh  also  upon  them  as  dust,  and  feathered 
fowl  like  as  the  sand  of  the  sea;  and  he  let  it  fall  in  the  midst  of  their 
camp,   round  about  their  habitations"    (Ps.  Ixxviii.).     It  was  also  by 
"a  strong  east  wind"  that  ho  caused  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  to 
"go  back  all  night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land"  for  the  Israelites  to 
pass  over.     In  this  occurrence,  however,  there  was  also  a  miraculous 
agency,  for  the  waters  "stood  like  a  wall  upon  their  right  hand  and 
upon  their  left."     And  here  we  may  observe,  that  in  bringing  about 
certain  events  both  a  providential  and  miraculous  agency  are  employed. 
As  far  as  natural  causes  or  ordinary  agencies  can  be  useful,  they  are 
employed,  and  miracles   (which  we  have  said  involve  an  interruption 
of  established  laws)  are  then,  if  necessary,  superadded.     For  instance, 
when  "certain  Chaldeans"  accused  the  three  Hebrew  captives,  because 
they  would  not  worship  the  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  they  were 
thrown   into  the  fiery  furnace,   it  was  miraculous  power  which   pre- 
vented the  flames  from  hurting  theni;   but  in  the  destruction  of  their 
enemies,  who  were  slain  by  the  flame  of  the  fire  while  executing  the 
king's  urgent  command,  we  perceive  no  miracle,   but  the  providence 
of  God.     Again,  it  was  through  a  miracle  that  Daniel  escaped  in  the 
lions'  den;  but  the  lions  acted  in  accordance  with  their  nature,  when 


20  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

they  tore  in  pieces  the  enemies  of  Daniel,  who,  by  means  of  the  divine 
or   providential   agency,   were    thrown    within    their   power. 

We  can  easily  see,  then,  how  the  Divine  Being  can  often  accom- 
plish the  important  purposes  of  government  by  means  of  natural 
agents.  He  thus  punishes  his  enemies  and  delivers  his  people,  and 
by  means  of  pestilence  and  famine,  by  earthquakes,  and  the  direction 
and  control  of  ordinary  and  established  influences,  he  can  not  only 
circumvent  and  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  wicked,  but  bring  down 
upon  their  own  heads  the  evil  which  they  designed  for  others. 
He  thus  changes  the  purposes  of  kings,  and  defeats  their  armies,  as 
when  he  brought  the  simoon  upon  the  army  of  Sennacherib  and 
destroyed  in  one  night  185,000  men,  causing  him  to  return  with  shame 
into  his  own  land,  because  he  defied  the  Lord  and  sought  to  take  Jeru- 
salem. Queen  Elizabeth  was  so  much  impressed  with  a  sense  of  divine 
agency  in  the  dispersion  of  that  immense  armament,  the  Spanish 
Armada,  and  its  destruction  by  storms  and  tempests,  so  that  they 
could  not  even  effect  a  landing  in  England,  that  she  had  a  medal 
struck  upon  the  occasion,  representing  a  fleet  beaten  by  a  tempest 
and  the  ships  dashing  upon  each  other,  with  the  motto  Afflavit  Deus 
ET  uissipantur:  "He  blew  ivitJi  his  ivind  and  they  were  scattered." 

2.  By  means  of  the  animal  and  insect  tribes.  Thus  flies,  frogs,  and 
locusts  became  the  instruments  of  punishment  to  the  Egyptians,  and 
flying  serpents  to  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness.  Thus  a  lion  met 
the  disobedient  man  of  God  who  prophesied  against  the  altar  at  Bethel 
and  slew  him,  but  was  not  permitted  to  devour  the  body  nor  tear  the 
ass  upon  which  he  rode.  Bears  also  came  out  of  the  wood  and 
destroyed  the  children  who  mocked  Elisha;  and  worms  devoured 
Herod,  when,  after  his  speech,  the  people  cried,  "It  is  the  voice  of  a 
god  and  not  of  a  man!"  and  he  did  not  give  God  the  glory. 

3.  By  a  concurrence  of  circumstances.  It  is  well  known  how 
great  an  influence  the  peculiar  circumstances  which  surround  men 
have  upon  them,  and  how  the  most  important  events  are  brought  about 
by  circumstances  often  of  the  most  trivial  character.  Thus  Joseph's 
dreams  excited  the  hatred  of  his  brethren — his  father  sent  him  down 
to  them  in  Dothan — they  conspired  to  kill  him — but  it  happened  as 
it  were  accidentally  that  certain  Ishmaelites  passed  by  on  their  way 
to  Egypt,  and  they  sold  him  to  them — they  took  him  to  Egypt — he  was 
there  tempted  and  imprisoned,  but  afterwards  liberated  when  recalled 
to  the  memory  of  the  chief  butler  by  the  apparently  trifling  circum- 
stance of  Pharaoh's  dream — and  finally  exalted  to  great  power  in 
Egypt.  Thus,  by  a  singular  train  of  circumstances,  not  only  his 
dreams  were  verified,  and  his  brethren  brought  to  bow  before  him, 
but  the  preservation  of  Egypt  and  the  prophecy  of  God  to  Abraham 
that  Israel  should  sojourn  in  a  strange  land  four  hundred  years  were 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  21 

accomplished.  Yet  all  these  important  ends  were  ordered  and  brought 
about  by  the  Divine  Being.  "As  for  you,"  said  Joseph  to  his  brethren, 
"ye  thought  evil  against  me,  but  God  meant  it  unto  good."  That  Is 
to  say,  "you  intended  evil,  but  God  disappointed  your  designs,  and 
brought  the  most  happy  consequences  out  of  your  evil  action." 

Sometimes,  indeed,  God  hinders  the  actions  of  the  wicked,  but  at 
other  times  he  permits  these  to  take  place,  and  then  counteracts  their 
designs  and  brings  upon  themselves  the  evil  which  they  designed  for 
the  righteous.  Thus  Haman  was,  by  a  peculiar  train  of  circumstances, 
emboldened  to  erect  a  gallows  for  Mordecai.  On  the  other  hand, 
Ahasuerus  was  prepared,  by  reading  during  a  sleepless  night  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Persia  respecting  the  meritorious  conduct  o£ 
Mordecai,  to  meet  Haman  in  the  morning  with  the  question,  "What 
shall  be  done  to  the  man  whom  the  king  delights  to  honor?"  And 
after  he  had  replied  under  the  impression  that  he  himself  was  meant, 
he  was  compelled  to  do  these  very  honors  to  Mordecai,  and  was  finally 
hung  upon  the  gallows  he  had  himself  erected.  Thus  "the  wicked  are 
snared  in  the  work  of  their  own  hands"   (Ps.  ix. ). 

We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy  by  a 
train  of  apparently  accidental  circumstances  in  the  case  of  Ahab.  "In 
the  place,"  said  the  prophet,  "where  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth, 
shall  dogs  lick  thy  blood,  even  thine."  Accordingly  when  Ahab  went 
up  to  fight  against  Ramoth-Cilead,  it  being  foretold  that  he  would 
perish  there,  he  disguised  himself.  But  "a  certain  man"  we  are  told 
"drew  a  bow  at  a  venture,  and  smote  the  king  between  the  joints  of 
his  harness."  Being  then  taken  out  of  the  ranks  and  supported  in 
his  chariot  until  evening,  when  he  died,  the  blood  ran  out  of  the 
wound  into  the  chariot.  Now,  that  chariot  and  his  bloody  armor  were 
washed  subsequently  in  the  pool  of  Samaria,  and  there  dogs  licked  up 
his  blood  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord! 

Thus  it  is  that  the  most  accidental  circumstances  are  directed 
and  overruled  by  the  Divine  Being,  and  by  means  of  a  thousand 
unforeseen  and  casual  occurrences  he  can  frustrate  the  best  laid 
schemes  of  wicked  men,  and  bestow  upon  others  the  most  unexpected 
favors  and   deliverances. 

4.  By  the  agency  of  men.  Good  men,  although  they  have  some- 
times been  made  to  execute  divine  judgments,  are  more  frequently 
made  instruments  to  effect  the  kind  and  benevolent  purposes  of 
Heaven.  They  are  taught  to  be  "a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works,"  and  are  induced  to  engage  in  many  undertakings  which  result 
in  the  most  beneficial  consequences  to  society.  By  them  it  is  that 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  is  spread  abroad  through  all  lands,  and 
the  gospel  of  salvation  presented  to  those  who  are  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins.     And  it  is  with  them  indeed  often  a  subject  of  wonder  and 


22  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

admiration  how  unexpectedly,  and  by  what  simple  circumstances,  they 
have  been  rendered  the  ministers  of  the  most  signal  benefits  to  the 
poor  and  needy — to  the  despairing  sinner — to  the  oppressed — to  the 
orphan  and  the  widow.  Thus  God  has  raised  up  in  every  age  of  the 
world,  from  among  his  people,  the  benefactors  of  mankind.  Noah 
preserved  the  whole  human  race,  and  became  the  heir  and  founder  of 
a  new  world — In  Abraham  and  in  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
are  blessed — And  by  means  of  Luther,  the  dark  ages  of  bigotry  and 
superstition  have  given  place  to  the  light  of  divine  truth,  and  the 
improvements  of  science  and  civilization. 

Wicked  men,  on  the  other  hand,  are  usually  the  instruments  of 
vengeance.  It  is  their  delight  to  do  evil;  and  though  God  never 
prompts  them  to  evil,  yet  when  they  have  determined  upon  any  bad 
action,  it  concerns  him  either  to  hinder  it,  or  direct  where  the  stroke 
shall  fall,  and  perhaps  cause  it,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  to 
descend  upon  the  wicked  person  himself.  In  this  way  one  wicked 
person  is  permitted  to  punish  another,  and  sometimes  even  to  inflict 
chastisement  upon  children  of  God  who  are  disobedient.  Hence  the 
wicked  are  fitly  called  the  sword  of  God.  Thus  David  prays,  "Deliver 
my  soul  from  the  wicked  which  is  thy  stvord."  They  are  also  com- 
pared to  "a  razor."  "In  that  same  day,"  says  Isaiah,  "shall  the  Lord 
shave  with  a  razor  that  is  hired,  namely,  by  them  beyond  the  river, 
by  the  king  of  Assyria,  the  head  and  the  hair  of  the  feet,  and  it  shall 
also  consume  the  beard."  It  is,  however,  to  ravenous  birds  and  beasts 
of  prey  that  they  are  most  frequently  likened.  "Remember  this,"  says 
the  Lord  in  Jeremiah,  "and  show  yourselves  men:  bring  it  again  to 
mind,  O  ye  transgressors.  Remember  the  former  things  of  old:  for 
I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else;  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  like 
me;  declaring  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the 
things  that  are  not  yet  done,  saying.  My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I 
will  do  all  my  pleasure:  calling  a  ravenous  hird  from  the  east,  the 
man  that  executeth  my  counsel  from  a  far  country:  yea,  I  have  spoken 
it,  I  will  also  bring  it  to  pass;  I  have  purposed  it,  I  will  also  do  it." 
"Behold,"  says  Jeremiah,  speaking  of  Edom,  "he  shall  come  up  like  a 
lion  from  the  swelling  of  Jordan  against  the  habitation  of  the  strong." 
And  Ezekiel  says  of  Pharaoh,  "Thou  art  like  a  young  lion  of  the 
nations,  and  thou  art  as  a  whale  in  the  seas.  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
The  sword  ot  the  king  of  Babylon  shall  come  upon  thee — and  by  the 
swords  of  the  mighty  will  I  cause  thy  multitude  to  fall."  Again  in 
Isaiah:  "Therefore  Is  the  anger  of  the  Lord  kindled  against  his  people. 
And  he  will  lift  up  an  ensign  to  the  nations  from  far,  and  will  hiss  unto 
them  from  the  end  of  the  earth:  and  behold  they  shall  come  with 
speed  swiftly— their  roaring  shall  be  like  a  lion,  they  shall  roar  like 
young  lions;  yea,  they  shall  roar,  and  lay  hold  of  the  prey,  and  shall 


TllK    MILLEXXIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  23 

carry  it  away  safe,  and  none  shall  deliver  it."  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
also  that  dragons,  eagles,  lions,  and  various  savage  beasts,  form  the 
symbols  by  which  ambitious  and  wicked  kings  and  rulers  are  com- 
monly represented  in  the  prophecies.  And  in  that  remarkable  and 
affecting  Psalm,  the  22d,  where  the  sufferings  of  Christ  are  spoken  of 
as  being  caused  by  the  wicked,  the  latter  are  represented  under  the 
same  striking  figure:  "Be  not  far  from  me,  for  trouble  is  near;  for 
there  is  none  to  help.  Many  bulla  have  compassed  me:  strong  bulls 
of  Bashan  have  l>eset  me  round.  They  gapod  upon  me  with  their 
moutlis,  as  a  ravening  and  a  roaring  lio7i.  I  am  poured  out  like  water, 
and  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint:  my  heart  is  like  wax:  it  is  melted 
in  the  midst  of  my  bowels.  My  strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd, 
and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my  jaws;  and  thou  hast  brought  me  into 
the  dust  of  death.  For  dogs  have  compassed  me;  the  assembly  of  the 
•wicked  have  inclosed  me:   they  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet." 

Now  it  is  very  evident  that  the  Divine  Being  can  and  does  accom- 
plish many  of  the  important  objects  of  government  by  means  of 
wicked  men — and  this,  not  by  making  them  wicked,  or  suggesting  to 
them  wicked  designs,  but  simply  by  bringing  those  who  are  appointed 
to  suffer  within  their  power,  and  permitting  the  wicked  to  follow  their 
own  natural  inclinations;  just  as  a  criminal  would  be  subjected  to  the 
rage  of  a  wild  beast.  Hence  the  apostle  says  in  reference  to  our 
Saviour:  "Him,  being  given  up  by  the  declared  counsel  and  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  you  have  apprehended,  and  by  the  hands  of  sinners 
have  crucified  and  slain."  The  "giving"  or  "delivei-.ing  vp"  was  God's 
doing — but  the  taking,  crucifying,  and  slaying  was  the  work  of  sin- 
ners, acting  according  to  their  own  evil  disposition.  Yet  in  murder- 
ing the  Prince  of  Life,  they  accomplished  the  purposes  of  God,  else  he 
•would  not  have  given  his  Son  into  their  hands.  This,  however,  does 
not  at  all  alTect  them  as  it  regards  the  question  of  their  own  guiltiness 
or  accountability.  It  is  the  delight  of  the  ungodly  to  do  evil — to  kill 
and  to  destroy,  and  it  is  an  important  part  of  the  divine  government 
to  protect  the  righteous  from  their  machinations,  so  that  they  are 
never  permitted  to  hurt  them,  except  for  some  special  reason.  Hence 
•when  Pilate  said  to  Jesu.s,  "Do  you  not  know  that  I  have  power  to 
crucify  you,  and  power  to  release  you?"  he  replied.  "You  could  have 
no  power  over  me,  unless  it  were  given  you  from  above."  The  wicked, 
then,  are  kept  as  it  were  caged  or  chained,  and  are  not  permitted  to 
do  or  attempt  evil  to  others  except  when  God  pleases,  nor  any  nioro 
evil  than  he  pleases,  or  than  is  necessary  for  their  own  punishment, 
or  that  of  other  wicked  men,  or  the  chastisement  of  his  own  people. 
01  finally  for  the  manifestation  of  the  long-suffering  and  justice  of  the 
divine  character.  Thus  God.  to  inflict  a  certain  degree  of  punishment 
upon  Ahaz,  said  he  would  bring  upon  him  the  king  of  Assyria.     But 


24  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

when  the  king  of  Assyria  came,  he  in  his  pride  and  ambition  blas- 
phemed the  Lord  and  wished  to  take  and  destroy  Jerusalem  altogether. 
"0  Assyrian,"  says  God,  "the  rod  of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their 
hand  is  mine  indignation.  I  will  send  him  against  a  hypocritical 
nation,  and  against  the  people  of  my  wrath  will  I  give  a  charge  to  take 
the  spoil.  However,  he  meaneth  not  so,  neither  doth  his  heart  think 
so:  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut  off  nations  not  a  few. 
Wherefore  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  when  the  Lord  hath  performed 
his  whole  work  on  Mount  Zion  and  on  Jerusalem,  I  will  punish  the 
fruit  of  the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria  and  the  glory  "of  his 
high  looks.  Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth 
therewith?  or  shall  the  saw  magnify  itself  against  him  that  shaketh 
it?  as  if  the  rod  should  shake  itself  against  them  that  lift  it  up, 
or  as  if  the  staff  should  lift  up  itself,  as  if  it  were  no  wood.  There- 
fore shall  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  send  among  his  fat  ones  lean- 
ness; and  under  his  glory  he  shall  kindle  a  burning  like  the  burning 
of  a  fire." 

5.  By  the  ministry  of  .^xgels.  Angelic  beings  have  often  been 
employed  to  carry  into  effect  the  divine  counsels.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
improbable  that  many  of  the  phenomena  of  the  material  universe  which 
we  are  wont  to  attribute  to  visible  or  ordinary  causes,  are  really  occa- 
sioned by-  their  agency.  When  David,  for  instance,  committed  sin  in 
numbering  Israel,  and  the  Lord  gave  him  the  choice  of  three  evils — 
seven  years'  famine,  to  be  defeated  during  three  months  by  his  ene- 
mies, or  three  days'  pestilence,  he  chose  the  latter:  and  the  Lord  sent 
a  pestilence,  and  there  died  70,000  men.  Yet  we  are  told  that  this  was 
done  by  an  angel,  and  that  the  Lord  then  said  to  "the  angel  that 
destroyed,  It  is  enough,  stay  now  thine  hand.  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  stood  by  the  threshing  floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite.  And  David 
lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stand  between  the 
earth  and  the  heaven,  having  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand  stretched  out 
over  Jerusalem."  It  is  said  also  that  it  was  the  "angel  of  the  Lord" 
who  smote  Herod.  The  Scriptures  indeed  abound  with  illustrations 
of  this.  And  that  the  peculiar  class  of  beings  denominated  angels, 
are  made  instruments  of  the  divine  government,  can  not  be  doubted. 
They  have  indeed  in  numberless  instances  been  employed  to  perform 
miracles.  Thus,  an  angel  is  said  to  have  preserved  Daniel  from  the 
lions,  and  to  have  revealed  to  him  visions  of  the  future.  An  angel 
delivered  a  message  to  Zacharias,  and  caused  him  to  be  dumb  in  con- 
sequence of  his  unbelief.  Yet  we  are  expressly  informed  that  they 
are  "ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salva- 
tion;" and  we  know  not  in  how  many  various  ways  they  may,  without 
contravening  any  of  the  ordinary  or  established  laws  of  the  universe, 
defend  and  protect  the  just,  disappoint  the  designs  of  the  wicked,  and 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  23 

give  such  a  direction  to  the  course  of  things  as  to  accomplish  the 
most  important  results. 

Upon  these  delicate  themes  and  thinj^s  invisible  we  presume  not  to 
speculate,  nor  to  say  by  how  many  unknown  and  secret  agencies  the 
Divine  Being  preserves  and  governs  the  world.  It  is  sufficient  to 
know  that  God  may  and  has  accomplished  his  designs  by  the  means 
which  we  have  specified,  and  to  be  assured  that  the  "eyes  of  the  Lord 
are  over  the  righteous,  and  his  ears  open  to  their  supplication;"  that 
"the  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord,  and  he  delighteth 
in  his  way;  and  though  he  fall,  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast  down,  for 
the  Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand:"  that  "although  the  wicked 
plotteth  against  the  just,  and  gnasheth  upon  him  with  his  teeth,  the 
Lord  shall  laugh  at  him;  for  he  seeth  that  his  day  is  coming:"  and 
that  "the  Lord  shall  deliver  the  righteous:  he  shall  deliver  them  from 
the  wicked,  and  save  them  because  they  trust  in  him — because  they 
have  made  the  Most  High  their  refuge;  he  shall  cover  them  with  his 
feathers,  and  under  his  wings  they  shall  trust:  his  truth  shall  be  their 
shield  and  buckler." 

GENERAL    AND    SPECIAL    PROVIDENCE. 

"The  Lord  is  good:  a  strong  hold  in  the  day  of  trouble;  and  he 
knoweth  them  that  trust  in  him." — Naiium. 

"The  general  providence  of  God"  is  a  phrase  employed  by  many 
to  denote  the  agency  which  we  have  considered  under  the  head  of 
Preservation.  Special  providences,  on  the  other  hand,  have  usually 
been  confounded  with  the  interpositions  of  the  Divine  Being  in  the 
government  of  the  world.  It  is  easily  perceived,  however,  that  there 
are  no  just  grounds  for  such  a  distinction  between  government  and 
preservation,  or  for  such  an  application  of  the  terms  general  and 
special,  since  the  agency  employed  in  the  preservation  of  men  may 
be  as  special   as  acts   of  government. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  a  general  superintendence  over  the 
world  consists  in  a  mere  supervision  of  universal  laws  or  principles, 
while  special  providences  are  the  particular  instances  in  which  these 
laws  are  administered  and  applied;  for  we  can  have  no  idea  of  the 
Divine  agency  in  the  affairs  of  men  except  as  it  is  exerted  in  individ- 
ual cases;  nor  can  we  at  all  regard  the  control  of  laws  and  princi- 
ples as  an  end  or  a  peculiar  department  of  the  Divine  government, 
when  it  is  only  the  means  by  which  ulterior  purposes  are  accom- 
plished in  relation  to  intelligent  and  accountable  beings  who  are  the 
only  legitimate  subjects  of  that  control  or  interference  which  is 
termed  providential. 

The  truth  is,  that  as  generals  are  made  up  of  particulars,  we  can 
not  conceive  of  a  general  providence  without  involving  the  idea  of  a 


26  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

special  one;  nor  can  we  imagine  how  the  Divine  Being  can  govern 
the  whole  human  family  without  governing  every  particular  indi- 
vidual who  composes  it.  If,  therefore,  there  be  room  for  the  distinc- 
tion now  under  consideration,  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  peculiar  char- 
acter of  the  agency  employed,  or  the  degree  in  which  it  is  exercised, 
rather  than  in  the  fact  of  such  exercise  itself. 

In  this  view  of  the  matter  the  distinction  spoken  of  becomes  a  very 
just  and  important  one.  For  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  while 
the  Creator  governs  and  sustains  all  men,  he  pays  more  particular 
regard  to  a  certain  portion  of  the  human  family,  which  thus  becomes 
the  object  of  his  peculiar  care.  This  particular  portion  is  composed 
of  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  And  that  God  does  so  distinguish 
them  is  plainly  asserted  by  the  sacred  writers.  Paul  declares  that 
He  "is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  those  tcho  believe:" — 
thus  employing  the  very  term  by  which  the  distinction  is  character- 
ized. 

We  can  as  easily  conceive  this  to  be  the  case,  as  that  God  can  be 
omnipresent — that  he  can  "fill  heaven  and  earth,"  and  yet  be  more 
immediately  and  in  a  special  and  peculiar  sense  present  in  heaven, 
which  is  represented  as  his  "dwelling-place,"  and  as  the  "throne  of 
his  glory;"  or  that  a  monarch  can  superintend  and  administer  the 
affairs  of  a  vast  empire,  and  pay  respect  to  the  interests  of  the  whole 
community,  while  at  the  same  time  he  views  with  peculiar  com- 
placency his  immediate  followers  and  dependents,  and  treats  with 
special  favor  and  affection  the  members  of  his  own  family. 

This  special  regard  must  be  considered  as  extending  itself  to  every 
thing  which  can  in  any  degree  affect  the  character  or  happiness  of 
those  who  are  the  subjects  of  it,  whether  it  be  to  the  bestowment  of 
favors  or  the  infliction  of  merited  punishment,  which  may  be  in  dif- 
ferent cases  or  at  different  periods  equally  proofs  of  peculiar  kind- 
ness. Hence  while  it  is  declared  by  Paul  to  the  Hebrews  that  "the 
Lord  is  a  rewarder  of  them  who  diligently  seek  him,"  he  reminds 
them  of  the  exhortation  "which,"  says  he,  "reasons  with  you  as  with 
children — 'My  son,  do  not  think  lightly  of  the  Lord's  chastisement, 
neither  faint  when  you  are  rebuked  by  him:  for  whom  the  Lord  loves 
he  chastises,  and  scourges  every  son  whom  he  receives,'  "  and  pro- 
ceeds to  argue  that  if  they  were  without  that  necessary  chastisement, 
of  which  all  sons  are  partakers,  it  would  be  a  proof  of  neglect  and 
would  imply  that  they  were  regarded  as  bastards  or  aliens,  and  unde- 
serving of  the  care  exercised  over  the  proper  members  of  the  family. 

Such,  then,  is  the  special  care  bestowed  by  the  Divine  Being  upon 
the  "household  of  faith."  He  is  their  "Father  in  heaven"  and  they 
are  his  "children."  He  views  with  peculiar  interest  their  condition 
and  their  conduct — "His  eyes  are  over  the  righteous  and  his  ears  are 


TIIK    MILLENNIAL    JIAIiDIXGER    ABRIDGED.  27 

open  to  their  supplication."  He  shall  "hide  them  in  the  secret  of  his 
presence  from  the  pride  of  man:  he  shall  keep  them  secretly  in  a 
pavilion  from  the  strife  of  tongues."  For  the  Lord  "loveth  the  right- 
eous" and  "taketh  pleasure  in  his  people — he  will  beautify  the  meek 
with  salvation"  and  "fulfill  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  him."  Again, 
he  is  the  "king"  that  reigns  "in  Sion"  and  "Israel  is  his  dominion." 
He  "shows  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  his  judgments  unto 
Israel.  He  has  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation;  and  as  for  his  judg- 
ments, they  have  not  known  them."  Or,  he  is  the  "Shepherd  of  Israel" 
and  "leads  Joseph  like  a  flock" — he  leads  him  to  the  lofty  "rock"  for 
shelter;  he  feeds  him  in  the  "green  pastures"  and  makes  him  to  drink 
of  the  "river"  of  his  pleasures. 

When  indeed  we  wish  to  form  a  proper  idea  of  the  special  care 
which  God  has  over  his  people,  we  have  but  to  contemplate  his  former 
dealings  with  the  literal  Israel,  and  remember  who  are  "Israel"  now. 
As  he  admitted  his  ancient  people  to  peculiar  privileges;  as  he  deliv- 
ered them  from  their  enemies,  and  made  them  the  instrument  both  of 
vengeance  and  of  salvation,  while  he  failed  not  to  punish  their  trans- 
gressions and  to  reward  their  obedience;  so  is  he  now  the  Father  and 
the  God — the  King,  the  Shepherd,  and  the  Saviour  of  his  people;  and 
"his  face"  is  still  "against  them  that  do  evil;" — he  will  yet  "destroy 
the  wicked"  and  "cut  off  the  remembrance  of  them  from  the  earth;" 
and  when  they  "draw  out  the  sword,  and  bend  their  bow  to  cast  down 
the  poor  and  needy,  and  slay  such  as  be  of  upright  conversation,  their 
sword  shall  enter  into  their  own  heart  and  their  bows  shall  be  broken." 

In  all  a^es  have  the  righteous  been  the  subjects  of  God's  special 
providence,  and  a  more  particular  regard  has  been  paid  to  them  both 
in  their  preservation  and  government  than  to  any  other  portion  of  the 
human  family.  It  may  be  well  to  observe,  too,  that  on  account  of 
the  relation  which  subsists  between  God  and  his  people,  an  interfer- 
ence on  their  behalf  is  suspended  upon  certain  conditions  which  have 
no  place  where  the  world  at  large  is  concerned.  They  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  and  as  such  are  expected  to  ask  for  what  they  need. 
This  is  not  the  case  with  un])elievers,  who  will  not,  of  course,  call 
upon  one  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  or  in  whom  they  have  not 
believed.  To  the  latter,  therefore,  the  bounties  of  heaven  are  dis- 
pensed, and  all  necessary  aid  administered  in  the  general  care  which 
God  has  over  all  his  creatures;  while  the  latter  are  admitted  to  the 
high  privilege  of  making  their  requests  known  to  God,  and  of  receiv- 
ing from  him  greater  and  more  precious  favors.  Thus  he  causes  his 
Eun  to  rise  upon  the  evil,  sends  rain  upon  the  unjtist,  and  permits 
the  wicked  to  enjoy  unasked  prosperity,  that  his  goodness  may  lead 
them  to  reformation.  But  it  is  the  righteous  who  are  to  pray  for 
"daily   bread,"   and   daily  preservation,   who   find   it  a  "good   thing  to. 


28  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

give  thanks  unto  the  Lord — to  speak  of  his  loving-kindness  in  th«i 
morning  and  of  his  faithfulness  every  night;"  and  who  can  experi- 
ence deliverance  from  the  Lord  "because  they  trust  in  him."  The 
enjoyment  of  the  wicked  arises  from  the  long-suffering  of  God;  but 
if  the  righteous  "have  not,"  it  is  only  because  they  "ask  not,"  or 
because  they  ask  tor  improper  things  or  purposes. 

Prayer,  therefore,  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  children  of 
God  Their  petitions  should  be  as  frequent  as  their  wants;  and  their 
thanksgivings,  as  their  blessings.  Yet  from  their  comparative  igno- 
rance of  their  true  interests  and  circumstances,  it  is  very  certain  that 
they  often  not  only  fail  to  ask  when  they  ought,  but  desire  things 
which  would  be  injurious  to  themselves  or  imcompatible  with  the 
happiness  of  others.  It  is  in  these  instances  that  the  Divine  Being, 
like  a  kind  parent,  may  bestow  necessary  blessings  unrequired,  and 
withhold  those  things  which,  however  ardently  desired,  would  be  fatal 
to  the  possessor.  Nevertheless  it  is  highly  requisite  that  Christians, 
since  they  know  the  will  of  Cod,  should  ask  those  things  which  are 
"according  to  his  will."  It  is  only  by  so  doing,  in  an  humble  reliance 
upon  the  Divine  promise,  that  they  can  have  the  assurance  of  being 
heard;  and  such  are  the  only  petitions  which  are  just  or  proper,  as 
the  will  of  God  is  the  only  rule  of  rectitude,  and  there  can  be  no 
higher  or  better  wish  than  this,  that  "the  will  of  God  should  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

We  have  not  space  at  present  to  enter  as  fully  upon  the  subject  of 
prayer  in  connection  with  special  providences,  as  its  importance 
deserves.  It  may  be  further  observed,  however,  in  relation  to  the 
objections  of  those  who  doubt  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  that  in  order  to 
form  just  views  respecting  it,  it  is  necessary  that  several  essential 
matters  be  attended  to.  It  must  be  remembered  that  not  only  suit- 
able requests  are  to  be  made,  but  that  these  are  to  be  made  in  a  proper 
manner — with  earnestness,  sincerity,  and  perseverance.  Proper  re- 
quests are  sometimes  presented  in  such  an  indifferent  and  careless 
way  as  plainly  to  show  that  the  petitioner  cares  little  about  the  things 
for  which  he  prays,  and  consequently  does  not  deserve  them.  At 
other  times  prayers  are  offered  up,  with  the  most  earnest  and  ardent 
zeal,  for  things  which  are  nowhere  promised,  and  which,  requiring 
miraculous  or  supernatural  power  for  their  accomplishment,  are  wholly 
inconsistent  with  the  present  economy  of  Heaven.  Again,  as  it  is 
impossible  for  men  to  know  with  accuracy  what  things  they  really 
need,  or  the  proper  times  at  which  they  should  be  granted,  or  even 
the  channels  through  which  they  should  be  conveyed,  so  it  would  be 
plainly  presumptuous  in  them  to  prescribe  definitely  in  any  of  these 
matters  to  an  Omniscient  and  Omnipotent  Being.  Christians  undoubt- 
edly  are   entitled   to   plead   the   promises   of   God;    but  there   are   no 


THE    MILLKXXIAL    HAIUiiyGER    ABIiiDGED.  29 

express  promises  or  special  revelations  to  any  particular  individual, 
as  many  have  absurdly  supposed  while  under  the  influence  of  self- 
love  or  the  visions  of  a  heated  imagination;  and  men  often  err  in 
expecting  the  fulfillment  of  promises  which  have  been  already  fully 
accomplished,  and  have  no  relation  whatever  to  them,  or  even  to  the 
age  in  which  we  live.  There  are  certain  general  promises  upon  which 
Christians  may  securely  depend;  such  as  that  "God  will  never  leave 
them  nor  forsake  them" — and  that  "all  things  shall  work  together  for 
good  to  them  who  love  God;"  and  they  manifest  a  much  greater  degree 
of  confidence  in  the  Divine  Being,  when,  depending  upon  his  regard 
and  love  for  them,  and  sensible  that  he  is  best  acquainted  with  their 
circumstances  and  their  wants,  they  make  their  desires  known  to  him, 
putting  themselves  at  the  same  time  absolutely  in  his  hands — with  a 
full  persuasion  that  he  will  grant  the  wishes  they  have  expressed,  or 
what  shall  be  better  for  them. 

Sceptics  and  unbelievers  have  nothing  to  do  with  prayer  either  in 
theory  or  practice.  "God  hears  not  sinners;  but  if  any  man  be  a 
worshipper  of  God  and  doeth  his  will,  him  he  hears."  Sceptics  pro- 
fanely regard  prayer  as  an  experimenting  upon  the  Divine  promises, 
or  a  putting  the  Lord  God  to  the  proof;  and  their  ignorance  and  folly 
will  perhaps  be  apparent  to  themselves  only  when  they  experience  the 
Divine  faithfulness  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  solemn  declaration 
that  "indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish  shall  be  to  every 
soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil."  It  is  the  people  of  God  who  are  admitted 
to  communion  with  him,  and  who  have  been  in  all  ages,  as  we  have 
alicady  remarked,  the  object  of  his  peculiar  care,  and  for  whose  sake 
he  has  so  often  specially  interfered  in  the  affairs  of  men. 

When,  indeed,  we  reflect  upon  the  history  of  the  human  family,  we 
can  not  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  important  influence  which  the 
righteous  have  exerted  over  the  condition  and  destiny  of  mankind. 
Noah  became  the  means  of  preserving  the  whole  race  of  Adam  from 
extinction;  and  the  existence  of  ten  just  persons  in  the  city  of  Sodom 
would,  through  the  intercession  of  Abraham,  have  saved  it  from 
destruction.  For  Israel's  sake  God  smote  the  Egyptians,  and  expelled 
the  inhabitants  of  Canaan;  it  was  to  punish  his  people  for  their 
apostacy  that  he  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  king  of  Babylon, 
and  to  release  them  from  captivity  that  he  raised  up  Cyrus,  and 
opened  before  him  the  two-leaved  gates  of  that  illustrious  city.  In 
short,  they  are  represented  as  the  "salt  of  the  earth,"  and  the  "light 
of  the  world" — as  those  upon  whose  account  long-suffering  is  exer- 
cised towards  the  guilty,  and  who  are  made  the  Instruments  of  dis- 
pensing the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  spiritual  things  to  the  sons  of 
men.  Hence  it  becomes  their  duty  to  pray  and  make  intercession  for 
all  men — for  kings  and  rulers,  and  not  only  to  pray  but  to  labor  for 


30  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  convei'sion  of  the  world — "for  this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the 
sight  of  God  our  Saviour."  And  it  is  most  important  that  they  should 
remember  the  high  responsibilities  which  rest  upon  them,  and  that 
God  has  been  pleased  to  suspend  his  favors  towards  men  in  a  good 
degree  upon  the  obedience  and  the  prayers  of  his  own  people,  as  in 
Babylon  the  Jews  were  commanded  to  "seek  the  peace  of  the  city"  and 
"pray  unto  the  Lord  for  it." 

How  glorious  then  is  Zion!  "God  is  known  in  her  palaces  for  a 
refuge."  The  "daughters  of  Judah"  rejoice  "because  of  his  judg- 
ments," for  he  "preserveth  the  souls  of  his  saints  and  delivereth  them 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  wicked — the  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  a  shield: 
the  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory:  and  no  good  thing  will  he  with- 
hold from  them  that  walk  uprightly." 

How  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  are  them  who  love  him  and  have 
laid  hold  of  his  covenant!  "Fear  not,"  says  the  prophet,  "for  thou 
Shalt  not  be  ashamed:  neither  be  thou  confounded;  for  thou  shalt  not 
be  put  to  shame:  for  thou  shalt  forget  the  shame  of  thy  youth,  and 
shalt  not  remember  the  reproach  of  thy  widowhood  any  more.  For 
thy  Maker  is  thy  husband;  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name;  and  thy 
Redeemer  the  Holy  One  of  Israel;  The  God  of  the  whole  earth  shall 
he  be  called.  For  the  Lord  hath  called  thee  as  a  woman  forsaken  and 
grieved  in  spirit,  and  a  wife  of  youth,  when  thou  wast  refused,  saith 
thy  God.  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee;  but  with  great 
mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee 
for  a  moment:  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on 
thee,  saith  the  Lord  thy  Redeemer.  For  this  is  as  the  waters  of  Noah 
unto  me:  for  as  I  have  sworn  that  the  waters  of  Noah  should  no 
more  go  over  the  earth;  so  have  I  sworn  that  I  would  not  be  wroth 
with  thee,  nor  rebuke  thee.  For  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed;  but  thy  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath 
mercy  on  thee. 

"0  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  comforted!  behold,  I 
will  lay  thy  stones  with  fair  colors,  and  lay  thy  foundations  with 
sapphires.  And  I  will  make  thy  windows  of  agates,  and  thy  gates  of 
carbuncles,  and  all  thy  borders  of  pleasant  stones.  And  thy  children 
shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy  chil- 
dren. In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be  established:  thou  shalt  be  far 
from  oppression;  for  thou  shalt  not  fear:  and  from  terror;  for  it  shall 
not  come  near  thee.  Behold,  they  shall  surely  gather  together,  but 
not  by  me:  whosoever  shall  gather  together  against  thee  shall  fall  for 
thy  sake.  Behold,  I  have  created  the  smith  that  bloweth  the  coals  in 
the  fire,  and  that  bringeth  forth  an  instrument  for  his  work;  and  I 
bave  created  the  waster  to  destroy. 


THE    MIf.LF:.\yiAL    IIAIiBINOER    ASRIDOED.  31 

"No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper;  and  every 
tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judgment  thou  shalt  condemn. 
This  is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  their  righteous- 
ness is  of  me,  saith  the  l.ord." 

(ON*  I.ISION. 

Having  in  the  foregoing  essays  (however  imperfectly)  defined  the 
leading  terms  and  sketched  the  main  thoughts  embraced  by  the  subject 
of  Divine  Providence,  I  deem  it  expedient  to  close  the  examination  of 
it  for  the  present  with  the  termination  of  the  current  volume  of  this 
work.  Aware,  however,  of  the  various  difficulties  and  objections  which 
prevail  in  the  minds  of  men  with  regard  to  the  superintendence  of  God 
over  the  universe,  I  will  in  the  meantime  cheerfully  receive  such 
exceptions  or  questions  as  may  be  presented  in  relation  thereto,  and 
pay  to  them  the  attention  which  their  importance  may  require. 

As  for  you,  oh!  beloved  and  faithful,  who  have  made  a  covenant 
with  God,  it  is  your  happy  privilege  to  repose  upon  his  mercy  and  his 
truth,  and  to  cast  your  "anxious  cares"  upon  him,  under  the  confident 
assurance  that  he  "cares  for  you."  It  is  your  delight  to  contemplate 
the  doings  of  the  Most  High,  and  to  know  that,  in  the  language  of 
the  poet, 

" 'TiB  (;<j(l  nlono  with  uniiiipassiim'd  si^lit, 
Siirvcy.s  the  nico  barrier  of  wroiif?  and  right; 
And  while,  siilwervient,  a.s  his  will  ordains, 
Obedient  Nature  yields  the  present  means; 
While  neither  foree  nor  passions  puide  his  views. 
E'en  Kvil  works  the  purpose  he  pursues! 
That  bitter  sprinp.  tlie  .souree  of  human  pain. 
Heal'd  by  his  toneli,  does  mineral  health  eontain; 
.\iid  dark  aflliction  at  his  jintent   rod. 
Withdraws  its  cloud,  and  brightens  into  good." 

It  is  yours  to  learn  in  the  sanctuary  the  end  of  the  wicked;  to  com- 
prehend why  the  long-suffering  of  God  permits  them  often  to  flourish 
like  a  tree  which  groweth  in  its  own  soil;  and  to  be  assured  that 

"If  while  on  earth  triiiiuphant  vice  prevails, 
Celestial  .Iustie<^  balances  her  .scales; 
With  eye  unbiass'd  all  the  .scene  surveys. 
With  hand  impartial  i-v'ry  crime  she  weighs; 

Oft  close  pursuing  at  his  trembling  heels,  J 

The  man  of  blood  her  awful  ]))-<>sence  feels; 
Oft  by  her  arm,  amidst   tin-  bla/.e  of  state, 
The  regal  tyrant,  with  success  elate. 
Is  forc'd  to  leap  the  precipice  of  fate'. 
Or,  if  the  villain  pass  unpunish'd  here. 
'Tis  but  to  make  the  future  stroke  severe; 
For  soon  or  late  eternal  Justice  pays 
Mankind  the  just  desert  of  all  their  ways." 

How  important,  then,  that  all  your  conduct  should  be  regulated  by 
these  conviction?:     How  necessary  that  the  Divine  will  and  approba- 


32  THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBISGER    ABRIDGED. 

tion  s'nould  be  consulted  in  all  your  affairs  and  undertakings!  And 
how  conducive  to  your  spiritual  and  eternal  interest  that  you  should 
ever  realize  the  presence  and  unceasing  care  of  your  Heavenly  Bene- 
factor! 

Of  God's  government,  Mr.  Campbell  wrote  in  1833,  page  206: 

Next  to  preservation,  as  that  signifies  God's  upholding  all  things  in 
being,  and  preserving  and  actuating  their  natural  powers,  we  must 
consider  God's  government  of  the  world.  For  God  is  the  supreme  and 
sovereign  Lord  of  the  world,  who  iloeth  whatsoever  pleaseth  hivi  both 
in  heaven  and  in  earth;  and  therefore  the  absolute  government  of  all 
things  must  be  in  his  hands,  or  else  something  might  be  done  which 
he  would  not  have  done. 

This  all  men  grant  in  general  words,  who  own  a  Providence;  but 
when  they  come  to  particulars,  there  are  so  many  excepted  cases, 
which  they  will  hardly  allow  God  to  have  anything  to  do  in,  that  they 
seem  to  mean  little  more  by  God's  government  than  a  general  inspec- 
tion of  human  affairs,  his  looking  on  to  see  the  world  govern  itself; 
for  three  parts  of  four  of  all  that  is  done  in  the  world  they  resolve 
into  bare  permission  as  distinguished  from  an  ordering  and  disposing 
providence;  and  then  it  can  signify  no  more  than  that  God  does  not 
hinder  it.  And  if  this  be  all,  God  governs  the  world  in  such  cases  no 
more  than  men  do.  The  only  difference  is,  that  God  can  hinder  when 
he  does  not;  but  men  do  not  hinder  because  they  can  not;  but  still 
not  to  hinder  does  not  signify  to  govern. 

But  rightly  to  understand  this  matter,  the  best  way  is  to  consider 
how  the  Scripture  represents  it;  and  because  there  are  great  varieties 
of  acts  in  the  government  of  the  world  of  a  very  different  considera- 
tion, I  shall  distinctly  inquire  into  God's  government  of  causes,  and 
his  government  of  events. 

1.  God's  government  of  causes.  And  we  must  consider  three  sorts 
of  causes,  and  what  the  Scripture  attributes  to  God  with  respect  to 
each.  1st.  Natural  causes.  2d.  Accidental  causes,  or  what  we  call 
chance,  and  accident,  and  fortune.  3d.  Moral  causes  and  free  agents, 
or  the  government  of  mankind. 

1st.  Natural  causes,  or  God's  government  of  the  natural  world,  of 
the  heavens,  and  earth,  and  seas,  and  air,  and  all  things  in  them  which 
move  and  act  by  a  necessity  of  nature,  not  by  chance.  Now  the 
Scripture  does  not  only  attribute  to  God  all  the  virtues  and  powers 
of  nature  which  belong  to  creation,  and  to  a  preserving  Providence, 
but  the  direction  and  government  of  all  their  natural  influences  to  do 
what  God  has  a  mind  should  be  done.  God  does  in  some  measure 
govern  the  moral  by  the  natural  world.  He  rewards  or  punishes  men 
by  a  wholesome  or  pestilential  air,  by  fruitful  or  barren  seasons.  He 
hinders  or  promotes  their  designs  by  winds  and  weather,  by  a  forward 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  33 

or  a  backward  spring,  and  makes  nature  give  laws  to  men,  and  sets 
bounds  to  tbeir  iiassions  and  intrigues;  to  overthrow  the  most  power- 
ful fleets  and  armies;  to  defeat  the  wisest  counsels,  and  to  arbitrate 
the  differences  of  princes,  and  the  fate  of  men  and  kingdoms.  And  if 
God  govern  men  by  nature,  he  must  govern  nature  too;  for  necessary 
causes  can  not  be  fitted  to  the  government  of  free  agents  without  the 
direction  and  management  of  Uivine  Providence,  which  guides,  exerts, 
or  suspends  the  influences  of  nature  with  as  great  freedom  as  men  act. 
Men  do  not  always  deserve  well  or  ill;  and  if  the  kind  of  malign 
influences  of  nature  must  be  tempered  to  men's  deserts,  to  punish 
them  when  they  do  ill,  and  to  reward  them  when  they  do  well,  nat- 
ural causes,  which  of  themselves  act  necessarily  without  wisdom  or 
counsel,  must  be  guided  by  a  wise  hand. 

Thus  reason  tells  us  it  must  be  if  God  govern  the  world,  and  God 
challenges  to  himself  this  absolute  and  sovereign  empire  over  nature. 
God  has  bestowed  different  virtues  and  powers  on  natural  causes,  and 
in  ordinary  cases  makes  use  of  the  powers  of  nature,  and  neither  acta 
without  them  nor  against  the  laws  of  nature,  which  makes  some 
unthinking  men  resolve  all  into  nature  without  a  God  or  a  Providence. 
Because,  excepting  the  case  of  miracles,  which  they  are  not  willing  to 
believe,  they  see  everything  else  done  by  the  powers  of  nature.  And 
if  it  were  not  so,  God  had  made  a  world  and  made  nature  to  no  pur- 
pose, to  do  everything  himself  by  an  immediate  power,  without  making 
use  of  the  powers  of  nature.  But  the  ordinary  government  of  nature 
does  not  signify  to  act  without  it  or  to  overrule  its  powers,  but  to  steer 
and  guide  its  motions  to  serve  the  wise  ends  of  his  providence  in  the 
government  of  mankind. 

For  as  God  does  not  usually  act  without  nature,  nor  against  its 
laws,  so  neither  does  nature  act  by  steady  and  uniform  motions  with- 
out the  direction  of  God.  But  while  everything  in  the  material  world 
acts  necessarily  and  exerts  its  natural  powers,  God  can  temper,  sus- 
pend, direct  its  influence,  without  reversing  the  laws  of  nature.  As, 
for  instance,  fire  and  water,  wind  and  rain,  thunder  and  lightning, 
have  their  natural  virtues  and  powers,  and  natural  causes,  and  God 
produces  such  effects  as  they  are  made  to  produce  by  their  natural 
powers.  He  warms  us  with  fire— invigorates  the  earth  by  the  benign 
infiuence  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  other  stars  and  planets;  refreshes 
and  moistens  it  with  springs  and  fountains  and  rain  from  heaven- 
fans  the  air  with  winds,  and  purges  it  with  thunders  and  lightnings, 
and  the  like.  But  then  when  and  where  the  rains  shall  fall  and  the 
winds  shall  blow,  in  what  measure  and  proportion,  times  and  seasons 
natural  causes  shall  give  or  withhold  their  influences,  this  God  keeps 
in  his  own  power,  and  can  govern  without  altering  the  standing  laws 
of  nature;   and  this  is  his  government  of  natural  causes  in  order  to 


34  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

reward  or  punish  men  as  they  shall  deserve.  Thus  God  reasons  with 
Job  concerning  his  power  and  providence  (Job  xxxviii.  31,  32,  etc.), 
"Canst  thuu  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades,  or  loose  the 
bands  of  Orion?  Canst  ihou  bring  forth  Mazzaroth  in  his  season,  or 
catist  thou  guide  Arcturus  with  his  sons?  Knowest  thou  the  ordi- 
nances of  heaven,  or  canst  thou  set  the  dominion  thereof  in  the  earth? 
Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds  that  abundance  of  waters 
may  cover  thee?  Canst  thou  send  lightnings  that  they  may  go  and 
say  unto  thee.  Here  we  are?"  This  is  above  human  power,  but  belongs 
to  the  government  and  providence  of  God.  "Fire  and  hail,  snow  and 
vapor,  and  stormy  winds  fulfill  his  word"  (Ps.  cxlviii.  8).  Sometimes 
God  restrains  the  influences  of  nature,  "shuts  up  heaven  that  it  shall 
not  rain"  (II.  Chron.  vii.  13).  And  at  other  times  he  "calls  to  the 
clouds  that  abundance  of  water  may  cover  the  earth.  He  gives  the 
former  and  the  latter  rain  in  its  season,  and  preserveth  to  us  the 
appointed  weeks  of  harvest"  (Jer.  v.  24),  as  he  promised  to  Israel 
(Deut.  xi.  14,  15),  "I  will  give  you  the  rain  of  your  land  in  due 
season,  the  first  rain  and  the  latter  rain,  that  thou  mayest  gather  in 
thy  corn,  and  thy  wine  and  thy  oil;  and  I  will  send  grass  in  thy 
fields  for  thy  cattle,  that  thou  mayest  eat  and  be  full."  He  prescribes 
in  what  proportions  it  shall  rain  (Joel  ii.  23,  24),  "Be  glad,  ye  chil- 
dren of  Zion,  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord  ycur  God;  for  he  hath  given  you 
the  former  rain  moderately,  and  he  will  cause  to  come  down  for  you 
the  former  rain  and  the  latter  rain  in  the  first  month."  Nay,  God 
appoints  on  what  place  it  shall  rain  (Ezek.  xxxiv.  26),  "And  I  will 
make  thee  and  the  places  round  about  my  hill  a  blessing;  and  I  will 
cause  the  shower  to  come  down  in  his  season;  there  shall  be  showers 
of  blessing."  Amos  iv.  7,  8:  "And  also  I  have  withholden  the  rain 
from  you  when  there  were  yet  three  months  to  the  harvest.  And  I 
caused  it  to  rain  upon  one  city,  and  caused  it  not  to  rain  upon  another 
city.  One  piece  was  rained  upon,  and  the  piece  whereupon  it  rained 
not  withered;  so  two  or  three  cities  wandered  to  one  city  to  drink 
water,  but  they  were  not  satisfied." 

It  is  impossible  to  give  any  tolerable  account  of  such  texts  as  these, 
without  confessing  that  God  keeps  the  direction  and  government  of 
all  natural  causes  in  his  own  hands.  For  particular  effects,  and  all 
the  changes  of  nature  can  never  be  attributed  to  God,  unless  the  divine 
wisdom  and  counsel  determine  natural  causes  to  the  producing  such 
particular  effects.  Great  part  of  the  happiness  or  miseries  of  this  life 
is  owing  to  the  good  or  bad  influences  of  natural  causes.  That  if  God 
take  care  of  mankind  he  must  govern  nature;  and  when  he  promises 
health  and  plenty,  or  threatens  pestilence  and  famine,  how  can  he 
make  good  either  if  he  have  not  reserved  to  himself  a  sovereign  power 
over  nature? 


THE    MILLENMAL    JiARBINGEn    ABIilDQED.  35 

The  sum  is  this,  that  all  natural  causes  are  under  the  immediate 
and  absolute  government  of  Providenc(^-that  God  keeps  the  springs 
of  nature  in  his  own  hands,  and  turns  them  as  he  pleases.  For  mere 
matter,  though  it  be  endowed  with  all  the  natural  virtues  and  powers 
which  necessarily  produce  their  natural  effects;  yet  it  having  no  wis- 
dom and  counsel  of  its  own,  can  not  serve  the  ends  of  a  free  agent 
without  being  guided  by  a  wise  hand.  And  we  see  in  a  thousand 
instances  what  an  empire  human  art  has  over  nature— not  by  changing 
the  nature  of  things,  which  human  art  can  never  do;  but  by  such 
skillful  application  of  causes  as  will  produce  such  effects  as  unguided, 
and,  if  I  may  so  speak,  untaught,  nature  could  never  have  produced. 
And  if  God  have  subjected  nature  to  human  art.  surely  he  has  not 
exempted  it  from  his  own  guidance  and  power. 

This  shows  how  necessary  it  is  that  God,  by  an  immediate  provi- 
dence, should  govern  nature.  For  natural  causes  are  excellent  instru- 
ments; but  to  make  them  useful  they  must  be  directed  by  a  skillful 
hand.  And  those  various  changes  which  are  in  nature;  especially  in 
this  sublunary  world  (which  we  are  most  acquainted  with),  without 
any  certain  and  periodical  returns,  prove  that  it  is  not  all  mechanism; 
for  mechanical  motions  are  fixed  and  certain,  and  either  always  Che 
same  or  regular  and  uniform  in  their  changes. 

It  is  of  great  use  to  us  to  understand  this,  which  teaches  us  what 
we  may  expect  from  God,  and  what  we  must  attribute  to  him  in  the 
government  of  nature.     We  must  not  expect   in   ordinary  cases  that 
God  should   reverse  the  laws  of  nature  for  us;    that  if  we  leap  into 
the  fire  it  shall  not  burn  us;   or  into  the  water,  it  shall  net  drown 
us.    And  by  the  same  reason  the  providence  of  God  is  not  concerned 
to  preserve  us  when  we  destroy  ourselves  by  intemperance  and  lust; 
for  God  does  not  work  miracles  to  deliver  men  from  the  evil  effects 
of  their  own  wickedness  and   folly.     But  all   the  kind   influences  of 
heaven  which  supply  our  wants,  and  fill   our  hearts  with   food  and 
gladness,  are  owing  to  that  good  providence  which  commands  nature 
to  yield  her  increase;   and  those  disorders  of  nature  which  afflict  the 
world   with   famines,  and  pestilence,  and   earthquakes,  are  the  effects 
of  God's  anger  and  displeasure,  and  are  ordered  by  him  for  the  punish- 
ment of  a  wicked  world.    We  must  all  believe  this,  or  confess  that  we 
mock  God  when  we  bless  him  for  a  healthful  air  and  fruitful  season 
or  deprecate  his  anger  when  we  see  the  visible  tokens  of  his  venge 
ance  in  the  disorders  of  nature.     For  did  not  Cod  immediately  inter- 
pose in  the  government  of  nature,  there  would  be  no  reason  to  beg 
his  favor,  or  to  deprecate  his  anger  upon  these  accounts. 

2d.  Let  us  consider  God's  government  of  accidental  causes,  or  what 
we  call  chance  and  accident,  which  has  a  large  empire  over  human 
affair.".    Not  that  chance  and  accident  can  do  anything,  properly  speak- 


36 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 


ing  (for  whatever  is  done  has  some  proper  and  natural  cause  which 
does  it) ;  but  what  we  call  accidental  causes,  is  rather  such  an  acci- 
dental concurrence  of  different  causes,  as  produces  unexpected  and 
undesigned  effects:  as  when  one  man,  by  accident,  loses  a  purse  of 
gold,  and  another  man,  walking  the  fields,  without  any  such  expecta- 
tion, by  as  great  an  accident,  finds  it.  And  how  much  of  the  good  or 
evil  that  happens  to  us  in  this  world,  is  owing  to  such  undesigned, 
surprising,  accidental  events,  every  man  must  know  who  has  made 
any  observations  on  his  own  or  other  men-'s  lives  and  fortunes.  The 
wise  man  observed  this  long  since  (Eccles.  ix.  11),  "I  returned,  and 
saw  under  the  sun,  that  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle 
to  the  strong;  neither  yet  bread  to  the  wise;  nor  yet  riches  to  men 
of  understanding;  nor  yet  favor  to  men  of  skill:  but  time  and  chance 
happeneth  to  them  all."  Some  unusual  and  casual  events  change  the 
fortunes  of  men,  and  disappoint  the  most  proper  and  natural  means 
of  success.  What  should  conquer  in  a  race  but  swiftness;  or  win 
the  battle  but  strength?  What  should  supply  men's  wants  and  increase 
riches,  but  wisdom  and  understanding  in  human  affairs?  What  more 
likely  way  to  gain  the  favor  of  princes  and  people,  than  a  dexterous 
and  skillful  application  and  address?  And  yet  the  preacher  observed 
in  his  days,  and  the  observation  holds  good  still,  that  it  is  not  always 
thus:  time  and  chance,  some  favorable  junctures,  and  unseen  acci- 
dents, are  more  powerful  than  all  human  strength,  or  art,  or  skill. 

Now  what  an  ill  state  were  mankind  in,  did  not  a  wise  and  merci- 
ful hand  govern  what  we  call  chance  and  fortune?  How  can  God 
govern  the  world,  or  dispose  of  men's  lives  and  fortunes,  without 
governing  chance,  all  unseen,  unknown  and  surprising  events,  which 
disappoint  the  counsels  of  the  wise,  and  in  a  moment  unavoidably 
change  the  whole  scene  of  human  affairs?  Upon  what  little  unexpected 
things  do  the  fortunes  of  men,  of  families,  of  whole  kingdoms  turn! 
And  unless  these  little  unexpected  things  are  governed  by  God,  some 
of  the  greatest  changes  in  the  world  are  exempted  from  his  care 
and  providence. 

This  is  reason  enough  to  believe,  that  if  God  governs  the  world,  he 
governs  chance  and  fortune;  that  the  most  unexpected  events,  how 
casual  soever  they  appear  to  us,  are  foreseen  and  ordered  by  God. 

Such  events  as  these  are  the  properest  objects  of  God's  care  and 
government,  because  they  are  very  great  instruments  of  Providence. 
Many  times  the  great  things  are  done  by  them,  and  they  are  the 
most  visible  demonstration  of  a  superior  wisdom  and  power  which 
governs  the  world.  But  these  means  God  disappoints  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise,  and  defeats  the  power  of  the  mighty;  "frustrateth  the  tokens  of 
the  liar,  and  maketh  diviners  mad;  turneth  wise  men  backward,  and 
maketh  their   knowledge   foolish"    ( Isa.   xliv.   25).     Did   strength   and 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  37 

wisdom  always  prevail,  as  in  a  great  measure  they  would  were  it  not 
for  such  unseen  disappointments;  mankind  would  take  less  notice 
of  Providence,  and  would  have  less  reason  to  do  it,  since  they  would 
be  the  more  absolute  masters  of  their  own  fortunes.  A  powerful  com- 
bination of  sinners,  managed  by  some  crafty  politicians,  would  govern 
the  world;  but  the  uncertain  turnings  and  changes  of  fortune  keep 
mankind  in  awe,  make  the  most  prosperous  and  powerful  sinners  fear 
an  unseen  vengeance,  and  give  security  to  good  men  against  unseen 
evils,  which  can  not  befall  them  without  the  order  and  appointment 
of  God. 

That  there  are  a  great  many  accidental  and  casual  events,  which 
happen  to  us  all,  and  which  are  of  great  consequence  to  the  happiness 
or  miseries  of  our  lives,  all  men  see  and  feel.  That  we  can  not  defend 
ourselves  from  such  unseen  events,  which  we  know  nothing  of  till 
we  feel  them,  is  as  manifest  as  that  there  are  such  events;  and  what 
so  properly  belongs  to  the  divine  care,  as  that  which  we  ourselves  can 
take  no  care  of?  The  heathens  made  fortune  a  goddess,  and  attrib- 
uted the  government  of  all  things  to  her  tiuhe  kuberna  panta;  whereby 
they  only  signified  the  government  of  Providence  in  all  casual  and 
fortuitous  events;  and  if  Providence  govern  anything,  it  must  govern 
chance,  which  governs  almost  all  things  else,  and  which  none  but 
God  can  govern.  As  far  as  human  prudence  and  foresight  reach,  God 
expects  we  should  take  care  of  ourselves;  and  if  we  will  not,  he  suffers 
us  to  reap  the  fruits  of  our  own  folly;  but  when  we  can  not  take  care 
of  ourselves,  we  have  reason  to  expect  and  hope  that  God  will  take 
care  of  us.  In  other  cases  human  prudence  and  industry  must  concur 
with  the  divine  providence  in  matters  of  chance  and  accident,  provi- 
dence must  act  alone  and  do  all  itself,  for  we  know  nothing  of  it;  so 
that  all  the  arguments  for  providence  do  most  strongly  conclude  for 
God's  government  of  all  casual  events. 

And  the  Scripture  does  as  expressly  attribute  all  such  events  to 
God,  as  any  other  acts  of  providence  and  government.  In  the  law  of 
Moses,  when  a  man  killed  his  neighbor  by  accident,  God  is  said  to 
deliver  him  into  his  hands.  Ex.  xxi.  12,  13:  "He  that  smiteth  a  man 
so  that  he  die,  shall  be  surely  put  to  death.  And  if  a  man  lie  not  in 
wait,  but  God  deliver  him  into  his  hands,  then  I  will  appoint  thee  a 
place  whither  he  shall  flee:"  where  "God's  delivering  him  into  hia 
hands"  is  opposed  to  him  "that  smiteth  a  man  so  that  he  die,"  and 
"to  him  that  comes  presumptuously  upon  his  neighbor  to  slay  him" 
(15th  verse),  and  therefore  signifies  one  who  kills  his  neighbor  by 
mere  accident,  as  it  is  explained  in  Deut.  xix.  4,  5,  "And  this  is  the 
case  of  the  slayer  that  shall  flee  thither"  (i.  e..  to  the  city  of  refuge) : 
"whoso  killeth  his  neighbor  ignorantly.  whom  he  hated  not  in  time 
past — as  when  a  man  gooth  into  the  wood  with  his  neighbor  to  hew 


38  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

wood,  and  his  hand  fetcheth  a  stroke  with  the  axe  to  cut  down  the 
tree,  and  the  head  slippeth  from  the  helve,  and  lighteth  upon  his 
neighbor  that  he  die — he  shall  flee  unto  one  of  these  cities,  and  live." 
What  can  be  more  accidental  than  this?  And  yet  we  are  assured  that 
this  is  appointed  by  the  divine  providence;  that  God  delivers  the  man 
■who  is  killed  into  the  hands  of  him  that  killed  him. 

Is  anything  more  casual  than  a  lot?  And  yet  Solomon  tells  us, 
"The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap,  but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of 
the  Lord"  (Prov.  xvi.  33);  which  is  not  confined  to  the  case  of  lots, 
but  to  signify  to  us  that  nothing  is  so  casual  and  uncertain,  as  to  be 
exempted  from  the  disposal  of  Providence.  For  what  seems  accidental 
to  us,  is  not  chance,  but  providence — is  ordered  and  appointed  by  God 
to  bring  to  pass  what  his  own  wisdom  and  counsel  has  decreed;  as  is 
very  evident  from  some  remarkable  instances  of  providence  which  are 
recorded. in  Scripture. 

By  how  many  seeming  accidents  and  casual  events  was  Joseph 
advanced  to  Pharaoh's  throne?  His  dreams,  whereby  God  foretold 
his  advancement,  made  his  brethren  envious  at  him,  and  watch  some 
convenient  opportunity  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  so  confute  his  dreams. 
Jacob  sends  Joseph  to  visit  his  brethren  in  the  fields,  where  they 
were  keeping  their  sheep.  This  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  execute 
their  revenge,  and  at  first  they  intended  to  murder  him;  but  the 
Ishmaelites,  accidentally  passing  by,  they  sold  Joseph  to  them,  and 
they  carried  him  into  Egypt  and  sold  him  to  Potiphar.  Potiphar's 
wife  tempts  him  to  uncleanness,  and  being  denied  by  Joseph,  she 
accuses  him  to  his  lord,  who  casts  him  into  the  king's  prison.  Whilst 
he  was  there,  the  king's  butler  and  baker  were  cast  into  the  same 
prison,  and  dreamed  their  several  dreams,  which  Joseph  expounded  to 
them,  and  the  event  verified  his  interpretation.  The  butler,  who  was 
restored  to  his  office,  forgot  Joseph  till  two  years  after,  when  Pha- 
raoh dreamed  a  dream  which  none  of  the  wise  men  could  interpret; 
and  then  Joseph  was  sent  for,  and  advanced  to  the  highest  place  of 
dignity  and  power  next  to  Pharaoh.  The  years  of  famine  brought 
Joseph's  brethren  into  Egypt  to  buy  corn,  where  they  bowed  before 
him,  according  to  his  dream.  This  occasioned  the  removal  of  Jacob 
and  his  whole  family  into  Egypt,  where  Joseph  placed  them  in  the 
land  of  Goshon,  by  which  means  God  fulfilled  what  he  had  told 
Abraham:  "Know  of  a  surety,  that  thy  seed  shall  be  a  stranger  in  a 
land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall  serve  them,  and  they  shall  afflict 
them  four  hundred  years"  (Gen.  xv.  13).  How  casual  does  all  this 
appear  to  us!  But  no  man  will  think  that  prophecies  are  fulfilled  by 
chance;  and  therefore  we  must  confess,  that  what  seems  chance  to  us, 
was  appointed  by  God. 

Another  writer    (Sherlock)    teaches  as  follows: 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  39 

"Let  us,  then,  now  more  particularly  consider  how  God  governs 
mankind,  so  as  to  make  them  the  instruments  and  ministers  cf  his 
providence  in  the  world.  The  methods  of  the  divine  wisdom  are  infi- 
nite and  unsearchable,  and  we  must  not  expect  fully  to  comprehend 
all  the  secrets  and  mysteries  of  God's  government;  but  something  wo 
may  know  of  this,  enough  to  teach  us  to  reverence  God,  and  to  trust 
in  him,  and  to  vindicate  his  providence  from  the  cavils  of  ignorance 
and  infidelity,  which  is  as  much  as  is  useful  for  us  to  know.  And  I 
shall  reduce  what  I  have  to  say  to  two  general  heads: — 1.  The  govern- 
ment of  men's  minds,  of  their  wills,  their  passions,  and  counsels.  2. 
The  government  of  their  actions. 

1.  God's  government  of  the  minds  of  men,  their  wills,  and  passions, 
and  counsels;  for  these  are  the  great  springs  of  action,  and  as  free  a 
principle  as  the  mind  of  man  is,  it  is  not  ungovernable:  it  may  be 
governed,  and  that  without  an  omnipotent  power,  against  its  own  bias, 
and  without  changing  its  inclinations;  and  what  may  be  done,  cer- 
tainly God  can  do;  and  when  it  is  necessary  to  the  ends  of  Providence, 
we  may  conclude  he  will  do  it.  Let  a  man  oe  ever  so  much  bent 
upon  any  project,  yet  hope  or  fear,  some  present  great  advantage  or 
great  inconvenience,  the  powerful  intercession  of  friends,  a  sudden 
change  of  circumstances,  the  improbability  of  success,  the  irrepar- 
able mischief  of  a  defeat,  and  a  thousand  other  considerations,  will 
divert  him  from  it;  and  how  easy  it  is  for  God  to  imprint  such 
thoughts  upon  men's  minds  with  an  irresistible  vigor  and  brightness, 
that  it  shall  be  no  more  in  their  power  to  do  what  they  had  a  mind  to, 
than  to  resist  all  the  charms  of  riches  and  honors,  than  to  leap  into 
the  fire,  and  to  choose  misery  and  ruin! 

That  thus  it  is,  the  Scripture  assures  us  (Prov.  xxi.  1),  The  king's 
heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord;  as  the  rivers  of  water,  he  turneth 
it  whithersoever  he  will."  And  if  the  king's  heart  be  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  we  can  not  doubt  but  he  hath  all  other  men's  hearts  in  his 
hand  also,  and  can  turn  and  change  them  as  he  pleases.  Thus  the 
wise  man  tells  us,  "A  man's  heart  deviseth  his  ways  but  the  Lord 
directeth  his  steps"  (Prov.  xvi.  9).  Men  consult  and  advise  what  to 
do,  but,  after  all,  God  steers  and  directs  them  which  w^ay  he  pleases, 
for  though  "there  are  many  devices  in  a  man's  heart,  nevertheless  che 
counsel  of  the  Lord  that  shall  stand"  (Prov.  xix.  21),  which  made  the 
wise  man  conclude,  "Man's  goings  are  of  the  Lord:  how  then  shall 
a  man  understand  his  own  ways?"  (Prov.  xx.  24).  That  is,  God  has 
such  an  alisolute  government  of  the  hearts  and  actions  of  men,  when 
his  providence  is  concerned  in  the  event,  that  no  man  can  certainly 
know  what  he  himself  shall  choose  and  do:  for  God  can,  in  an  instant, 
alter  his  mind,  ard  make  him  stoor  a  very  different  course  from 
what  he  intended.     As  the  prophet  Jeremiah  assures  us,    'I  Know  that 


40  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself;  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to 
direct  his  steps"  (Jer.  x.  23).  And  Solomon  tells  us  something  more 
strange  than  this:  "The  preparation  of  the  heart  in  man,  and  the 
answer  of  the  tongue,  is  of  the  Lord"  (Prov.  xvi.  1),  or,  as  the 
Hebrew  seems  to  signify,  the  preparation  of  the  heart  is  from,  inan; 
a  man  premeditates  and  resolves  what  he  will  say;  but  notwithstand- 
ing that,  the  ansiver  of  the  tongue  is  of  the  Lord.  When  he  comes  to 
speak,  he  shall  say  nothing  but  what  God  pleases.  Which  sayings 
must  not  be  expounded  to  a  universal  sense,  that  it  is  always  thus; 
but  that  thus  it  is  whenever  God  sees  fit  to  interpose,  which  he  does 
as  often  as  he  has  any  wise  end  to  serve  by  it. 

Thus  we  are  told,  that  "when  a  man's  ways  please  the  Lord,  he 
maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him"  (Prov.  xvi.  7). 
And  it  is  a  very  remarkable  promise  that  God  makes  to  the  children 
of  Israel,  that  when  all  their  males  should  come  three  times  every 
year  to  worship  God  at  Jerusalem,  by  which  means  their  country  was 
left  without  defense,  exposed  to  the  rapine  of  their  enemies  who  dwelt 
round  about  them,  that  "no  man  should  desire  their  land,  when  they 
go  up  to  appear  before  the  Lord"  (Ex.  xxxiv.  24).  We  have  many 
examples  of  this  in  Scripture,  and  some  of  those  many  ways  whereby 
(Jod  does  it.  When  Abraham  sojourned  in  Gerar,  he  said  of  Sarah 
his  wife,  that  she  was  his  sister,  and  Abimelech,  the  king  of  Gerar, 
sent  and  took  her;  but  God  reproved  Abimelech  in  a  dream,  and  tells 
him  that  he  had  withheld  him  from  sinning,  and  not  suffered  him  to 
touch  her.  (Gen.  xx.  1,  etc.)  Thus  when  Jacob  fled  from  Laban  with 
his  wives  and  children,  and  Laban  pursued  him,  God  appeared  to 
Laban  in  a  dream,  and  commanded  him  that  he  should  not  ^peak  to 
Jacob  either  good  or  hurt.  (Gen.  xxxi.  24.)  Such  appearances  were 
very  common  in  that  age,  though  they  seem  very  extraordinary 
to  us;  but  God  does  the  same  thing  still  by  strong  and  lively  impres- 
sions upon  our  minds — by  suggesting  and  fixing  such  thoughts  in  us, 
as  excite  or  calm  our  passions,  as  encourage  us  to  bold  and  great 
attempts,  or  check  us  in  our  career  by  frightful  imaginations  and 
unaccountable  fears  and  terrors,  or  by  such  other  arguments  as  are 
apt  to  change  our  purposes  and  counsels.  , 

Sometimes  God  does  this  by  concurrence  of  external  causes,  which 
at  other  times  would  not  have  been  effectual,  but  shall  certainly  have 
their  effect  when  God  enforces  the  impression. 

Thus  God  in  a  moment  turned  the  heart  of  Esau  when  he  came 
out  in  a  great  rage  against  his  brother  Jacob.  It  was  an  old  hatred 
he  had  conceived  against  him  for  the  loss  of  his  birthright  and  of  his 
blessing.  And  he  had  for  many  years  confirmed  himself  in  a  resolu- 
tion to  cut  him  off  the  first  opportunity  he  had  to  do  it.  And  could 
it  be  expected  that  the  present  which  Jacob  sent  him,  which  he  could 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  41 

have  taken  if  he  had  pleased  without  receiving  it  as  a  gift,  and  that 
the  submission  of  Jacolj  when  he  was  in  his  power,  should  all  on  a 
sudden  make  him  forget  all  that  was  past  and  the  very  business  he 
came  for,  and  turn  his  bloody  designs  into  the  kindest  embraces? 
No!  this  was  God's  work,  the  effect  of  that  blessing  which  the  angel 
gave  to  Jacob  after  a  whole  night's  wrestling  with  him  in  Penuel. 
(Gen.  xxxii.  33.)  And  when  God  pleases,  the  weakest  means  shall 
change  the  most  sullen   and   obstinate  resolutions. 

Of  the  same  nature  of  this  is  the  story  of  David  and  Abigail.  Nabal 
had  highly  provoked  David  by  the  churlish  answer  which  he  sent 
him,  and  David  was  resolved  to  take  a  very  severe  revenge  on  Nabal 
and  his  house.  But  God  sent  Abigail  to  pacify  him,  who,  by  her  pres- 
ence, and  dutiful  and  submissive  behavior  and  wise  counsels,  diverted 
him  from  those  bloody  resolutions  he  had  taken,  as  David  himself 
acknowledges:  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  who  sent  thee 
this  day  to  meet  me,  and  blessed  be  thy  advice,  and  blessed  be  thou 
who  hast  kept  me  this  day  from  coming  to  shed  blood,  and  from 
avenging  myself  with  my  own  hand"   (I.  Sam.  xxv.  32,  33). 

Saul  pursued  David  in  the  wilderness  to  take  away  his  life,  and 
God  delivered  him  twice  into  David's  hands;  and  the  kindness  David 
showed  him  in  not  killing  him  when  he  was  in  his  power,  did  at  last 
turn  the  heart  of  Saul,  that  he  pursued  him  no  more.  (I.  Sara.  xvi. 
and  xxvii.) 

Thus  God  confounded  the  good  counsel  of  Ahithophel  by  the  advicn 
of  Hashai,  which  Absalom  chose  to  follow.  And  the  text  tells  us  this 
was  from  God,  who  had  purposed  to  defeat  the  good  counsel  of  Ahitho- 
phel, to  the  intent  that  he  might  bring  evil  upon  Absalom.  (II.  Sam. 
xvii.  14.)  Such  an  absolute  empire  has  God  over  the  minds  of  men, 
that  he  can  turn  them  as  he  pleases,  can  lead  them  into  new  thoughts 
and  counsels  with  as  great  ease  as  the  waters  of  a  river  may  be  di'awn 
into  a  new  channel  prepared   for  them. 

2.  When  God  does  not  think  fit  to  change  and  alter  men's  wills  and 
passions,  he  can  govern  their  actions  and  serve  the  ends  of  his  provi- 
dence by  them.  When  God  suffers  them  to  pursue  their  own  counsels 
and  to  do  what  they  themselves  like  best — he  does  that  by  their  hands 
which  they  little  expected  or  intended.  The  same  action  may  serve 
very  different  ends;  and  therefore  God  ana  men  have  very  different 
intentions  in  it.  And  what  is  ill  done  by  men,  and  for  a  very  ill  end, 
may  be  ordered  by  God  for  wise  and  good  purposes;  nay.  the  ill  ends 
which  men  designed  may  be  disappointed,  and  the  good  which  God 
intended  by  it  have  its  effect.  And  this  is  as  absolute  a  government 
over  men's  actions  as  the  ends  of  providence  require,  when  whatever 
men  do,  if  they  intend  one  thing  and  God  another,  "the  commel  of 
God  shall  stand,"  and   what  they   intended   shall   have  no  effect  any 


42  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

further  than  as  it  is  subservient  to  the  divine  counsels,  as  to  give  some 
plain  examples  of  it:  — 

Joseph's  brethren  being  offended  at  his  dreams  and  at  the  peculiai 
kindness  which  their  father  Jacob  showed  him,  resolved  to  get  rid  of 
him;  but  God  intended  to  send  him  into  Egypt,  to  advance  him  to 
Pharaoh's  throne,  and  to  transplant  Jacob  and  his  family  thither.  And 
therefore  God  would  not  suffer  them  to  slay  him  as  they  first  intended; 
but  he  suffered  them  to  sell  him  to  the  Ishmaelites,  who  carried  him 
into  Egypt,  which  disappointed  what  they  aimed  at  in  it,  never  to  see 
or  hear  more  of  him,  but  accomplished  the  decrees  and  counsels  of  God. 

Another  example  we  have  in  the  king  of  Assyria,  who  came  against 
Jerusalem  with  a  powerful  army  with  an  intention  to  destroy  it;  but 
God  intended  no  more  than  to  correct  them  for  their  sins.  This  God 
suffered  nim  to  do,  but  he  could  do  no  more.  "0  Assyrian,  the  rod 
of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  mine  indignation:  I  will 
send  him  against  a  hypocritical  nation,  and  against  the  people  of  my 
wrath  will  I  give  him  a  charge  to  take  the  spoil  and  to  take  the 
prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  like  the  mire  in  the  street."  Thus  far 
God  gave  him  a  commission;  that  is,  thus  far  God  intended  to  suffer 
his  rage  and  pride  to  proceed.  But  this  was  the  least  of  his  inten- 
tion: "Howbeit,  he  thinketh  not  so,  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy 
and  cut  off  nations  not  a  few."  But  in  this  God  disappointed  him: 
"Wherefore,  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  when  the  Lord  hath  performed 
his  whole  work  upon  Mount  Zion  and  on  Jerusalem,  I  will  punish 
the  fruit  of  the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  glory  of 
his  proud  looks"    (Isa.  x.   5,  6,  7,  12). 

A  great  many  examples  might  be  given  or  this  nature,  but  these 
are  sufficient  to  show  what  different  intentions  God  and  men  have  in 
the  same  actions,  and  how  easily  God  can  defeat  what  men  intend, 
and  accomplish  by  them  his  own  wise  counsels  which  they  never 
thought  of.  When  God  has  no  particular  ends  of  providence  to  serve 
by  the  lusts  and  passions  and  evil  designs  of  men,  he  commonly  dis- 
appoints them;  that  when  "they  intend  evil,  and  imagine  a  mischiev- 
ous device,  they  are  not  able  to  perform  it"  (Ps.  xxi.  11).  Or  he  turns 
the  evil  upon  their  own  heads:  "The  heathen  are  sunk  down  in  thri 
pit  that  they  made;  in  the  net  which  they  hid,  is  their  own  feet  taken. 
The  Lord  is  known  by  the  judgment  which  he  executeth.  The  wicked 
is  snared  in  the  work  of  his  own  hands"  (Ps.  ix.  15,  16).  Or  he 
doubly  disappoints  their  malice,  not  only  by  defeating  the  evil  they 
intended,  but  by  turning  it  to  the  great  advantage  of  those  it  was 
intended  against;  which  was  visible  in  the  case  of  Haman,  whose 
malice  against  Mordecai  and  all  the  Jews  for  his  sake,  did  not  only 
prove  his  own  ruin,  but  the  great  advancement  of  Mordecai,  and  the 
glory  and  triumph  of  the  Jewish  nation. 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  43 

3.  Let  us  now  consider  what  difference  there  is  between  God's 
absolute  government  of  all  events,  and  necessity  and  fate;  for  many 
men  are  very  apt  to  confound  these  two.  If  no  good  or  evil  befall  any 
man,  but  what  God  orders  and  appoints  for  them,  this  they  think 
sounds  like  fate  and  destiny — that  every  man's  fortune  is  written 
upon  his  forehead — and  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  man,  by  ail  his 
care,  and  industry,  and  prudence,  to  make  his  condition  better  than 
what  God  has  decreed  it  to  be  in  the  irreversible  rolls  of  fate.  And 
yet  an  unrelenting,  immutable  fate  is  so  irreconcilable  with  the  lib- 
erty of  human  actions,  with  the  nature  of  good  and  evil,  of  rewards 
and  punishments,  that  if  we  admit  of  it,  there  is  an  end  of  all  relig- 
ion, of  all  virtuous  endeavors,  of  all  great  and  generous  attempts:  it 
is  to  no  purpose  to  pray  to  God,  or  to  trust  in  him,  or  to  resist  temp- 
tation, or  to  be  diligent  in  our  business,  or  prudent  and  circumspect 
in  our  actions;  for  what  will  be,  will  be:  or  if  any  means  be  to  be 
used,  that  is  no  matter  of  our  choice  or  care;  but  we  shall  do  it  as 
necessarily  and  mechanically  as  a  watch  moves  and  points  to  the 
hour  of  the  day;  for  fate  has,  by  the  same  necessity,  determined  the 
means  and  the  end,  and  we  can  do  no  more  nor  less  than  fate 
has  determined. 

I  shall  now  trouble  you  with  an  account  of  the  various  opinions  of 
the  ancient  philosophers  about  fate,  none  of  whom  ever  dreamed  of 
such  a  terrible  fate  as  some  Christians  have  fancied,  which  reaches 
not  only  to  this  world,  but  to  all  eternity.  What  I  have  already  dis- 
coursed is  sufficient  to  vindicate  the  doctrine  of  Providence  from  the 
least  imputation  of  necessity  and  fate. 

For,  1st.  Though  God  overrules  the  actions  of  men.  to  do  what  he 
himself  thinks  fit  to  be  done,  yet  he  lays  no  necessity  upon  human 
actions:  men  will  and  choose  freely,  pursue  their  own  interests  and 
inclinations,  just  as  they  would  do  if  there  were  no  Providence  to 
govern  them;  and  while  men  act  freely,  it  is  certain  there  can  be  no 
absolute  fate.  God,  indeed,  as  you  have  already  heard,  sometimes 
hinders  them  from  executing  their  wicked  purposes,  and  permits  them 
to  do  no  more  hurt  than  what  he  can  direct  to  wise  ends;  but  no  man 
is  wicked,  or  does  wickedly,  by  necessity  and  fate.  Though  he  may 
be  restrained  from  doing  so  much  wickedness  as  he  would,  yet  all  the 
wickedness  he  commits  is  his  own  free  choice,  even  when  it  serves 
such  ends  as  he  never  thought  of;  and  therefore  he  is,  and  acts  like 
a  free  agent,  notwithstanding  the  government  of  Providence. 

2d.  Though  God  determines  all  events,  all  the  good  and  evil  that 
shall  happen  to  men  or  nations,  yet  it  is  no  more  and  no  other  than 
what  they  themselves  have  deserved;  and  therefore  they  are  under 
no  other  fate  than  what  they  themselves  bring  upon  themselves  by 
the  good  or  bad  use  of  their  own   liberty;    that   is.  thoy  are  under  no 


44  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

other  fate  than  to  be  rewarded  when  they  do  well,  and  to  be  punished 
when  they  do  ill:  but  this  is  the  justice  of  Providence,  not  the  neces- 
sity of  fate.  Those  who  do  ill,  and  deserve  ill,  and  suffer  ill,  might 
have  done  well,  and  have  made  themselves  the  favorites  of  Providence, 
and  therefore  are  under  no  greater  necessity  of  suffering  ill,  than  they 
were  of  doing  ill.  The  reason  why  God  keeps  all  events  in  his  own 
hands,  is  not  because  he  has  absolutely  determined  the  fates  of  all 
men,  but  that  he  may  govern  the  world  wisely  and  justly,  and  reward 
and  punish  men  according  to  their  deserts,  as  far  as  the  reasons  of 
Providence  require  in  this  world.  Now,  while  the  liberty  of  human 
actions  is  secured,  and  the  events  of  Providence  are  not  the  execution 
of  fatal,  absolute,  and  unconditional  decrees,  but  acts  of  government 
in  the  wise  administration  of  justice,  and  dispensing  rewards  and 
punishments — how  absolute  soever  God's  government  be  of  all  events, 
it  is  not  necessity  and  fate,  but  a  wise,  and  just,  and  absolute  govern- 
ment. This,  indeed,  is  what  some  of  the  wisest  heathens  called  fate, 
and  all  that  they  meant  by  the  name  of  fate,  that  God  had  fixed  it  by 
an  irreversible  decree,  that  good  men  should  be  rewarded  and  the 
wicked  punished;  and  thus  far  we  must  all  allow  fate;  and  Providence 
is  only  the  minister  and  executioner  of  these  fatal  decrees;  and  to 
that  end  God  keeps  the  government  of  all  events  in  his  own  hands. 
Now  whether  we  say  that  God  determines  what  good  or  evil  shall 
befall  men  at  the  very  time  when  they  deserve  it,  or  that  foreseeing 
what  good  or  evil  they  will  do,  and  what  they  will  deserve,  did  before- 
hand determine  what  good  or  evil  should  befall  them — this  makes 
no  alteration  at  all  in  the  state  of  the  question;  for  if  all  the  good  or 
evil  that  befalls  men,  have  respect  to  their  deserts,  this  is  not  fate, 
but  a  just  and  righteous  judgment. 

In  a  word,  God's  government  of  all  events  is  indeed  so  absolute  and 
uncontrollable,  that  no  good  or  evil  can  befall  any  man,  but  what 
God  pleases,  what  he  orders  and  appoints  for  him;  and  this  is  neces- 
sary to  the  good  government  of  the  world  and  the  care  of  all  his 
creatures.  But  then  God  orders  no  good  or  evil  to  befall  any  men, 
but  what  they  deserve,  and  what  the  wise  ends  of  his  Providence 
require;  and  this  is  not  fate,  but  a  wise  and  just  government  of 
the  world. 

3rd.  That  the  exercise  of  a  particular  Providence  consists  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  all  events. 

I  have  often  wondered  at  those  philosophers  who  acknowledged  a 
Providence,  but  would  not  acknowledge  God's  particular  care  of  all 
his  creatures.  Some  confined  his  Providence  to  the  heavens,  but  would 
not  extend  it  to  this  lower  world;  and  yet  this  world  needs  a  Provi- 
dence as  much,  and  a  great  deal  more,  as  being  a  scene  of  change  and 
corruption,  of  furious  lusts  and  passions,  which  need  the  restraints 


THE   MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRWCfED.  45 

and  government  of  Providence:  no  creatures  need  God's  care  more 
than  the  inhabitants  of  this  earth;  and  if  ho  take  care  of  any  of 
his  creatures,  one  would  think  ho  should  take  most  care  of  them 
who  need  it  most. 

Others,  who  would  allow  that  the  Providence  of  God  reached  this 
lower  world,  yet  confined  God's  care  to  the  several  kinds  and  species, 
but  would  not  extend  it  to  every  individual;  as  if  God  took  care  of 
logical  terms,  of  genus  and  species,  but  took  no  care  of  his  own 
creatures,  which  are  all  individuals;  or  as  if  God  could  take  care  of 
all  his  creatures,  without  taking  care  of  any  particular  creature;  t.  e., 
that  he  could  take  care  of  all  his  creatures,  without  taking  care  of 
any  one  of  them. 

Thus  they  would  allow  God  to  take  care  of  the  great  affairs  of 
kingdoms  and  commonwealths,  but  to  have  no  regard  to  particular 
men  or  families,  unless  they  made  a  great  figure  in  the  world;  as  if 
kingdoms  and  commonwealths  were  not  made  up  of  particular  men 
and  particular  families;  or  that  God  could  take  care  of  the  whole, 
without  taking  care  of  every  part;  or  as  if  there  were  any  other 
reason  for  taking  care  of  the  whole,  but  to  take  care  of  those  par- 
ticulars who  make  the  whole.  To  talk  of  a  general  Providence,  with- 
out God's  care  and  government  of  every  particular  creature,  is  mani- 
festly unreasonable  and  absurd;  for  whatever  reasons  oblige  us  to 
own  a  Providence,  oblige  us  to  own  a  particular  Providence. 

If  creation  be  a  reason  why  God  should  preserve  and  take  care  of 
what  he  has  made,  this  is  a  reason  why  he  should  take  care  of  every 
creature,  because  there  is  no  creature  but  what  he  made;  and  if  the 
whole  world  consist  of  particulars,  it  must  be  taken  care  of  in  the 
care  of  particulars;  for  if  all  particulars  perish,  as  they  may  do  if 
no  care  be  taken  to  preserve  them,  the  whole  must  perish. 

And  there  is  the  same  reason  for  the  government  of  mankind;  for 
the  whole  is  governed  in  the  government  of  the  parts;  and  mankind 
can  not  be  well  governed,  without  the  wise  government  of  every  par- 
ticular man. 

I  am  sure  that  the  objections  against  a  particular  Providence  are 
very  foolish.  Some  think  it  too  much  troub'.e  to  God  to  take  care  of 
every  particular;  as  if  it  were  more  trouble  to  him  to  take  care  of 
them,  than  it  was  to  make  them;  or  as  if  God  had  made  more  creatures 
than  he  could  take  care  of;  as  if  an  infinite  mind  and  omnipotent 
power  were  as  much  disturbed  and  tried  with  various  and  perpetual 
cares,  as  we  are.  Others  think  it  below  the  greatness  and  majesty 
of  God,  to  take  cognizance  of  every  mean  and  contemptible  creature, 
or  of  every  private  man;  as  if  it  were  more  below  God  to  take  care 
of  such  creatures,  than  it  is  to  make  them:  as  if  numbers  made 
creatures  considerable  to  God;    that  though   one  man  is  below  God's 


46  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

care,  yet  a  kingdom  is  worthy  of  his  care  and  notice;  when  the  whole 
world  to  God  is  but  "as  the  drop  of  the  bucket,  and  the  small  dust 
of  the  balance." 

Now  it  is  certain  there  can  be  no  particular  Providence,  without 
God's  government  of  all  events;  for  if  any  good  or  evil  happen  to 
any  man  without  God's  order  and  appointment,  that  is  not  Provi- 
dence, whatever  other  name  you  will  give  it;  so  that  if  God  does 
take  a  particular  care  of  all  his  creatures,  this  is  a  demonstration 
that  he  has  the  absolute  government  of  all  events;  for  without  it 
he  can  not  take  care  of  them:  and  if  God  have  the  government  of  all 
events,  as  the  Scriptures  assures  us  he  has,  this  confirms  us  in  the 
belief  of  a  particular  Providence;  for  if  all  the  good  or  evil  that 
happens  to  every  particular  man,  be  appointed  by  God,  that  is  proof 
enough  that  God  takes  care  of  every  particular  man.  God's  govern- 
ment of  all  particular  events,  and  his  care  of  all  individuals,  include 
each  other  in  their  very  natures.  The  care  of  particular  creatures  con- 
sists in  the  government  of  all  particular  events;  and  the  government 
of  all  events  is  the  exercise  of  a  particular  Providence,  as  our  Saviour 
represents  it  (Matt.  x.  29,  30,  31),  "Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a 
farthing?  and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your 
Father.  But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fear  ye 
not,  therefore;  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows."  Where 
God's  particular  Providence  over  all  his  creatures  is  expressed  by  his 
particular  care  of  all  events,  which  extends  even  to  the  life  of  a 
sparrow,  and  to  the  hairs  of  our  heads. 

Thus  much  is  certain,  that  without  this  belief,  that  God  takes  a 
particular  care  of  all  his  creatures  in  the  government  of  all  events 
that  can  happen  to  them,  there  is  no  reason  or  pretense  for  most  of 
the  particular  duties  of  religious  worship.  For  most  of  the  acts  of 
worship  consider  God  not  merely  as  a  universal  cause  (could  we  form 
any  notion  of  a  general  Providence  without  any  care  of  particular 
creatures  or  particular  events?),  but  as  our  particular  patron,  pro- 
tector and  preserver. 

To  fear  God,  and  to  stand  in  awe  of  his  justice;  to  trust  and  depend 
on  him  in  all  conditions;  to  submit  patiently  to  his  will  under  all 
afflictions;  to  pray  to  him  for  the  supply  of  our  wants,  for  the  relief 
of  our  sufferings,  for  protection  and  defense;  to  love  and  praise  him 
for  the  blessings  we  enjoy,  for  peace  and  plenty  and  health,  for  friends 
and  benefactors,  and  all  prosperous  successes:  I  say,  these  are  not 
the  acts  of  reasonable  men,  unless  we  believe  that  God  has  the 
supreme  disposal  of  all  events,  and  takes  a  particular  care  of  us.  For 
if  any  good  or  evil  can  befall  us  without  God's  particular  order  and 
appointment,  we  have  no  reason  to  trust  in  God,  who  does  not  always 
take  care  of  us;   we  have  no  reason  to  bear  our  sufferings  patiently  at 


THK    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  47 

God's  bands,  and  in  submission  to  his  will;  for  we  know  not  wbether 
our  sufferings  be  God's  will  or  not:  we  have  no  reason  to  love  and 
praise  God  for  every  blessing  and  deliverance  we  receive,  because  we 
know  not  whether  it  came  trom  God;  and  it  is  to  no  purpose  to  pray 
to  God  for  particular  blessings,  if  he  does  not  concern  himself  in  par 
ticular  events.  But  if  we  believe  that  God  takes  a  particular  care 
of  us  all,  and  that  no  good  or  evil  happens  to  us  but  as  he  pleases, 
all  these  acts  of  religious  worshij)  are  both  reasonable,  necessary 
and  jurt." 

In  1855,  page  601,  Mr.  Campljell  teaches  of 

PROVIDENCE,    GENERAL    AND    SPECIAL. 

Providence  occurs  but  once  in  the  Christian  Scriptures.  The  Greek 
representative  of  it  is  pronoia,  and  found  in  the  Greek  Testament  but 
twice  (Acts  xxiv.  2).  In  this  occurrence  it  is  represented  by  provi- 
dence, in  the  common  version.  In  Rom.  iii.  14,  it  is  represented  by 
provision ;  literally  it  means  foresight.  The  verb  pronoeo  is  found 
three  times,  always  represented  by  provide,  and  providing.  In 
theological  use,  it  indicates  guardianship,  guidance,  direction,  protec- 
tion. In  our  English  dictionaries  it  is  defined — "The  act  of  provid- 
ing, or  preparing  for  future  use  or  application"    (Webster). 

Deists,  Theists,  and  speculative  Christians,  designate  what  they 
call  God,  or  "the  Deity,"  by  the  term  Providence.  By  the  good  old 
orthodox  Presbyterians  this  was  repudiated  as  irreverent  and  un- 
christian. 

That  God  provides  for  all  his  creatures,  is  just  as  true  as  that  he 
created  them.  This  providence  is  as  general  as  all  creation.  Though 
five  sparrows  were  sold  in  old  Jerusalem  for  two  farthings,  yet  not 
one  of  them  was  forgotten  or  unprovided  for  by  their  Creator.  He 
feeds  young  lions  and  tigers,  ravens  and  doves;  the  animalcule,  invis- 
ible to  the  human  eye,  though  so  small  that  millions  of  them  are 
found  in  a  cubic  foot,  and  some  affirm  in  a  cubic  inch! 

But  that. God's  providence  is  as  general  or  as  broad  as  creation,  no 
one,  of  any  information  or  discrimination,  can  either  doubt  or  deny. 

Thirty  millions  of  suns,  and  one  hundred  millions  of  satellites,  or 
worlds  moving  round  them,  each  of  which  is  as  large  as  our  earth  in  a 
general  average,  having  as  many  t/cnera  and  species  of  animated 
beings  on  them  as  our  planet  has;  covered  with  hair  or  feathers,  as 
a  portion  of  our  tenantry  are,  and  yet  so  cared  for,  and  provided  for 
by  Him,  that  not  one  hair  or  feather  can  fall  from  any  one  of  them 
unheeded  or  unobserved  by  him.  Such  are  our  conceptions  of  the 
sublime,  the  awful,  the  incomprehensible  grandeur  and  majesty  of 
Him  that  fills  immensity,  that  inhabits  eternity,  and  who  can  bestow 
as  much  attention  to  any  one  animated  atom  as  though  it  were  the 


48  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

solitary  tenant  of  the  entire  universe.  His  creation  ana  providence 
are  necessarily,  eternally,  and  immutably  co-extensive  He  opens  his 
rich  and  liberal  hand,  and  from  his  inexhausted  and  inexhaustible 
treasuries,  supplies  most  abundantly  the  wants  of  every  living  thing. 
And  so  happy  were  they  all,  that  before  sin  was  conceived  in  heaven 
or  in  earth  "the  morning  stars,"  in  one  grand  concert,  "sang  together, 
and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy.  ' 

They  who  admit  a  general  providence,  and,  at  '.he  same  time,  deny 
a  special  providence,  are  feeble  and  perverted  reasoners  and  thinkero. 
A  general,  or  universal  supervision  or  providence,  necessarily  implies 
a  special  or  particular  providence.  The  executor  of  a  will,  or  the 
superintendent  of  an  estate,  who  selected  out  of  either  a  certain  part- 
only  as  worthy  of  his  attention,  and  who  executed  or  superintended 
that  alone,  would  be  judged  and  treated  as  a  defaulter.  And  shall  we 
impute  to  the  Lord  and  Proprietor  of  heaven  and  earth  that  whicn  we 
could  condemn  and  reprobate  in  a  steward,  or  in  a  superintendent  of 
an  earthly  estate!  But  all  such  reasonings  from  the  analogies  of 
earth  and  time  to  Him  that  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  and 
as  present  everywhere  and  anywhere,  are  necessarily  frail  and  imper- 
fect. "Do  not  I  fill  heaven  and  earth?"  says  He  "who  inhabits  eter- 
nity." "What  house  can  you  build  for  me,  and  where  is  the  place  of  my 
rest?    Has  not  my  hand  made  all  these  things?" 

But  says  the  great  Teacher  himself — "Are  not  five  sparrows  sold 
for  two  farthings,  yet  not  one  of  them  is  forgotten  before  God!"* 
This,  methinks,  should  suffice. 

But  still  we  do  not  comprehend,  nor  even  apprehend,  the  claims 
of  one  of  these  objects  upon  the  attention  and  care  of  the  great  Pro- 
prietor and  Protector  of  a  single  sparrow.  How  many  objects  in 
this  one  object  of  his  care  and  protection,  must  be  cared  for,  provided 
for,  and  protected  by  this  great  Proprietor  and  Preserver  of  the 
sparrow!  How  many  organs  has  it?  As  many  as  a  mammoth!  Yes! 
as  many  organs  as  a  mammoth. 

In  order  to  a  full  appreciation  of  this  most  pregnant  theme,  so 
fraught  with  instruction  to  mankind,  we  shall  notice,  somewhat  in 
detail,  the  history  of  ihe  incidents  of  this  distinguished  patriarch,  and 
the  apparent  contingencies  on  which  their  fortunes  turned. 

Joseph,  the  son  of  the  beloved  Rachel,  for  whom  his  father  Jacob 
served  Laban,  his  mother's  father,  full  fourteen  years,  through 
paternal  partiality,  indiscreetly  shown,  became  an  object  of  envy  and 
hatred  on  the  part  of  his  brethren,  afterwards  known  as  eleven  of 
the  twelve  distinguished  patriarchs,  second  in  rank  only  to  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob. 

•  Luke  xii.  6. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  49 

This  partiality  consummated  its  weakness  in  a  coat  of  variegated 
colors,  bestowed  on  Joseph.  Joseph  himself,  gifted  with  prophetic 
dreams  touching  his  own  destiny  and  that  of  his  brethren  indis- 
creetly told  them  to  his  brethren.  These  dreams  intensified  their 
envy  into  actual  hatred,  to  such  a  degree  that  when,  on  a  mission 
from  his  father  to  inquire  after  their  welfare,  he  appeared  in  the 
plains  of  Dothan,  his  brethren,  with  the  single  exception  of  Reuben, 
conspired  to  take  his  life.  Meantime  a  caravan  of  Ishmaelites 
appeared  in  sight,  and  Judah  proposed  to  take  him  out  of  the  pit  and 
sell  him  as  a  slave  to  these  merchants. 

Ten  of  the  brethren  conspiring  to  sell  him,  demanded  from  them 
only  two  shekels  apiece — in  all,  twenty  shekels,  equal  to  about 
fifteen  dollars.  Thus  he  was  carried  into  an  Egyptian  market,  and 
sold  to  Potiphar,  a  captain  in  Pharaoh's  service — an  eunuch  of  much 
authority  in  Egypt,  who,  like  many  eunuchs  in  that  day,  had  a  wife. 
Joseph,  by  his  great  moral  worth,  soon  rose  in  the  confidence  of  his 
master;  but  being  assailed  by  the  allurements  of  his  unsatisfied  wife, 
through  his  faithfulness  to  his  master  and  his  God,  he  escaped  from 
her  importunities  and  blandishments;  which  so  exacerbated  her  tem- 
per that  she  machinated  his  ruin,  and  had  well-nigh  consummated 
it,  having  him  confined  in  prison.    But  the  Lord  sustained  him. 

He  formed  an  intimate  and  a  happy  acquaintance  with  the  chief 
baker  and  the  chief  butler  in  Pharaoh's  household,  who  providentially 
had  each  a  portentous  dream.  In  the  fullness  of  their  hearts,  and 
with  great  esteem  for  Joseph,  they  told  him  their  dreams.  He  had 
the  gift  of  understanding  and  interpreting  symbols,  and  most  satis- 
factorily and  truthfully  interpreted  their  dreams,  as  the  sequel  proved. 

In  process  of  time,  on  Pharaoh's  birthday  feast,  the  chief  butler 
was  restored  to  his  former  station  and  service  at  the  banquet,  while 
his  companion  lost  his  life,  as  Joseph  had  foretold. 


BOOK   TI. 

JESUS   CHRIST. 


BOOK   IT. 

JESUS    CHRIST. 

The  whole  tone  of  the  Harbinger,  the  undertone  and  the  overtone, 
is  that  of  devotion  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  sun  out  of  which  all 
Christian  light  comes;  he  is  the  light,  the  life;  he  is  the  full  glory 
of  the  New  Testament  dispensation.  There  is  no  symmetrical  formal 
treatment  ot  the  character  of  the  Christ  or  of  the  especial  work  of 
Christ  in  the  Harbinger,  but  the  Harbinger  is  saturated  with  the 
Christ  Spirit.  "For  forty  years,"  Mr.  Campbell  says  in  1852,  "we 
have  preached  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Lord,  our  Saviour  and  our  King." 
In  1862  there  is  an  article  as  follows  on  the 

THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST. 

Come  now,  all  ye  that  tell  us  in  your  wisdom  of  the  mere  natural 
humanity  of  Jesus,  and  help  us  to  find  out  how  it  is  that  he  is  only 
a  natural  development  of  the  human.  Select  your  best  and  wisest 
character;  take  the  range,  if  you  will,  of  all  the  great  philosophers 
and  saints,  and  choose  out  one  that  is  most  competent;  or  if,  per- 
chance, some  one  of  you  may  imagine  that  he  is  himself  about  on  a 
level  with  Jesus,  (as  we  hear  that  some  of  you  do,)  let  him  come 
forward  in  this  trial  and  say,  "Follow  me!  be  worthy  of  me!  I  am 
the  Light  of  the  world!  Ye  are  from  beneath,  I  am  from  above!  Behold, 
a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here!"  Take  on  all  these  transcendent 
assumptions,  and  see  how  soon  your  glory  will  be  sifted  out  of  you 
by  the  detective  gaze  and  darkened  by  the  contempt  of  mankind! 
Why  not?  Is  not  the  challenge  fair?  Do  you  not  tell  us  that  you 
can  say  as  divine  things  as  he?  Is  it  not  in  you,  too,  of  course,  to  do 
what  is  human?  Are  you  not  in  the  front  rank  of  human  develop- 
ment? Do  you  not  rejoice  in  the  power  to  rectify  many  mistakes 
and  errors  in  the  words  of  Jesus?  Give  us,  then,  this  one  experiment, 
and  see  if  it  does  not  prove  to  you  a  truth  that  is  of  some  conse- 
quence; viz.:  that  you  are  a  man,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  more? 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS. 

The  whole  human  family  is  sick.  From  the  days  of  our  progeni- 
tors down  to  the  present  time,  all  have  been  the  subjects  of  an  awful 
malady.  The  blighting  hand  of  a  disease  far  more  destructive  than 
pestilence  has  been  laid  heavily  upon  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor, 
king  and  subject.  All  have  suffered  from  its  terrible  ravages.  It  has 
drenched  this  beautiful  world  in  blood,  and  made  it  one  vast  burying- 

ground.      It    has    changed    Eden-happiness    into    burning   tears,    bitter 

6;t 


54  T.fJE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

lamentations,  and  insufferable  agonies.  Sin  is  in  our  midst,  rioting  in 
the  destruction  of  body,  soul  and  spirit.  We  speak  not  of  the  reason 
why  God  has  permitted  it  to  be  introduced  into  our  world,  or  allowed 
suffering  and  death  to  follow  in  its  footsteps.  We  have  to  do  with 
facts,  not  with  things  fictitious.  Speculations  may  be  beautiful  and 
pleasing,  but  are  of  no  real  value.  After  all  our  rounds  in  idealism, 
we  must  come  back  to  the  point  of  departure,  take  our  stand  on  terra 
firma,  and  grapple  with  the  difficulties,  dangers  and  sufferings  that 
environ  us. 

It  can  not  be  questioned  that  sin  has  taken  a  deep  hold  on  our 
race,  in  consequence  of  which  all  are  sick  and  need  a  physician.  Man 
needs  a  physician,  not  only  because  he  is  diseased  of  sin,  but  because 
he  is  unable,  in  the  absence  of  assistance,  to  relieve  himself.  Though 
the  loftiest  being  in  the  rank  of  created  intelligences,  he  is  far  too 
weak  and  short-sighted  to  devise  a  plan  which  will  effectually  destroy 
sin,  remove  its  consequences,  and  restore  him  to  his  lost  possessions — 
his  original  greatness.  No,  man  can  not  do  this.  His  past  acts  are  a 
sad  verification  of  the  truth  of  this  remark.  Can  then  a  physician  be 
found  altogether  competent  to  heal  all  who  will  abide  his  instruc- 
tions? Such  a  physician  came  into  our  world  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago.  He  came  from  heaven  in  order  to  heal  the  sick,  and  to  take 
such  as  would  hear  his  voice  and  submit  to  his  will  to  a  land  where 
there  is  no  more  sickness,  no  more  death. 

Let  us  look  at  a  few  of  the  leading  features  in  this  great  and  good 
physician's  character.  We  trust  he  may  appear  to  those  who  need  his 
aid,  the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand,  and  the  one  altogether  lovely: 

1.  His  Wisdom. — All  that  God  knew  in  the  past,  Jesus  knew;  all 
that  God  knows  in  the  present,  he  knows;  all  events,  great  and  small, 
that  shall  transpire  in  coming  ages,  are  known  to  him  as  well  as  to 
the  Father.  He  knows  man  infinitely  better  than  he  knows  himself.. 
Man's  greatness,  weakness,  powers  of  mind,  capacities  of  soul — his 
glory,  his  shame,  his  nothingness,  are  open  to  him.  He  walked  with 
man  the  tedious  round  of  life — is  well  acquainted  with  his  character 
in  all  its  shades  and  attenuations — is  wise  enough  to  instruct  the 
wisest,  and  lowly  enough  to  reach  the  humblest.  His  sermon  on  the 
mount  has  been  admired  by  infidel  and  Christian.  The  learned  and 
great  have  contemplated  with  astonishment  its  unfathomable  depths 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  while  the  meek  and  lowly  have  found  con- 
solation from  its  pure  and  holy  teachings.  No  sham,  no  deception 
in  this  sermon.  It  will  bear  the  severest  scrutiny.  Infidels  say  that 
Jesus  was  merely  a  great  philosopher — the  wisest  and  best  that  has 
ever  lived.  On  this  supposition,  how  shall  we  account  for  the  won- 
derful display  of  wisdom  in  this  inimitable  sermon?  Did  he  obtain 
it  from  Moses  and  the  prophets,  the  bards  and  holy  seers  of  Israel? 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOEIi    ABRIDGED.  55 

It  tan  Jiot  l>e  proved  that  he  did.  At  least  the  premises  for  the  con- 
clusions to  which  he  arrived,  have  never  yet  been  brought  forward 
from  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  It  is  presumable  they  never  will  be, 
inasmuch  as  they  would  long  since  have  been  offered  to  the  world, 
had  they  been  found  there.  But  it  may  be  said  that  he  obtained  his 
wisdom  from  the  Gentile  world.  Satisfactory  proof  that  he  did,  baa 
never  yet  been  produced.  His  name  was  never  enrolled  in  a  Gentile 
school.  He  never  sat  at  the  feet  of  any  philosopher,  great  or  small. 
He  was  never  found  in  the  Academy,  the  Lyceum,  or  the  Porch.  Hia 
feet  never  trod  on  Grecian,  Roman,  or  Persian  soil.  He  never  engaged 
in  metaphysical  disquisitions,  or  in  dark,  bewildering  argumentation, 
which  so  much  delighted  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  and  the  wise  men 
of  the  East.  His  wisdom  is  far  above  all  human  wisdom.  Nothing 
In  story  or  in  song  is  comparable  to  it.  It  uproots  and  grinds  into 
powder  the  wise  sayings,  the  proud  maxims,  the  most  profound  sys- 
tems of  ethics,  ever  given  to  the  world  by  the  so-called  moral  philos- 
ophers. Surely  the  wisdom  of  Jesus  could  not  have  sprung  from  the 
wisdom  of  this  world.  Like  his  kingdom,  it  is  not  of  this  world. 
Whence,  then,  came  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  Jesus?  He  was 
not  educated  as  a  philosopher,  but  was  born  and  reared  in  poverty. 
He  borrowed  not  from  Jew  or  Greek.  Whence,  then,  came  his  wis- 
dom and  knowledge?  Whence  that  power  which  enabled  him  to 
speak  as  never  man  spoke;  that  enabled  him  to  give  lessons  of  wisdom 
such  as  had  never  been  given;  that  enabled  him  to  present  views  in 
regard  to  the  government  of  body,  soul  and  spirit,  such  as  had  never 
been  lieard;  that  enabled  him  to  instruct  mankind,  as  having  a  com- 
plete knowledge  of  the  diverse  and  increasing  wants  of  all,  in  every 
condition,  in  every  circumstance,  in  prosperity  and  adversity,  in  afflu- 
ence and  poverty,  on  land,  on  sea,  in  all  kingdoms,  in  all  lands,  and 
through  all  time?  We  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  immense 
and  unfailing  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  possessed  by  Jesus 
Christ,  came  from  above — are  of  heaven  and  not  of  men — and  that  the 
exhibitions  of  his  powers  and  capacities  are  worthy  his  divine  origin. 
2.  His  Goodness. — We  have  no  desire  to  pronounce  a  eulogy  on  the 
character  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  poor  commendations  cf  the  great  and 
learned,  have  added  nothing  to  its  excellency.  For  centuries  it  has 
been  before  the  world,  and  is  at  this  moment  as  stainless,  pure  and 
irreproachable,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning.  In  his  ministrations.  Jesus 
was  surrounded  by  the  bitterest  enemies — by  Pharisees,  Sadducees, 
Essenes  and  Herodians — by  all  the  malignant  sects  and  parties  of 
Judea — and  still  no  blot  was  ever  hxed  upon  his  character.  His  words 
and  deeds  were  closely  scanned  by  his  enemies;  but  nothing  could  be 
detected  unworthy  his  position,  or  the  glorious  work  in  which  he 
was  engaged.     The  simplicity,  beauty,  purity,  truthfulness  and  power 


56  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    AB JUDGED. 

displayed  in  ali  his  utterances,  in  all  his  actions,  struck  with  wonder 
and  astonishment  those  who  thronged  his  presence,  and  induced  mul- 
titudes to  acknowledge  him  as  their  Lord  and  Master. 

When  John  was  in  prison,  he  sent  to  Jesus  to  know  if  he  was  the 
One  that  should  come,  or  should  another  be  expected.  "Jesus,  answer- 
ing, said  to  those  who  came,  Go  your  way  and  tell  John  what  things 
you  have  seen  and  heard;  how  that  the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised,  to  the  poor 
the  gospel  is  preached;  and  blessed  is  he  whosoever  shall  not  be 
offended  in  me."  Jesus  desired  John  to  know  that  he  was  engaged  in 
doing  good — what  was  the  character  of  his  work — and  therefore 
instructed  the  disciples  of  John  to  tell  what  they  saw  and  heard. 
Doing  good  was  his  constant  employment.  Whether  in  Jerusalem,  in 
Nazareth,  in  Bethany;  whether  along  the  winding  streams,  the  fruit- 
ful vales,  or  on  the  palm-covered  hills  of  Judea,  Jesus  is  seen,  he  will 
ever  be  found  engaged  in  the  same  blessed,  godlike  work — doing  good 
to  all  around  him.  He  came  to  seek  and  save  the  lost;  he  sought  them 
everywhere,  with  a  deeper  solicitude  than  ever  parent  sought  an  err- 
ing child.  Whenever  and  wherever  found,  he  administered  to  their 
wants,  taught  them  the  way  to  God,  instructed  them  how  to  meet  the 
difficulties  of  a  rough  world,  and  how  to  bear  the  many  disappoint- 
ments and  misfortunes  to  which  flesh  is  heir.  In  healing  the  sick, 
cleansing  the  leper,  dispossessing  the  demoniac  of  the  evil  spirit,  giv- 
ing sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  life  to  the  dead;  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  at  the  well  with  the  Samaritan  woman,  at  the  grave 
of  Lazarus  weeping  with  Mary  and  Martha,  walking  on  the  stormy 
Sea  of  Galilee,  uttering  his  sad  prophetic  lamentation  over  Jerusalem, 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  praying  to  his  Father,  at  the  Bar  of 
Pilate  and  Herod,  going  to  Calvary,  or  expiring  in  awful  agonies  on 
its  summit;  his  majesty,  his  goodness,  his  condescending  love  and 
tender  compassion  to  the  children  of  men,  shine  forth  with  celestial 
glory.  How  kind,  how  generous,  how  magnanimous  he  was;  how  pure 
his  words,  how  elevated  his  thoughts,  how  godlike  his  deeds.  How 
simple  in  his  greatness,  how  truly  great  in  his  simplicity!  Hard 
must  be  the  heart  and  cold  the  feelings  of  him  w^ho  can  contemplate 
the  sayings  and  doings  of  Jesus  without  emotion.  Unnumbered  are 
the  evidences  in  favor  of  the  goodness  and  condescending  love  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  When  man  had  revolted  from  the  government  of 
God,  had  wandered  from  the  path  of  truth  and  righteousness,  had 
become  bewildered  in  the  thick  darkness  of  a  world  that  knew  not 
God,  Jesus,  leaving  the  communion  of  his  Father,  of  angels,  of  seraph 
and  cherub,  came  into  our  world  in  order  to  redeem  the  human  family 
from  the  thralldom  of  sin.  Heaven  was  interested  in  his  advent  on 
earth.     An   angel,   to   Judah's   shepherds,    keeping   watch    over   their 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HAh'HL\GER    ABRWOED.  57 

flocks  by  night,  proclaimed:  "Behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  shall  be  lo  all  people;"  and  "suddenly  there  was  with  the 
angel  a  multitude  ol'  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and  saying, 
(Jiory  to  C!od  in  the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  towards 
men."  Uiisst'ul  tidings,  joyous  announcement,  prophetic  of  the  regen- 
eration of  the  world.  Great  is  the  work  of  salvation,  great  the  work 
of  our  redemption;   the  blessings  to  be  enjoyed  transcendently  great. 

3.  His  Poicer. — A  physician  may  possess  wisdom,  goodness,  and  con- 
descension, and  still  not  have  sufficient  power  to  accomplish  the 
intended  good.  Has  Jesus  the  necessary  power?  If  the  New  Testa- 
ment be  a  truthful  record,  he  possesses  power  over  all  spirits — celes- 
tial, terrestrial  and  infernal;  over  all  things  in  heaven,  on  earth,  and 
under  the  earth.  As  vast  as  is  the  universe,  so  far  does  his  power 
e.\tend.  In  contemplating  his  power,  we  will  glance  at  a  few,  and  only 
a  few,  of  the  characteristic  features  of  his  miracles. 

These  features  distinguish  the  miracles  of  Jesus  from  all  the 
pretended  miracles  of  Mormonism,  Mohammedanism,  or  Romanism. 
The  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ  were  wrought  publicly,  not  secretly. 
They  were  wrought  in  the  presence  of  friends  and  enemies,  so  that 
any  fraud,  trick,  or  conjuring,  would  have  been  instantly  detected. 
Foes  were  ever  nigh  that  slumbered  not,  nor  neglected  the  slightest 
opportunity  to  entrap  him.  Yet  he  constantly  mingled  with  thy 
people,  and  by  his  stupendous  works  established  his  claims  to  the 
Messiahship.  He  spoke  with  authority,  and  acted  with  authority,  and 
hence  he  spoke  as  never  man  spoke,  and  acted  as  never  man  acted. 
Without  pomp  and  parade,  without  long  and  labored  effort,  or  the 
tediousness  of  well-guarded  preparatory  steps,  he  performed  all  his 
miracles,  beginning  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  and  ending  on  the  shores 
of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  after  his  resurrection.  Let  the  places  where 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  the  miracles  of  Jesus  were  per- 
formed, be  compared  to  the  places  where  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  pseudo-miracles  of  Mormonism,  Mohammedanism  and 
Roman  Catholicism  have  been  got  up,  and  offered  to  the  world.  The 
contrast  will  be  striking,  the  inquiry  will  prove  beneficial,  and  if  faith 
in  Jesus  be  weak,  it  will  be  strengthened. 

But  the  miracles  of  Jesus  were  wrought  instantly.  Days,  weeks, 
and  months  were  not  required  for  their  performance.  In  the  name 
of  his  Father  he  spoke  the  word,  and  the  lame  walked,  the  diseased 
were  healed,  and  the  dead  raised  to  life.  Not  so  with  those  whose 
object  is  to  deceive.     They  demanded  more  time  in  order  to  succeed. 

Also,  the  miracles  of  Jesus  were  performed  for  the  purpose  of 
doing  good.  They  were  all  benevolent  in  design  and  character.  Not 
one  that  has  an  evil  tendency.  This  cannot  be  affirmed  of  the  frauds 
and  deceptions  of  Roman  Catholicism,  Mormonism,  Mohammedanism, 


58  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  Paganism.  These  all  have  a  far  different  object  in  view — a  far 
different  character — and  subserve  a  far  different  end.  No  selfishness 
can  be  found  in  anything  Jesus  said  or  did.  His  character,  as  well 
as  his  words  and  deeds,  is  free  from  all  accusation.  He  did  not  do 
good  that  he  might  gather  up  gold  or  silver.  Though  rich,  for  our 
sakes  he  became  poor.  He  astonished  all  who  came  Into  his  presence 
by  his  wonderful  words  and  deeds,  and  yet  he  asked  no  reward — only 
required  faith  in  him  and  obedience  to  his  commands,  in  order  to 
the  present  and  ultimate  well-being  of  mankind.  He  was  "great  in 
goodness  and  good  in  greatnesis."  In  him,  for  the  first  and  last  time 
on  earth,  was  perfect  goodness,  wedded  to  perfect  greatness.  Hia 
life  was,  and  is,  and  will  forever  remain,  the  brightest  display  of  all 
those  virtues  and  graces  that  ran  adorn  the  life,  dignify  the  char- 
acter, and  ennoble  the  soul  of  fallen  humanity.  That  Jesus  is  all- 
powerful  to  save,  is  manifest  from  his  resurrection.  He  spoke  to  his 
disciples  of  his  death,  burial  and  resurrection.  "When  he  was  crucified 
and  buried,  however,  all  their  fond  hopes  seemed  dispelled  forever. 
They  went  to  their  former  vocations.  But  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  Mary  Magdalene  and  Mary  the  mother  ot 
James,  and  other  women,  came  to  the  sepulcher  with  sweet  spices,  to 
anoint  the  body  of  Jesus.  They  found  not  their  Lord  there.  An 
angel  had  descended  from  heaven,  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the 
mouth  of  the  sepulcher,  and  sat  upon  it.  His  countenance  was  like 
lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow.  He  said  to  the  women, 
Fear  not;  you  seek  Jesus  who  was  crucified;  he  is  not  here,  but  is 
risen;  come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay.  No,  he  was  not  there. 
His  grave  was  tenantless.  His  enemies  said  that  his  body  was  stolen 
while  the  guard  was  asleep;  his  disciples  declared  that  he  had  risen 
from  the  dead.  Infidelity  has  ever  been  puzzled  to  account  for  the 
fact  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was  missing  on  the  morning  of  the  third 
day.    However 

"Deep  scienc'd  in  the  mazy  lore 
Of  mad  philosophy," 

infidelity,  like  Belshazzar  on  the  fatal  festive  night,  is  here  weighed 

in  the  balance  and  found  wanting.     Jesus  was  the  first  being  that  ever 

rose  from  the  grave.     All  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam  no  more 

disturb  its  dread  silence.     Alexander,  Caesar  and  Napoleon, 

"Who  warred  with  a  world  which  conquered  them  only, 
When  the  meteor  of  conquest  allured  them  too  far," 

sleep  the  sleep  of  death,  and  will  awake  not  until  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection.  The  dead,  small  and  great,  will  break  not  their  slumbers 
until  the  voice  of  the  Archangel  call  them  forth  to  judgment.  But 
Jesus,  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  threw  aside  the  habiliments 
of  death,  and  walked  forth  in  the  majesty  of  his  strength,  mightier 
than  all  the  proud  heroes,  statesmen  and  philosophers  of  earth. 


Tin:    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  59 

4.  Why  are  not  all  healed? — If  Jesus  possesses  all  wisdom,  power, 
goodness,  condescension  and  love,  why  are  not  the  sin-sick  healed  of 
ail  their  terrible  maladies?  The  medicine  may  not  be  good,  the  pre- 
scription may  be  imperfect,  the  medicine  may  not  be  taken,  or  it 
taken,  the  prescription  may  not  be  followed.  Such  suggestion  might. 
by  some,  be  offered.  But  the  medicine  is  good — is  just  such  as  human- 
ity needs.  All  agree  in  exalting  it.  Even  infldelity  is  constrained 
to  acknowledge  its  many  virtues.  The  fault  can  not  be  in  the  medi- 
cine. Wherever  and  whenever  taken,  it  has  proved  effective  in  restor- 
ing and  preserving  health.  Its  wonderfully  happy  effects  upon  body, 
soul  and  spirit,  may  be  seen  by  looking  over  those  lands  where  it  has 
been  most  severely  tested.  It  is  the  only  panacea  known  beneath  the 
skies  for  the  sins  of  our  ruined  race.  It  is  the  only  infallible  remedy 
which  has  been  found,  or  which  will  ever  be  found,  for  the  awful 
maladies  that  are  preying  upon  the  vitals  of  the  miserable  inhabit- 
ants of  earth. 

But  the  prescription — is  it  perfect  or  imperfect?  No  valid  objec- 
tion can  be  offered  against  it.  It  is  simple  and  plain — easily  under- 
stood— adapted  to  the  highest  and  lowest  capacity — to  all  in  every 
age,  clime  and  country;  so  that  those  who  are  spiritually  sick,  may 
easily  ascertain  how  they  may  be  restored  to  health. 

Since,  then,  the  medicine  is  good,  and  the  prescription  faultless, 
and  the  physician  the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand  and  altogether 
acceptable,  man's  perverseness  and  obstinacy  may  account  for  the  fact 
that  all  are  not  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  spiritual  health.  Often 
the  prescription  for  receiving  the  medicine  is  wholly  neglected,  and 
hence  the  consequences  are  fatal;  often  the  prescription  is  observed 
but  in  part,  and  death  is  the  inevitable  result.  Those  who  are  self- 
willed — of  a  perverse  disposition — calling  in  the  aid  of  human  physi- 
cians— taking  human  drugs  and  potions  and  nostrums,  must  perish. 
For  them  there  is  no  salvation.  And  this  to  a  very  great  extent  is 
the  case  in  this  day.  The  heaven-commissioned  physician  and  the 
heaven-prepared  medicine  are  not  unfrequently  spurned  and  rejected 
Thousands  are  thus  acting.  Such  conduct  is  insulting  to  the  Most 
High  God,  and  ruinous  to  the  soul.  Hence,  many  in  the  Christian 
world  are  sick  and  dying.  They  have  followed  and  are  now  follow- 
ing human  devices.  They  have  been  deceived,  and  are  now  being 
deceived,  by  the  spiritual  quackery  of  the  day.  But  in  taking  this 
medicine,  all  human  devices,  preparations  or  prescriptions  must  be 
studiously  avoided.  The  wisdom  of  God  far  transcends  the  wisdom 
of  man;  and  the  directions  given  by  Christ — our  perfect  physician — 
are  far  superior  in  excellence  to  all  the  concentrated  wisdom  of  the 
wise,  past  and  present.  They  are  perfect,  and  can  not  with  impunity 
be  set  aside,  supplanted,  or  improved.     Just  as  they  are,  must  they 


60  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

remain— without  addition  or  subtraction.  They  point  out  the  only 
means  by  which  dying  humanity  can  possibly  live.  In  this  age  oL 
moral  and  spiritual  degeneracy,  they  can  not  be  too  highly  valued,  or 
too  closely  tollowed. 

Suppose  a  person  to  be  sick.  His  system,  from  the  crown  of  his 
head  to  the  sole  of  his  foot,  is  I'acked  by  a  dreadful  disease.  Unless 
relieved,  he  must  very  soon  enter  the  chambers  of  death.  A  physician 
is  called  for.  One  possessing  all  wisdom,  power,  goodness  and  lovp 
is  procured.  He  informs  the  suffering  victim  that  he  has  an  infallible 
remedy — a  specific  for  his  disease;  that  it  has  never  failed  to  restore 
the  sick  and  the  dying  when  properly  administered — that  it  has  been 
tested  by  millions  in  the  past  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  in  every 
instance  has  proved  effective — that  unless  be  take  this  antidote  he 
must  inevitably  die.  But  suppose  the  patient,  addressing  the  physi- 
cian, should  remark,  I  acknowledge  I  am  in  a  deplorable  condition — 
am  perhaps  dying;  I  acknowledge  that  you  are  the  only  physician 
and  possess  the  only  antidote  that  can  possibly  cure  me;  still  I  desire 
to  wait  a  little  while,  until  I  feel  better,  then  I  will  take  your  medi- 
cine; or,  I  desire  to  wait  until  I  feel  like  taking  it;  or,  I  can  only  take 
a  part  of  it;  or,  I  must  take  it  in  my  own  way;  or,  I  think  it  unneces- 
sary to  be  so  particular  as  you  prescribe;  true  you  say  I  must  be 
particular,  and  I  know  I  must  die  unless  you  relieve  me;  but  I  must 
wait  a  little  longer.  What  would  be  thought  of  the  sanity  of  such 
a  person,  or  of  the  wisdom  of  such  suggestions?  And  how  many  thou- 
sands there  are  in  this  day  who  would  condemn  the  unwise  conduct 
of  this  suffering  victim,  and  are  acting  with,  far  greater  folly.  They 
are  spiritually  sick  and  dying,  but  before  receiving  that  which  alone 
can  do  them  good,  they  desire  to  feel  better;  very  desirous  are  they 
to  be  saved,  but  are  unwilling  to  be  guided  by  Him  who  holds  in  his 
hands  life  and  death.  They  stop  to  talk  about  things  essential  and 
not  essential,  what  they  like  and  dislike,  or  what  does  or  does  not 
appear  right  and  proper  according  to  their  preconceived  notions  of  pro- 
priety, not  consulting,  as  they  ought  to,  the  infallible  directions  of 
the  great  and  good  Physician.  Or  if  they  are  constrained  to  consult 
these,  they  must,  as  a  matter  of  course,  first  inquire  of  Dr.  Luther,  or 
Dr.  Calvin,  or  Dr.  Wesley,  before  they  can  possibly  ascertain  the  right 
method  of  taking  the  heaven-prepared  antidote;  thus  virtually  saying 
that  God,  who  has  spoken  to  the  human  family,  has  not  made  his 
word  plain  enough — that  man's  word  must  be  consulted  before  God's 
word  can  be  understood  or  obeyed.  May  God  speed  the  day  when  all 
human  creeds,  confessions  and  formulas  shall  be  repudiated,  when  all 
shall  come  to  the  Scriptures,  without  prejudice;  believing  all,  doing 
all,  confiding  in  all  promises,  and  enjoying  all  rewards  recorded  in 
the  Living  Oracles  of  the  Living  God,  w.  c.  R. 


THE    MILLENNIA  I.    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  61 

THE   CLAIMS   OF  THE  MESSIAH. 

In  1863  Mr.  Campbell  writes: 

Our  kinsman  Redeemer  is  now  the  absolute  Monarch  of  the  whole 
creation  of  Cod.  All  the  angels,  principalities  and  powers  of  the  uni- 
verse are  at  his  command.     What  an  honor  to  humanityl 

Unitarianism  is  but  another  name  for  deism  or  theism.  It  is  not 
Christianity.     It  is  not  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

Divinity,  absolute  Divinity,  in  all  its  grandeur,  dwelt  in  him,  and 
shall  forever  dwell  in  him.  "All  things  were  created  by  him  and 
for  him.'  And  he  was  before  any  creature — the  eternal  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  First  and  the  Last. 

Why  should  any  man  of  good  understanding  make  an  effort  to 
undeify  the  second  Adam — the  Lord  from  heaven,  and  the  Lord  of 
heaven  I  Did  he  not  say,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one"  (John  x.  30)  .' 
His  contemporaries  called  this  blasphemy,  and  took  up  stones  to  ston^; 
him.  This  was  the  second  effort  made  to  murder  him.  W'ith  the 
Jews,  this  was  blasphemy  of  the  first  degree.  He  was  not,  however, 
disposed  to  take  it  back,  or  explain  it  away.  He  condescended  to  rea- 
son with  them.  He  argued  the  case:  "If  I  do  not  the  work  of  my 
Father,  believe  me  not.  But  if  I  do  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe 
not  me,  but  believe  the  works:  that  you  may  know  and  believe  that 
the  Father  is  in  me  and  I  in  him.  Hence  many  there  believed  on 
him"   (John  x.  41). 

I  should  cheerfully  maintain  his  claims  in  New  England,  or  in 
Old  England,  against  any  man  of  character  or  reputation  who  assumes 
Unitarianism,  Arianism,  or  Socinianism,  with  either  tongue  or  pen. 
I  write  not  this  boastingly,  but  with  an  ardent  and  philanthropic 
desire,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  there  is  not  another  name  given  under 
these  heavens  by  or  through  which  any  human  being  can  be  saved. 
My  motto  is,  "He  that  believes  the  gospel  shall  be  saved,  and  he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned,"  and  consequently  exiled  for- 
ever from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power. 

CHRIST   THE    WAY. 

The  Apostles  stood  around  the  Lord  on  the  eve  of  the  last  Pass- 
over, and  hanging  with  melancholy  pleasure  upon  his  words — his  part- 
ing words — he  spoke  of  his  departure,  which  was  then  at  hand,  and 
their  hearts  were  sad;  for  years  they  had  been  his  companions,  while 
traversing  the  land  of  Judea,  enduring  the  storm  and  contempt  of 
those  he  came  to  save;  they  had  listened  to  his  pure  teachings;  they 
had  seen  the  miracles  of  mercy  he  had  performed;  they  were  near 
him  at  the  gates  of  Nain,  when  he  gave  such  glad  tidings  to  the 
widow,  who  mourned  the  loss  of  her  only  earthly  stay;  they  stood 
by   the   tomb  of   Lazarus,   when  he  called  him   from  the  embrace  of 


62  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

death;  they  had  shared  in  his  privations  and  sorrows,  and  now,  when 
he  was  about  to  leave  them  to  struggle  against  the  world  alone,  deep 
sorrow  was  depicted  in  every  countenance,  and  sadness  brooded  over 
every  heart.  He  knew  well  the  grief  that  caused  them  to  bow  their 
heads  in  silence;  he  saw  the  tears  with  which  the  pain  of  parting 
had  suffused  their  eyes;  his  heart  was  stirred  with  sympathy,  and  tho 
words  of  consolation,  "Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled,"  flowed  from 
his  hallowed  lips. 

He  bade  them  believe — to  exercise  that  noble  principle  of  faith,  by 
which,  though  absent,  they  might  still  be  united.  In  the  simplest; 
style  he  informed  them  of  the  cause  of  his  departure;  and  consoled 
them  by  presenting  to  their  minds  the  glories  of  that  bright  abode 
which  he  was  about  to  prepare  for  their  reception,  where  they  should 
dwell  forever  at  his  own  right  hand.  But  there  was  one  amid  that 
tearful  band,  to  whom  these  words  seemed  dark  and  mysterious;  his 
mind  was  not  sufficiently  enlightened  concerning  the  things  of  heaven 
— he  saw  not  clearly,  as  he  desired,  the  path  to  the  home  of  the 
blessed,  and,  in  the  solicitude  of  his  heart,  he  makes  the  anxious 
inquiry:   "How  shall  we  know  the  way?" 

The  Saviour  reproves  not  the  doubter;  but  kindly  turns  to  resolve 
the  doubts  of  this  weak  disciple,  whose  love  was  strong,  though  his 
faith  was  weak,  and  to  point  out  the  way  to  life  eternal.  He  points 
him  not  to  the  old  path,  marked  out  by  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  in 
which  all  God's  ancient  people  trod;  but,  fixing  his  gaze  upon  Thomas, 
he  exclaims,  "I  am  the  Way." 

He  does  not  represent  himself  as  the  great  author  of  that  system, 
which,  if  believed  and  obeyed,  will  result  in  the  salvation  of  those 
who  place  themselves  under  its  influence;  or  as  the  author  of  that 
new  and  living  way  which  he  came  to  open  up  for  our  lost  race;  but 
calling  on  those  around  to  behold  in  him  the  full  and  perfect  embodi- 
ment of  the  new  dispensation,  he  declares,  in  the  loftiest  style  of 
metaphor,  "I  am  the  Way."  Since  the  day  that  man  was  exiled  from 
Paradise,  and  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  he  has  been  continually- 
striving  to  return,  and  recover  his  lost  dignity;  but  his  moral  vision 
has  been  so  beclouded  by  the  effects  of  the  fall,  that  all  his  attempts 
to  find  his  way  back  to  God  have  been  almost  fruitless — the  true  path 
has  been  lost,  and,  like  the  bewildered  traveler,  whom  nightfall  has 
overtaken  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest,  he  groped  his  way  through 
the  gloom,  uncertain  whither  his  wandering  footsteps  led.  True,  he 
was  permitted  to  worship  at  a  distance,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  sacrifice;  but  when  this  method  of  approach  was  contrasted  with  his 
former  intimacy,  in  the  days  of  his  innocence,  when  he  stood  face  to 
face  with  God,  the  way  seemed  dark  and  mysterious,  and  he  longed 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIUOED.  63 

for  a  closer  approarh,  for  a  nearer  view  of  that  pure  and  holy  Being, 
from  whom  he  had  everlastingly  departed. 

Thia  feeling  was  universally  entertained,  and  all  the  rites  of  pagan 
worship  have  sprung  from  this  irrepressible  desire  to  find  the  way 
to  (Jod,  which  nothing  has  been  able  to  extinguish  in  the  heart  of 
our  erring,  fallen,  yet  not  wholly  degenerate  race.  Man  has  ever  felt 
that  there  is  some  object  in  the  universe  to  whom  worship  is  due, 
that  there  is  a  happier  clime  than  the  earth  on  which  he  dwells,  and 
that  every  victim  he  has  slain,  and  every  prayer  he  has  offered,  ha^ 
proved  his  belief  in  a  great  overruling  Being,  and  his  yearning  desire 
for  happiness,  when  all  earthly  scenes  shall  forever  have  closed. 

Philosophers  have  arisen,  who  have  looked  upon  and  pitied  the 
condition  of  their  kind;  they  have  reasoned  profoundly,  concerning 
the  great  Author  of  all  things,  and  the  nature  of  the  worship  that 
should  be  paid  him,  until  dazzled  by  the  splendor  of  the  theories  they 
have  framed,  and  looking  upon  themselves  as  little  less  than  divin- 
ities, have  cried  out  to  their  fellows,  "This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it. ' 
But  the  light  of  unassisted  reason  was  too  feeble  to  point  out  the 
path  for  the  lost  man's  return  and  the  theories  of  the  wise  men  of 
this  world  only  lead  to  bewilder  and  dazzle,  but  to  blind;  hence,  all 
such  striving  after  God  has  only  resulted  in  the  most  debasing  rites, 
and  grovelling  superstitions. 

The  night  of  moral  gloom  was  fast  closing  over  the  world;  the 
Jews  had  nullified  the  law  which  God  had  given  them,  by  their  tradi- 
tions, which  had  usurped  its  place;  the  pagan  nations  were  plunging 
into  still  deeper  ignorance,  and  grosser  superstition,  and  the  world 
seemed  to  be  abandoned  to  utter  helplessness,  when  the  Saviour  came 
to  visit,  and  bless  us  with  the  soul-cheering  intelligence,  "I  am 
the  Way." 

The  declaration  of  the  Messiah  has  gone  forth  to  all  lands;  much 
of  the  darkness  which  brooded  over  the  minds  of  our  race  has  been 
dissipated;  the  way  to  heaven  has  been  made  abundantly  plain,  and 
men  of  every  condition  and  every  clime,  are  called  upon  to  turn  their 
feet  thitherward.  But  men,  in  their  perversity,  have  sought  out  other 
paths  for  their  feet,  and  thousands  have  been  seduced  into  these  for- 
bidden ways  under  the  delusion,  that  they  led  to  the  Celestial  City> 
and  often  the  error  has  not  been  discovered  until  it  was  too  late  to 
retrace  their  steps. 

Christ  is  the  only  true  way — all  others  are  the  paths  of  error, 
and  will  res'-.lt  in  the  misery  of  those  whose  unwary  feet  walk  therein; 
though  they  are  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  soom  like  the  way  of  life, 
they  will  lead  at  last  to  the  chambers  of  death.  Flowers  may  bloom 
along  these  paths,  and  luxuriant  foliage  shade  the  thoughtless  wan- 
derers from  the  noonday  heat;    yet.   though  cool   fountains  murmur. 


64  THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  the  bright  bowers  invite  to  repose,  they  are  but  the  wiles  of  the 
evil  one  to  lure  to  destruction;  for  though  these  paths  seem  so  invit- 
ing, they  lead  to  a  fearful  precipice,  down  whose  rugged  steeps,  ail 
the  lovers  of  the  pleasant  paths  of  sin,  will  be  plunged  to  hopeless 
ruin.  Listen  not,  then,  to  the  syren  voice  of  earthly  pleasure,  when 
she  bids  you  turn  your  feet  into  her  flower-strewn  paths;  but  seek 
the  narrow  way  of  virtue  which  the  Saviour  points  out,  for  though 
the  way  seem  rugged,  and  beset  with  numberless  difficulties,  they  will 
only  prove  your  courage,  and  will  soon  be  surmounted;  the  journey, 
though  toilsome,  will  soon  be  ended,  and  your  weary  feet  will  stand 
in  the  City  of  God. 

Christ  is  the  only  way  to  happiness  and  life — and  to  walk  in  that 
way  is  simply  to  imitate  his  example,  and  keep  all  his  commandments, 
for  thus  only  can  we  trace  his  footsteps  still.  Let  us,  then,  pursue 
with  ardor  and  delight,  our  upward,  our  heavenly  way — and  as  Christ, 
our  leader,  is  himself  the  Way,  let  us  ever  continue  to  walk  in  him. 

THE  SECOND  COMING  OP  CHRIST. 

The  second  coming  of  Christ  and  the  Millennium  fill  large  space  in 
the  Harbingers.  The  teachings  of  Wm.  Miller,  fixing  the  date  of  Hia 
ccming  in  August,  1843,  attracted  great  attention.  It  is  given  very 
full  treatment  in  the  Harbingers.  We  give  the  following,  as  indi- 
cating the  line  of  treatment: 

Mr.  Campbell  says,  Millennial  Harbinger,  1832,  page  438: 

The  following  twelve  reasons  why  the  prophecies  relating  to  the 
second  coming  of  Christ  should  be  literally  interpreted  are  worthy 
of  candid  consideration.  They  are  published  by  Mr.  Nesbit,  London, 
1831: 

All  the  promises  do  travail  and  are  burthened  with  a  glorious  day 
of  grace.  The  nations  of  this  world  are  all  to  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  King — they  are  all  to  submit  to  his  government,  and  to  feel 
the  benign  and  blissful  influences  of  his  sceptre.  This  is  the  expec- 
tation of  almost  all  the  saints  now  living,  as  it  was  the  expectation 
and  the  prayer  of  all  those  who  have  fallen  asleep.  The  present  essay 
proposes  not  to  enter  closely  nor  minutely  into  the  development  of 
the  promises  nor  the  prophecies  relating  to  what  is  usually  called 
"the  Millennium."  This  we  propose  to  do  with  great  deliberation  and 
with  much  detail.  But  we  must  approach  it  cautiously  and  gradually. 
We  wish  to  discriminate  and  to  draw  the  line  accurately  between  what 
is  certain  and  what  is  conjectural  upon  this  subject. 

I.  Every  part  of  the  Jewish  Tabernacle  was  typical  of  things  to  be 
established  in  and  for  the  church  in  this  earth.  Its  sacrifices  were 
types  of  Christ's  perfect  sacrifice;  its  priesthood  a  shadow  of  his 
priestly   office;    the  tabernacle   itself   a   complex   volume  of   hierogly- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HAfdilSOKR    AURIDaED  65 

phlts;  the  Holy  of  Holies  a  type  of  heaven  itself.  Now  as  every  other 
part  oi  the  tabernacle  was  typical  of  what  was  to  be  accomplished 
in  tliis  eaith,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  directing 
the  erection  of  a  typical  heaven  upon  earth  in  the  midst  of  the  camp 
of  Israel,  in  which  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was  visibly  present,  did 
thereby  clearly  signify  to  the  church  that  there  is  a  period  in  the 
dispensation  of  the  fullness  of  times,  when  heaven  itself,  or  the 
glorious  manifestation  of  Jehovah,  shall  come  down  to  this  earth  by 
the  personal  presence  in  it  of  the  Lord  Messiah.  Were  this  not  to  be 
accomplished,  then  the  highest  and  noblest  part  of  the  sacred  struc- 
ture of  this  tabernacle  shall  be  without  an  antitype  on  this  earth,  or 
without  anything  correlative  to  its  deep  spiritual  signification.  Nay, 
were  this  not  to  be  accomplished,  the  church  in  the  Levitical  mspen- 
sation,  which  had  the  visible  presence  of  the  Lord  in  the  pillar  of  tne 
cloud  by  day,  and  of  fire  by  night,  has  a  higher  giory  than  the  church 
in  the  dispensation  of  Messiah;  for  as  this  church  was  not  properly 
constituted  till  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  Apostles  were  endued 
with  power  from  on  high,  and  as  before  that  day  the  Bridegroom  had 
been  taken  from  his  infant  church,  it  follows,  from  the  views  of  those 
who  advocate  a  spiritual  advent,  that  there  is  no  period  when  the 
church  upon  earth  is  to  have  his  presence,  and  therefore  the  Levitical 
church  in  the  wilderness  had  a  higher  glory  than  the  church  of  Mes- 
siah is  to  have,  according  to  this  hypothesis,  even  in  the  Millennium. 
But  this  is  utterly  incredible,  and  expressly  contradicted,  both  by  the 
deep  signification  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  or  typical  heaven  reared  up 
in  the  camp  of  Israel,  and  by  many  plain  prophetic  annunciations. 
(Num.  xxii.  21,  22;  Zech.  ii.  10,  12;  Ezek.  xliii.  7;  Isa.  xxiv.  23;  Zeph. 
iii.  15,  17.) 

II.  Jesus  is  entered  into  heaven  in  the  character  of  our  High 
Priest.  All  the  morning  of  the  great  day  of  atonement,  the  Jewish 
High  Priest  was  employed  in  offering  sacrifices,  first  for  himself,  and 
then  for  the  people.  He  then  entered  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  with 
the  blood  of  the  victims,  having  first  taken  a  censer  of  coals  from  the 
brazen  altar,  and  strewed  incense  on  it,  that  he  might  go  within  the 
vail  amidst  the  cloud  of  smoke  which  this  sweet  perfume  emitted. 
During  the  time  of  his  disappearance,  the  people  mourned,  and  were 
humbled  on  account  of  their  sins.  But  as  soon  as  he  had  sprinkled 
the  blood,  and  offered  the  incense,  he  put  on  his  gjrgeous  robes,  and 
coming  forth  to  bless  the  people,  turned  their  sorrow  into  joy.  In  all 
this  he  typified  the  true  High  Priest,  who  is  not  entered  into  the  holy 
places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the  figures  of  the  true,  but  into 
heaven  itself,  and  that  with  his  own  blood,  and  the  incense  of  his  own 
intercession,  there  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for  us.  During 
his  personal  absence,  his  church  on  earth  is  in  a  depressed  and  suf- 


66  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED 

fering  condition.  It  is  a  time  of  humiliation  and  conflict,  warfare  and 
reproach,  under  which  they  are  upheld,  and  comforted,  by  the  indwell- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  as  the  great  High  Priest  of  his  churcn, 
the  Saviour  has  another  office  to  perform,  which  is,  to  come  forth 
and  bless  them,  to  complete  their  redemption  in  body  as  well  as  in 
soul,  and  to  bring  their  days  of  mourning  to  an  end;  this  he  will 
do,  when  in  the  true  gorgeous  robes  of  his  priesthood  he  shall  appear 
in  his  glory.  "For  as  he  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many, 
so  to  them  that  look  for  him,  he  will  appear  the  second  time  without 
sin  unto  salvation." 

III.  In  typical  illustration  it  is  an  invariable  rule  that  the  type  is 
always  inferior  in  worth,  and  in  the  scale  of  creation,  to  the  antitype. 
Thus  Moses,  Joshua,  David,  Solomon,  etc.,  show  how  the  less  is  always 
the  type  of  the  greater.  Even  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  inferior 
in  the  scale  of  creation  to  the  sovereignties  which  they  represent. 
Now  it  is  strongly  insisted  on  by  those  who  are  opposed  to  a  literal 
interpretation,  that  the  decisive  passage  (Dan.  vii.  13,  14)  is  simply 
a  figure,  denoting  the  conversion  of  the  world  by  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel.  "I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  (says  Daniel,)  and  behold  one 
like  the  Son  of  Man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there 
was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people, 
nations,  and  languages  should  serve  him;  his  dominion  is  an  everlast- 
ing dominion  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which 
shall  not  be  destroyed."  It  is  clear  that  there  can  be  no  dispute 
concerning  the  time  of  his  Advent,  as  to  whether  or  no  it  precedes  the 
Millennium.  The  only  question  is,  whether  it  be  a  spiritual  or  a  per- 
sonal coming?  Now  throughout  the  Scriptures,  Christ  is  the  great 
antitype;  yet  if  this  be  not  taken  in  its  plain  literal  sense,  Christ 
would  appear  merely  as  a  type  of  the  progress  of  his  own  Gospel  in 
the  heart  of  man,  and  therefore  a  type  signifying  something  infinitely 
inferior  in  dignity  to  that  which  was  pointed  out  by  the  morning  and 
evening  lamb  of  the  daily  sacrifice. 

IV.  In  the  Scriptures  the  reigning  of  the  saints  with  Christ,  is 
not  referred  to  merely  as  a  state  of  future  prosperity  which  the  church 
in  the  latter  days  was  to  expect,  but  as  the  comfort  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  people  of  Christ  in  every  age:  as  something  in  which 
they  were  personally  interested,  and  as  intimately  connected  with  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  The  truth  is,  this  is  the  glory  to  whicl 
the  suffering  church  (a  character  which  exclusively  belongs  to  it 
under  the  dispensation  previous  to  the  Millennium)  is  elected,  being 
predestinated  not  only  to  be  partakers  of  Christ's  mercies,  but  to 
be  partakers  of  the  throne  of  his  glory.  The  converted  nation  of  the 
Jews,  and  the  remaining  inhabitants  of  the  world,  will  enjoy  a  state 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  67 

Of  eminent  blessedness;  but  it  will  fall  far  short  of  that  glorious 
height  of  dignity  to  which  the  once  suffering  church  will  be  elevated. 
As  kings  and  priests,  it  is  implied  that  there  are  others  over  whom 
they  are  to  reign,  and  for  whom  they  are  to  interpose. 

V.  All  the  i)rophpcics  which  relate  to  the  sufferings  and  humilia- 
tion of  the  Saviour,  were  fulfilled  literally.  Why,  then,  should  not 
those  prophecies  .which  relate  to  his  exaltation  and  reign  upon  earth, 
be  in  like  manner  literally  accomplished?  If  we  are  at  liberty  to 
spiritualize  all  those  prophetic  declarations  which  foretell  Christ's 
reign  in  glory,  how  can  we  blame  the  Jews  for  adopting  a  similar 
mode  of  interpreting  other  predictions  not  more  clear  and  less  numer- 
ous? The  very  fact  of  such  prophecies,  as,  A  virgin  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  etc.,  being  ever  fulfilled,  renders  their  accomplishment  a 
more  glorious  display  of  that  divine  attribute,  which  Jehovah  claims 
as  peculiarly  his  own,  and  in  proof  of  which  he  even  appeals  to 
prophecy.  The  legitimate  conclusion  from  the  literal  fulfillment  of 
prophecy  in  times  past  surely  is,  that  predictions  concerning  the 
future  will  have  a  similar  accomplishment.  That  as  in  Calvary  Christ 
really  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  so  will  he  really  reign  in 
Mount  Zion  and  before  his  ancients  gloriously.     (Isa.  liii.  10;  xxiv.  23.) 

VI.  To  those  who  oppose  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  passages 
in  Scripture  which  refer  to  the  approaching  Advent  of  our  Lord,  it 
must  appear  singular,  that  there  is  not  in  the  Gospels  or  Epistles 
the  slightest  reference  to  such  a  period  of  peace  and  purity,  as  the 
Old  Testament  prophecies  everywhere  represent,  as  still  to  be  enjoyed 
on  earth.  Yet  in  the  New  Testament,  so  interwoven  are  the  intima- 
tions of  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  and  resurrection  of  the  saints,  with 
all  reference  to  the  Millennium,  that  if  these  events  are  placed  after 
that  happy  time,  then  undeniably  there  is  not  the  most  distant  allu- 
sion to  it.  If  Paul  refers  to  the  Millennium  when  the  sons  of  Abra- 
ham shall  be  grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree,  it  is,  when  the  Deliv- 
erer shall  come  out  of  Zion.  (Rom.  xi.  26.)  If  Peter  alludes  to  it, 
as  the  times  of  restitution,  it  is,  when  the  Lord  shall  send  Jesus 
Christ.  (Acts  iii.  20.)  If  the  same  Apostle  refers  to  the  Millennium, 
when  the  promise  of  God,  uttered  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  should  be 
fulfilled,  of  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  when  Jerusalem  shall  be 
created  a  joy,  and  her  people  a  rejoicing,  (Isa.  Ixv.  17,  IS,)  still  with 
these  new  heavens  and  new  earth  our  views  are  again  directed  to  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  Cod,  which  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief 
in  the  night.     (II.  Pet.  iii.  8-13.) 

VII.  On  the  supposition  that  Christ  was  not  to  return  till  after  the 
Millennium,  it  would  appear  surprising  that  he  should  not  have 
included  that  long  term  of  holiness  and  happiness  among  the  signs 
which  shall  precede  bis  coming.     (Matt,  xxiv.)     After  the  world  has 


68  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

for  thousands  of  years  been  torn  by  dissension,  and  been  the  scene 
of  every  wickedness,  such  a  lengthened  period  of  universal  purity 
and  peace  must  have  proved  a  very  notable  sign.  But  the  words 
'•immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days,"  (Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30.) 
prove  that  the  coming  of  the  Saviour  shall  precede  the  commencement 
of  the  Millennium,  and  therefore  its  existence  couid  not  have  been 
given  as  a  sign  of  his  approach. 

VI II.  When  the  disciples  asked,  (Acts  i.  6,)  "Lord,  wilt  thou  at 
this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel?  (and  this  question 
was  put  after  their  understandings  had  been  opened,  that  they  might 
understand  the  Scriptures,  Luke  xxiv.  45)  our  Saviour  did  not  reprove 
them  for  cherishing  expectations  inconsistent  with  his  design,  as  he 
did  on  occasions  when  this  was  really  the  case;  but  on  the  contrary 
gave  them  every  reason  to  believe  that  their  hopes  were  well  founded. 
This  also  proves  that  at  the  period  of  his  ascension,  the  Apostles  did 
expect  that  he  should  personally  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel. 

IX.  The  Jewish  church,  overlooking  the  series  of  predictions  which 
related  to  Christ's  humiliation,  and  fixing  their  attention  only  on 
those  which  foretold  his  exaltation,  expected  with  perfect  unanimity 
from  Dan.  vii.  14,  and  other  prophetic  passages,  that  the  Messiah 
would  come  as  a  glorious  king  to  reign  in  the  midst  of  them;  ignorant 
that  he  must  first  suffer  many  things.  The  ancient  Christian  church 
did  in  like  manner  understand  the  passages  of  the  Old  Testament, 
now  adduced  by  those  who  advocate  a  literal  translation,  as  signify- 
ing the  real,  personal,  and  glorious  advent  of  the  Messiah.  This 
strong  fact  is  proved  by  the  writings  of  St.  Barnabas,  Justin  Martyr, 
Irenaeus,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Tertullian,  etc. 

It  has  been  justly  remarked  by  an  anonymous  writer  on  another 
subject,  that  "those  who  lived  nearest  to  the  Apostles,  must  have 
best  known  the  minds  of  the  Apostles.  If  then  a  Romanist  and  Prot- 
estant differ  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  text  which  is  the  basis  of  any 
particular  doctrine,  let  the  point  in  dispute,  whenever  it  is  practicable, 
be  referred  to  the  decision  of  the  primitive  church." 

X.  In  the  New  Testament  there  are  three  noun  substantives  used 
to  signify  the  advent.  Apokalupsis,  revelation;  Epiphaneia,  appear- 
ance; Paronsia,  coming,  or  presence.  The  first  occurs  I.  Cor.  i.  7;  II. 
Thess.  i.  7;  I.  Pet.  i.  7.  The  second  occurs  II.  Tim.  i.  10,  in  relation 
to  our  Lord's  first  coming  in  the  flesh,  and  in  relation  to  his  second 
coming  in  the  following  texts:  I.  Tim.  vi.  14;  II.  Tim.  iv.  1-8;  Tit. 
ii.  13.  The  third,  Parousia,  occurs  four  times  in  Matt,  xxiv.;  I.  Cor. 
XV.  23;  I.  Thess.  ii.  19;  iii.  13;  iv.  15;  v.  23.  It  is  used  for  the 
coming  or  presence  of  St.  Paul  with  the  churches,  II.  Cor.  x.  10,  Phil, 
i.  26;  ii.  2.  For  the  coming  of  Antichrist,  II.  Thess.  ii.  9;  the  coming 
of  Stephanus,  I.  Cor.  xvi.  17;   the  coming  of  Titus,  II.  Cor.  vii.  7.     A 


THE    MILLEXNIAL    HAItBlSOER    ABRIDGED.  69 

review  of  these  passages  will  satisfactorily  prove  that  these  words 
are  used  to  signify  the  second  personal  coming  of  our  l>ord;  nor  does 
it  appear  that  any  of  these  words  is  ever  used  to  denote  the  spiritual 
or  figurative  appearance  of  any  person.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that 
the  word  Epiphaneia  was  particularly  employed  by  the  Greeks  to 
denote  the  appearance  of  their  gods  with  circumstances  oi  outward 
splendor.  Now  the  coming  of  our  Lord  to  destroy  the  man  of  sin 
previous  to  the  Millennium,  in  II.  Thess.  ii.  8,  is  expressed  Dy  the 
union  of  two  of  the  above  nouns,  te  epiphaneia  les  varottstas  autou, 
by  the  bright  shining  of  his  coming:  and  if  neither  of  these  nouns 
can  singly  denote  a  spiritual  advent,  much  less  can  they  when  con- 
joined; and  if  each  of  them,  when  employed  separately  means  a  per- 
sonal manifestation  and  presence,  much  more  must  they  when  united. 
Since,  therefore,  the  glorious  coming  of  Christ  takes  place  at  the 
destruction  of  Antichrist,  and  since  this  destruction  occurs  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  church  of  God  in  all  ages  before  the  Mil- 
lennium, it  follows  that  Christ  comes  in  glory  to  judge  the  world 
before  that  period. 

XI.  When  the  Lord  and  his  Apostles  would  inculcate  the  necessi- 
ty of  watchfulness  upon  those  who  profess  to  acknowledge  him  as 
their  Master,  the  language  is  remarkable.  They  do  not  address  them 
in  such  words  as  these,  "Watch,  for  death  is  hastening;"  "Be  ready, 
for  shortly  you  must  leave  this  earth" — but  thus  do  they  warn  them: 
"Watch,  therefore,  for  ye  know  not  the  hour  your  Lord  doth  come. ' 
"Be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of 
Man  cometh."  In  fact,  death  is  a  subject  to  which  the  Lord  and  his 
Apostles  but  seldom  refer,  and  which  they  do  not  bring  forward  as  an 
incentive  to  watchfulness  and  preparation.  The  coming  of  the  Lord, 
the  second  and  glorious  appearing  of  the  divine  Saviour,  this  't  is 
which  they  urge  upon  us,  and  by  the  consideration  of  which,  in  con- 
nection with  the  events  which  are  then  to  take  place,  they  endeavor  to 
overcome  the  inherent  slothfulness  of  our  nature,  and  stir  us  up  to 
activity  in  the  work  of  God,  and  to  watchfulness  over  our  hearts  and 
spirits.  For  thus  doth  the  Lord  himself  caution  us:  "Take  heed  to 
yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeit- 
ing and  drunkenness,  and  the  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  come 
upon  you  unawares;  for  as  a  snare  shall  it  come  upon  all  them  that 
dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  Watch  ye,  therefore,  and  pray 
always,  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy  to  escape  all  these  things 
that  shall  come  to  pass,  and  to  stand  before  the  Son  of  Man"  (Luko 
xxi.  35-37). 

XII.  The  first  event  which  distinguishes  the  advent  of  our  (..ord 
(Matt.  XXV.  31),  is,  that  he  shall  then  sit  on  tlic  throne  of  his  qlory. 
If  it  is  not  till  the  advent  that  he  shall  tluis  sit  on  the  ihrone  of  his 


70  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

glory,  it  necessarily  follows,  that  he  is  not  now  sitting  on  that  throne. 
Accordingly,  he  himself  assures  us  (Rev.  iii.  21),  that  the  throne 
where  he  now  sits,  is  that  of  his  Father  (in  heaven);  and  his  words 
necessarily  imply,  that  his  session  on  his  own  throne  is  yet  a  future 
event.  If  we  further  inquire  what  is  the  identical  throne  on  which 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  Man,  shall  sit?  we  find  an  answer  in  the  well- 
known  prophecy  of  Isa.  ix.  7:  "He  shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  establish  it."  Confirm- 
atory of  which,  are  also  the  words  of  Gabriel  to  his  virgin  mother 
(Luke  i.  32):  "The  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David,  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever." 
Unless,  then,  we  identify  the  throne  of  David  with  that  of  the  Eternal 
Father,  which  would  be  blasphemy,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the 
session  of  Messiah  on  his  own  throne,  is  a  distinct  event,  and  be- 
longing to  anocher  period. 

The  judgment  in  Matt.  xxv.  31,  commences,  therefore,  when  the 
Son  of  Man  sits  upon  the  throne  of  his  father  David.  Now,  is  any 
light  thrown  upon  the  chronology  of  this  stupendous  event  by  other 
passages  of  Scripture?  In  Matt.  xix.  28,  will  be  found  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  words,  spoken  by  our  Lord  to  his  Apostles:  "Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  which  have  followed  me  in  the  regeneration, 
ichen  the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall 
sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  In  the 
parallel  text  of  Luke  xxii.  28,  30,  there  is  to  be  found  the  additional 
circumstance  that  it  is  in  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  that  this  promise 
is  to  be  fulfilled:  "Ye  are  they  which  have  continued  with  me  in  my 
temptations,  and  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath 
appointed  unto  me,  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table,  in  my 
kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  ' 
Now,  the  precise  time  when  this  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  Man  shall  bs 
established,  is  manifest  from  Dan.  vii.  13,  14,  wherein  the  prophet 
sees  the  Messiah  brought  near  to  the  Ancient  of  Days,  and  there  was 
given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  na- 
tions, and  languages,  should  serve  him.  And  that  this  event  coin- 
cides with  the  beginning  of  the  Millennium  is  generally  acknowledged 
as  a  main  and  leading  principle  of  prophetic  chronology,  even  by  the 
opponents  of  literal  interpretation.  We  read  of  no  other  kingdom 
given  to  the  Son  of  Man  than  the  one  mentioned  in  this  passage  of 
Daniel,  and  the  corresponding  texts  of  the  Apocalypse;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  dispensation  of  the  kingdom,  we  learn  that  he  delivers 
it  up  to  the  Father,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all.     (I.  Cor.  xv.  24.) 

The  following  is  condensed  from  twenty-seven  essays  under  the 
above  title,  published  in  1841  to  1843.  during  the  excitement  produced 
by  Wm.  Miller  preaching  that  Christ  would  come  in  August,  1843: 


THE    MILLENNIAL    IIAIiBlNOER    ABRIDGED.  71 

Of  all  future  events,  that  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in  power  and 
glory,  is  the  most  soul-subduing,  enrapturing,  and  transcendant.  In 
one  sentence,  it  is  "the  blessed  hope."  The  church  has  been  praying 
for  it,  and  the  whole  creation  groaning  and  travailing  in  pain  for  it 
for  almost  two  thousand  years.  "Behold,  he  tometh  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him.  They  also  that  pierced  him, 
and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him."  Then  will 
"heaven's  eternal  arches  ring"  with  shoutings  of  glory,  and  honor, 
and  blessing,  and  praise,  while  his  enemies  will  be  confounded  with 
terror  and  clothed  with  shame. 

But  when  shall  tl;is  most  joyful  hope  be  consummated  in  vision! 
When  shall  the  Lord  come!  Whether  shall  it  l>e  before  the  triumphs 
of  Christianity  over  Paganism,  Mahometanism,  Papalism,  and  Athe- 
ism, usually  called  the  Millennium,  or  after  this  moral  victory?  This 
is  the  great  question  now  in  debate.  My  method  of  deciding  it 
embraces  in  its  philosophy  as  a  primary  evidence  the  events  that  ars 
clearly  and  incontrovertibly  declared  to  be  concomitant  with,  or  atten- 
dant upon  his  (-oming.  These  decided,  and  the  question  is,  in  my 
opinion,  settled  on  the  clearest  and  safest  foundation.  To  discover 
and  substantiate  these,  is  the  burthen  of  the  present  essay.  Of  neces- 
sity, therefore,  this  essay  must  consist  mainly  of  testimony  from 
which  we  may  argue  again. 

The  points  to  which  I  solicit  attention  are  four:  — 

1st.  The  probability  of  the  personal  return  of  the  Lord  to  this 
earth. 

2d.  The  certainty  of  it. 

3d.  The  mariner  of  it. 

4th.  The  events  then  to  be  expected. 

The  probability  of  his  return  is  argued  from  two  facts: — 1st.  It  is 
the  place  of  liis  nativity.  "And  thou  Bethlehem  of  Judah  art  not  the 
least  of  the  cantons  of  Israel;  for  out  of  thee  shall  he  come — or  in 
thee  shall  he  be  born,  who  shall  become  Governor  of  my  people  Israel.  ' 
"The  Word  that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  that  was  God,"  "by 
whom  all  things  were  made,"  became  human  flesh  in  the  city  of  David, 
and  was  born  of  a  daughter  of  Eve,  in  Asia,  1,836  years  ago.  It  is 
human  to  love  the  place  of  one's  nativity.  And  especially  is  it  pleas- 
ant for  one  who  has  been  raised  to  great  honor  and  authority,  and 
who  has  been  long  unknown  to  the  place  where  he  first  saw  the  light 
of  heaven,  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  his  childhood,  and  re-survey  the 
humble  horizon  which  once  bounded  his  views  of  the  universe,  and  in 
which  he  first  learned  to  know  himself.  No  wonder,  then,  should 
our  Lord  delight  to  stand  at  "the  latter  day  upon  this  earth,"  not  far 
from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  whence  to  heaven  his  earthly  friends  and 
relatives  saw  him  triumphantly  ascend. 


72  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

But  there  is  a  second  fact  that  adds  much  to  the  probability  of  his 
return:  He  has  much  property  in  this  earth.  All  things  in  it,  on  it, 
and  connected  with  it,  are  his.  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the 
fullness  thereof" — "All  things  were  made  by  him  and  for  him,  and 
he  is  before  all  things;"  and  by  him  all  things  are  preserved,  for  he 
upholds  all  things  by  his  all-powerful  word.  "The  Lord  has  created 
all  things  for  himself" — "For  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were  created." 
Where  the  treasure  is  the  heart  is.  Where  one  has  much  property 
he  has  much  thought  and  much  attachment.  Our  Lord  has  much 
property  here.  The  earth,  the  sea,  the  air — the  kingdoms,  animal, 
vegetable,  mineral,  are  his.  The  Devil  will  not  for  ever  usurp  the 
territory  of  Christ's  present  kingdom;  nor  retain  the  field,  the  theatre 
of  war,  on  which  he  and  our  Messiah  in  single  combat  fought  the  first 
battle,  when  first  Satan  felt  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  that  proceeded 
out  of  his  mouth.  He  will  take  the  field  and  drive  the  usurper  down 
to  eternal  ruin.  The  earth  is,  moreover,  dear  to  the  Lord;  because 
the  ashes  of  all  his  saints,  a  few  only  excepted,  are  in  it.  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph,  David,  etc.  have  their  sepulchres  with  us  to  this 
day.  From  such  considerations  and  facts  we  infer  the  probability  of 
his  return.     But  to  the  second  point,  the  certainty  of  his  return:  — 

1st.  The  types  under  the  law  indicate  his  return.  The  Jewish  High 
Priest  entered  the  most  holy  place  once  a  year.  He  presented  his 
sacrifice  there  before  Him  that  dwells  between  the  cherubim.  Mean- 
time, the  people  anxiously  expected  his  return  after  he  had  for  them 
made  an  offering  and  prepared  a  place.  He  ultimately  returned  to 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle  and  blessed  them  that  looked  for  his  return. 
So  says  Paul;  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sin  of  many,  and 
to  them  that  look  for  him  (as  the  Jews  looked  for  the  return  of  the 
High  Priest)  shall  he  appear  the  second  time,  without  a  sin-offering, 
to  salvation,  having  made  his  offering  within  the  vail. 

2d.  He  promised  to  return.  Matt.  xvi.  27,  "The  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  his  angels,  and  then  he  shall 
reward  every  man  according  to  his  works."  So  also  speaks  the  parable 
of  the  Sheep  and  the  Goats  (Matt.  xxv.  31);  so  also  the  parable  of 
the  Nobleman  going  into  a  far  country  to  receive  a  kingdom  and 
return  (Luke  xix.  11-23).  And,  without  a  figure,  in  his  valedictory 
he  says,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you,  and  will  come  again  and 
receive  you  to  myself,  that  where  I  am  there  you  may  be  also"  (John 
xiv.  3).  This  is  excelled  only  by  Acts  i.  11,  "Men  of  Galilee,  why  stand 
you  gazing  up  to  heaven?  This  same  Jesus  who  is  taken  up  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  come  in  like  manner  as  you  have  seen  him  go 
into  heaven."  The  certainty  of  his  return  being  now  as  definite  and 
plain  as  our  language  can  make  it,  we  shall  now  hear  something  of 


THE    MILLKXMAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  73 

3d.  The  manner  of  liis  returning.  In  one  word,  we  are  informed, 
(Luke  ix.  2G,)  that  he  will  <ome  in  his  own  gloiy,  his  Father's  glory, 
and  in  that  of  the  holy  angels.  Well  did  Paul  say,  "Ix>oking  for 
that  blessed  hope,  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  In  awful  majesty  God  as  lawgiver  descended 
on  Mount  Sinai.  (Ex.  xix.)  "On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  there 
were  thunders  and  lightnings  and  a  thick  cloud  upon  the  mount,  and 
the  voice  of  a  trumpet  exceeding  loud,  so  that  all  the  people  that  wad 
in  the  camp  trembled."  "And  all  the  people  saw  the  thunders  and 
lightnings,  and  the  noise  of  the  trumpet,  and  the  mountain  smoking, 
and  the  fire  blazing  up  into  the  midst  of  heaven;  and  they  removed 
and  stood  afar  off."  Such  was  the  glory  of  the  Lawgiver.  But  when 
he  appears  as  a  Judge,  "a  fiery  stream  issues  and  goes  before  him, 
thousand  thousands  of  angels  minister  to  him,  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  stand  before  him,  and  the  books  are  opened.  Earth  and 
heaven  shall  flee  away,  and  there  is  found  no  place  for  them.  Our 
God  shall  come,  and  shall  no  more  be  silent,  but  speak  out.  A  fire 
shall  go  before  him,  and  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous  round  about 
him.  He  shall  summon  earth  and  heaven.  The  Lord  shall  descend 
with  a  shout,  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God. 
His  voice  shall  be  heard  by  every  ear,  dead  and  alive,  in  the  whole 
universe— all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  it  and  come  forth." 
But  we  hasten  to  the  four  great  events  attendant  on  his  coming:  — 

1    He  will  raise  all  the  saints. 

Some  Millennarians  say  only  some  of  the  saints,  and  quote  Daniel 
and  John  in  proof  of  it.  Daniel,  alluding,  as  they  think,  to  the  second 
oi  premillennial  coming  of  the  Lord,  says,  "And  many  of  them  that 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake— some  to  everlasting  life, 
and  some  to  everlasting  shame  and  contempt."  And  John  says,  '  I 
saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  who  had  not  worshipped  the  beast, 
nrither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads 
01  in  their  hands;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years  The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  till  the  thousand  years 
were  finished.  This  is  the  first  resurrection."  From  these  two 
Prophets  some  infer  that  there  will  be  only  a  portion  of  the  saints, 
as  described  by  John,  who  shall  share  in  the  first  resurrection,  and 
that  the  remainder  will  sleep  a  thousand  years  to  the  second  resur- 
rection In  opposition  to  this  view  we  assert  that  all  the  saints  will 
be  raised  whenever  the  Lord  appears  in  person.  Some  of  our  proof 
will  be  found  in  the  following  Scriptures:  I.  Thess.  iv.  16,  "The  Lord 
hlmsell  shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel,  ana  with  the  trump  of  God;   and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall 


74  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

rise  first" — not  a  part  of  the  dead,  but  the  dead  in  Christ,  shall  rise 
first.  "We  are  here  definitely  assured  that  when  the  Lord  himself  (or  in 
person)  descends,  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise.  The  import  of  the 
term  first,  in  its  proper  place,  shall  appear.  A  second  proof  we  have 
from  the  same  source.  I.  Cor.  xv.  23,  "All  shall  be  made  alive— they 
that  are  Christ's,  at  his  coming."  Not  some  of  them,  but  "they  that 
are  Christ's,"  shall  be  made  alive — not  before  nor  after,  but  at  his 
coming.  This  does  not  look  like  a  part,  a  thousand  years  before 
another  part.  A  third  proof  we  have  in  the  52d  verse  of  the  same 
chapter:  "In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump 
the  dead  [saints]  shall  be  raised  incorruptible."  If  these,  which  are 
but  a  sample,  will  not  demonstrate  that  all  the  saints  shall  be  raised 
not  before,  nor  after,  but  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  a  thousand  repe- 
titions of  them  in  various  forms  would  not.     But  in  the  second  place. 

The  living  saints  shall  be  changed  immediately  upon  the  raising 
of  the  dead  saints. 

Our  proofs  are  found  in  the  passages  already  quoted:  I.  Thess.  iv. 
15,  "We  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
shall  not  anticipate  them  that  are  asleep.  The  dead  in  Christ  shall 
rise  first:  then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up 
together  with  them  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air."  From 
this  statement  we  learn  that  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  at  the  sound 
of  the  trumpet;  and  while  it  yet  sounds,  the  living  saints  shall  be 
changed  in  a  twinkling,  and  shall  with  them  ascend  to  meet  the  Lord. 

From  the  15th  of  Corinthians  we  learn  this  mystery:  "We  shall 
not  all  sleep,  but  uie  shall  all  be  changed  in  a  moment — the  dead  shall 
be  raised,  and  the  living  shall  be  changed."  Again,  to  the  Philippians 
he  says,  "Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  whence  also  we  look  for  the 
Saviour  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  shall  change  our  humble  body  into  a 
form  like  to  his  own  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working  by  which 
he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  to  himself."  The  transformation  of 
the  living  saints  is,  then,  as  evident  and  certain  as  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 

A  third  event  that  shall  accompany  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  will  be, 
the  judgment  and  final  separation  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  resurrection  and  transforma- 
tion of  the  saints  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  But  we  might  have  also 
connected  with  these  two  grand  events  the  resurrection  of  all  the 
wicked.  Our  Lord  himself  is  first  witness  here.  He  says  (John  v. 
39),  "Marvel  not  at  this— for  the  hour  cometh  in  the  which  all  that 
are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth:  they  that  have  done  good,  to  the 
resurrection  of  life;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  to  the  resurrection 
of  condemnation."     Then   cometh   the  general   judgment;    for  this  is 


TIJK    MILLKWIAL    HAIiBlNOER    ABRIDGED.  75 

connected  with  the  second  coming  (Matt.  xvi.  27),  "For  the  Son  of 
Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  his  holy  angels,  ami 
then  he  shall  reward  every  man  according  to  his  actions."  The 
rewarding  of  all  mankind  is  here  connected  with  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  in  glory.  .Vgain  (Matt.  xxv.  31),  "When  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  all  his  holy  angels  with  him, 
then  shall  he  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory;  and  before  him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations,  and  he  shall  separate  them  as  a  shepherd  sepa- 
rateth  the  sheep  from  the  goats,"  etc.  Rev.  xxi.  12,  "Behold,  I  come 
quickly  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to  give  to  every  man  as  his  works 
shall  be."  Indeed,  the  general  and  final  judgment  of  the  human  race 
is  almost  universally  spoken  of  in  conjunction  with  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  in  person.     There  yet  remains  a  fourth  grand  event:  — 

The  structure  of  the  material  universe  shall  be  changed,  and  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth  created. 

In  the  102d  Psalm  we  have  this  promise,  "The  heavens  shall  per- 
ish— they  all  shall  wax  old  as  doth  a  garment,  and  as  a  vesture  thou 
Shalt  change  them."  Therefore,  according  to  the  promise,  we  look  for 
new  heavens  and  a  new  earth:  for,  says  Peter,  quoting  from  an  old 
Prophet,  "The  heavens  and  the  earth  that  are  now  are  reserved  unto 
fire,  against  the  day  of  judgment  and  destruction  of  ungodly  men." 
In  the  day  of  the  Lord  "the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat;  the  earth  also, 
and  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burned  up."  But  He  that 
sits  upon  the  throne  says,  "Behold  I  create  all  things  new"  ( Rev. 
xxi.  5);  and  accordingly  John  saw  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth. 
And  from  that  point  in  the  heavens  where  the  saints  of  the  Lord 
assembled  around  their  Master  during  the  general  conflagration,  John 
saw  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city  coming  down  from  God  out 
of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  for  her  husband,  to  locate  in  the  new 
earth,  the  everlasting  home  of  man;  for  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  to 
be   there   forever. 

On  this  point  I  do  not  now  amplify.  My  object  is  simply  to  pro- 
duce Scriptural  evidonco  that  when  the  Lord  appears  a  second  time 
these  four  events  will  certainly  follow  in  quick  succession: — 1st.  All 
the  dead  saints  shall  be  raised.  2d.  All  the  living  saints  shall  be 
changed.  3d.  All  nations  shall  be  judged  and  a  final  separation 
between  the  good  and  the  bad  shall  take  place.  4th.  New  heavens 
and  a  new  earth  shall  be  created,  and  the  earth  shall  then  he  the 
dwelling  place  of  Jehovah,  the  centre  of  the  universe,  the  throne  of 
the  Eternal,  and  all  things  shall  be  subdued  to  him.  These  points 
being  established,  not  by  reason  or  argument,  but  by  clear  and 
unequivocal    testimony,    we   shall   in    the   sequel   argue    from    them    as 


76  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

established  points.  Meanwhile,  we  offer  the  following  question  to  the 
consideration  of  our  brethren:— If  our  Lord  personally  appear  before 
the  Millennium,  what  will  the  Millennium  be,  and  where  shall  it  be 
found?  And  if,  according  to  Mr.  Miller  and  some  others,  more  imagi- 
native than  learned  in  prophecy,  this  event  shall  be  within  a  few 
years;  how  shall  all  the  promises  and  prophecies  concerning  Jew  and 
Gentile  be  fulfilled?  Do  they  all  simply  mean  the  resurrection  and 
the  glorification  of  the  saints  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord! !  A  hint  is 
enough  at  present.    We  have  many  such  to  offer  in  their  proper  season. 

A.   c. 

If  the  coming  of  the  Lord  be  soon — within  the  present  century,  for 
example — then  there  will  be  no  Millennium  or  triumph  of  Christianity 
over  its  various  rivals  now  in  the  field.  They  will  rather  have  tri- 
umphed over  it.  However  much  real  Christians  desire  the  return  of 
their  Master,  there  are  few  of  them,  I  think,  who  would  not  desire 
his  gospel  to  have  a  freer  circulation  and  a  more  triumphant  career 
in  the  world  than  it  has  ever  yet  had,  before  the  last  act  of  the  drama 
of  human  existence  on  this  present  earth  is  finished.  In  this  case, 
too,  "the  kingdom,  and  the  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom under  the  whole  heaven,"  has  not  been  given  according  to  prom- 
ise, to  the  people  of  the  Most  High,  and  very  many  such  promises 
have  failed.  This  we  can  not  yet  believe.  There  are  some,  indeed, 
who  look  for  the  almost  immediate  return  of  the  Messiah,  and  yet 
calculate  on  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  and  of  many  Gentile  nations; 
but  they  will  have  them  converted  by  sight  rather  than  by  faith, 
and  upon  that  principle  all  the  world  will  be  converted  to  the  belief 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  when  they  see  him  coming  from  heaven  in 
power  and  great  glory.  But  such  a  conversion  will  not  be  to  salva- 
tion, but  to  condemnation.  They  shall  see  him,  and  wail  at  his  coming. 

But  still  the  question  returns.  Will  the  Lord  come  before  or  after 
the  Millennium?  It  is  decided  that  if  he  come  so  soon  as  1843,  1847, 
or  1866,  there  can  be  no  thousand  years'  triumph  of  Christianity, 
because  the  events  that  are  to  follow  in  instant  succession  upon  his 
coming  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  further  conflict  between  truth 
and  error;  nay,  preclude  the  increase  of  the  human  family,  and  for- 
ever separate  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  The  structure  of  th-3 
earth  is  changed — new  heavens  and  earth  occupy  its  place — and 
instead  of  being  with  the  Lord  a  thousand  years  on  this  earth,  his 
people  will  be  with  him  in  a  new  earth  to  all  eternity!  This,  then. 
is  a  summary  way  of  settling  the  whole  controversy  about  the  literal 
or  figurative  return  of  the  Lord  before  the  Millennium. 

We  shall  then  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  second  point,  viz. 
— What  are  the  events  which  are  to  precede  the  coming  of  the  Lord? 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  77 

In  general  terms  we  answer,  The  fulfillment  of  all  his  promises 
concerning  the  destinies  of  his  friends  and  enemies  on  this  earth;  or, 
to  speak  our  views  in  the  words  of  an  Apostle,  "Him  the  heavens 
shall  retain  until  the  times  of  the  atcomplishment  of  all  the  things 
which  God  has  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  Prophets  from  the 
beginning  of  time." 

Of  these  the   following  are  chief  specifications:  — 

1.  The  downfall  of  Judaism. 

2.  The  downfall  of  Papalism. 

3.  The  downfall  of  Mahometanism. 

4.  The  downfall  of  Paganism. 

5.  The  triumph  of  Christianity. 

But  before  we  speak  particularly  of  these,  we  are,  from  the  force  of 
circumstances,  constrained  to  examine  a  very  notable  passage  in  thv? 
Apocalypse,  which  will  be  urged  by  some  against  our  views  already 
expressed  on  the  resurrection  which  is  to  accompany  the  appearance 
of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  (Rev.  xx.  1-10.)  This 
is  the  Millennium — the  mysterious  and  wonderful  passage  on  which 
there  have  been  written  a  thousand  volumes  printed,  and  ten  thou- 
sand sermons  delivered.  In  ten  verses  we  have  one  thousand  years 
six  times  mentioned  under  some  new  circumstance:  — 

1st.  Satan  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years. 

2d.  He  deceives  not  the  nations  for  a  thousand  years. 

3d.  The  martyrs  and  confessors  live  and  reign  with  Christ  a  thou- 
sand years. 

4th.  The  rest  of  the  dead  revive<l  not  for  a  thousand  years. 

5th.  They  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  Christ,  and  shall  reign  with 
him  a  thousand  years. 

6th.  At  the  end  of  a  thousand  years  Satan  shall  be  loosed,  and  the 
work  of  deception  shall  again  commence. 

Although  we  have  this  Millennium,  or  one  thousand  years,  six 
times  named  in  four  periods,  we  have  it  only  in  three  distinct  con- 
nections: 1st.  The  destruction  of  Satanic  influence  for  a  thousand 
years.  2d.  The  living  and  reigning  with  Christ  on  this  earth  of  cer- 
tain saints,  confessors,  and  martyrs,  for  one  thousand  years.  3d.  The 
permission  of  Satan  to  revisit  the  earth  after  the  thousand  years  are 
accomplished. 

This  Millennium,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  is  to  be  preceded  and 
succeeded  by  a  resurrection.  The  first  resurrection  precedes  and  the 
second  resurrection  succeeds  it.  It  is,  then,  an  interval  of  a  thousand 
years  between  two  resurrections.  Now  that  the  resurrection  l)efore, 
and  the  resurrection  after,  this  thousand  years,  are  both  figurative 
resurrections,  and  in  various  points  to  be  contrasted  with  the  literal 


78  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  true  resurrection,  is  a  proposition  which  we  think  can  be  fully 
sustained.  This  we  undertake,  however,  at  this  time  because  of  a 
somewhat  popular  misapplication  of  the  whole  passage  in  its  principal 
bearings  upon  that  resurrection,  true  and  proper,  which  is  to  follow 
upon  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord.  But  we  shall  make  the  contrast 
of  the  premillennial  resurrection  with  the  resurrection,  accompanying 
the  second  advent,  the  subject  of  a  special  essay.  a.  c. 

That  we  may  be  understood  in  this  antithesis,  or  contrast  between 
the  literal  and  the  figurative  resurrection,  we  shall  call  the  former 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  the  latter  the  premillennial  resur- 
rection. 

1st.  Before  we  advance  into  this  subject,  while  in  the  portico  we 
shall  define  a  literal  and  a  figurative  resurrection.  We  have  the  lit- 
eral and  the  figurative  in  things  natural,  moral,  and  religious.  There 
are  two  births,  circumcisions,  baptisms,  marriages,  deaths,  burials; 
and  why  should  there  not  be  two  resurrections? 

Nicodemus  was  a  great  literalist  when  he  asked.  How  can  a  grown 
man  be  born  again?  As  great  literalists,  perhaps",  may  they  be  found 
who  take  "the  first  resurrection"  mentioned  in  the  20th  of  the  apoca- 
lyptic visions,  to  be  a  literal  one.  But  it  is  yet  too  soon  to  decide. 
We  first  examine,  then  decide. 

We  have  a  minute  account  of  a  figurative  resurrection  of  the  house 
of  Israel  by  the  Prophet  Ezekiel.  The  Lord  "opened  the  graves"  and 
raised  from  the  valley  of  "dry  bones"  a  living  and  puissant  army. 
That  was  a  figurative  resurrection.  In  baptism  we  are  both  buried 
and  raised  with  Christ — planted  in  the  similitude  of  his  death,  to  be 
raised  in  the  similitude  of  his  resurrection. 

The  restoration  of  Israel  in  Rom.  xi.  is  by  Paul  called  "life  from 
the  dead."  "Since  you  have  been  raised  with  Christ,  ascend  in  your 
affections,"  is  a  part  of  the  beautiful  imagery  of  Paul  to  the  Colos- 
sians.  If  there  were  two  Elijahs,  one  literal  and  one  figurative,  we 
need  not  wonder  that  there  should  be  two  resurrections — a  figurative 
and  a  literal  one.  Now  in  the  book  of  types  and  symbols  the  pre- 
sumption is  in  favor  of  a  metaphorical  resurrection,  unless  something 
be  connected  with  it  that  precludes  the  possibility  or  probability  of 
such  an  appropriation. 

When  any  cause  is  almost  or  altogether  dead,  whether  it  be  good 
or  bad,  should  it  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  revive,  we  would  with 
Paul  think  of  "life  from  the  dead,"  or  with  John  call  it  a  resurrection. 
Nay.  it  may  yet  appear  that  John  has  a  first  and  a  second  figurative 
resurrection — one  before  and  one  after  his  thousand  years;  for  if 
after  a  long  prostrate,  dispirited,  and  ineffectual  profession  of  the 
faith,    a   great   and    unprecedented    revival    should   take    place,    and   a 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDOED.  79 

Prophet  shoukl  call  it  a  resurrpction,  might  he  not,  at  the  end  of  that 
great  revival  or  resurrection  of  the  good  spirits  of  the  olden  time, 
when  an  opposite  class  began  to  rise  into  power,  think  of  another 
resurrection,  which  in  contrast  he  would  naturally  call  a  second  res- 
urrection? This  John  virtually  does  by  calling  one  of  them  a  first 
resurrection;  and  by  afterwards  speaking  of  the  "rest  of  the  dead" 
living  again.  Whether  I  have  got  the  true  secret  of  interpreting  the 
20th  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  following  antithesis  may  in  part  demon- 
strate. We  shall  only  add  that  while  a  literal  resurrection  has  respect 
to  the  body  dead  and  buried,  a  figurative  resurrection  in  the  Christian 
religion  will  indicate  not  bodies,  but  souls  quickened,  animated,  and 
elevated  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  that  as  in  the  same  treatise  John 
speaks  of  the  death,  and  of  "the  spirit  of  life"  reanimating  and  ele- 
vating to  heaven  the  two  witnesses,  the  presumption  is  that  he  is  as 
figurative  in  the  20th  as  he  was  in  the  14th  chapter  of  his  scenetic 
and  symbolic  representations. 

1st.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  is  only  a  resurrection  of  the 
body;  tchereas  the  premillennial  resurrection  is  a  resurrection  of 
souls,  and  not  of  bodies.  "I  saw  the  souls  of  the  beheaded,"  says 
John,  "and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 
This  is  the  first  resurrection."  Now  of  the  body  Paul  says,  "It  is 
sown  a  natural  body  and  raised  a  spiritual  body — it  is  sown  a  corrupts 
il)le  body  and  raised  an  incorruptible."  The  premillennial  resurrec- 
tion is  a  raising  of  souls,  while  the  resurrection  which  immediately 
follows  the  appearance  of  the  Lord,  is  a  raising  of  bodies. 

2d.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  is  general — the  premillennial  is 
special. 

"All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth."  "There  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the  unjust." 
These,  with  other  passages  of  the  same  significance,  apply  to  the  res- 
urrection of  the  dead,  as  all  admit.  But  in  the  account  of  the  pre- 
millennial resurrection  only  some  will  participate  in  it:  for,  says 
John,  "I  saw  the  souls  of  them  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  whosoever  had  not  worshipped  the  beast 
nor  his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads  or 
in  their  hands;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years." 

3d.  The  resurrection  of  the  body  will  be  accompanied  uith  the 
transformation  of  all  the  living  saints — the  premillennial  will  not. 

No  one  pretends  that  all  the  living  saints  will  be  changed  when  the 
first  resurrection  (as  It  Is  called)  transpires;  and  no  one  can  deny 
that  Paul  says  both  the  living  saints  shall  be  changed  and  the  dead 
raised,  and  both  ascend  togetlier  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air. 


80  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

4th.  The  participants  of  the  resurrection  of  the  saints  will  live  and 
reign  forever;  while  the  participants  of  the  premillennial  resurrec- 
tion are  only  to  live  and  reign  one  thousand  years. 

I  need  not  prove  that  the  phrase,  "we  shall  be  ever  with  the  Lord, ' 
applies  to  the  subjects  of  the  "resurrection  of  the  just:'  nor  need  I 
prove  that  the  limitation  of  the  life  and  triumphs  of  the  saints  to  one 
thousand  years,  precludes  the  idea  of  its  being  an  eternal  life  and 
endless  reign.  If  I  promise  a  person  a.  lease  of  an  estate  for  ten  or 
twenty  years,  it  is  by  common  consent  understood  that  those  years 
expired,  his  lease  and  occupancy  terminated  with  that  period.  Now 
as  it  is  said  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years,  it 
must  be  understood  that  that  being  transpired,  the  life  and  reign  with 
Christ  are  necessarily  completed. 

5th.  The  resurrection  of  the  body,  its  transformation  and  that  of 
the  earth,  are  almost  coincident  events;  while  the  premillennial  res- 
urrection is  neither  accompanied  nor  succeeded  with  any  such  trans- 
formations; nay,  it  is  to  he  succeeded  by  another  resurrection  of  the 
souls  of  the  wicked,  called  ''the  rest  of  the  dead." 

"The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  till  the  thousand  yeaxs  were 
expired."  Now  as  the  phrase,  "they  lived  a  thousand  years,"  inti- 
mates that  in  that  sense  and  state  they  lived  no  more  than  a  thousand 
years;  so  the  phrase,  "the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  till  the 
thousand  years  were  expired,"  intimates  that  as  soon  as  the  thousand 
years  were  expired  they  lived  again.  And,  no  doubt,  this  their  life 
was  like  that  of  their  predecessors — their  spirits  lived  after  the  thou- 
sand years,  as  the  spirits  of  the  just  lived  during  the  thousand  years. 
It  was  a  resurrection  of  wicked  souls,  as  the  first  resurrection  was  of 
souls  beheaded  for  Jesus. 

The  loosing  of  Satan  and  this  resurrection  are  contemporaneous 
events — as  the  binding  of  Satan  and  the  first  resurrection  of  the  souls 
of  the  witnesses,  are  contemporaneous  events.  And  the  peculiarity 
of  this  second  figurative  resurrection  is,  that  it  is  not  at  the  ultimate 
and  final  close  of  time,  but  at  the  end  of  the  thousand  years.  The 
spirits  that  disturbed  the  just  before  the  first  resurrection  now  appear 
in  the  field  again,  and  encamp  against  the  saints.  And  this,  too. 
before  the  final  consummation.  For  after  this  second  spiritual  res- 
urrection the  souls  under  Satan,  "who  live  and  reign  with  him,"  go 
out  to  deceive  the  nations — to  gather  Gog  and  Magog  to  battle  against 
the  saints — a  host  as  numerous  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 

6th.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead  immediately  precedes  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  last  enemy;  but  the  premillennial  resurrection  leaves  not 
only  Satan,  but  death  in  the  field,  to  gain  new  triumphs,  more  than 
one  thousand  years  after  its  consummation. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  81 

So  far  from  Death,  the  last  enemy,  being  destroyed  before  the  Mil- 
lennium— so  far  from  Satan  being  forever  crushed  by  the  first  resur- 
rection, it  is  intimated  that  he  will  be  loosed,  and  that  he  will  deceive 
the  nations  and  raise  a  war  against  the  saints  even  after  the  thousand 
years  shall  have  been  fulfilled.  Can  any  one  reconcile  this  with  Paul's 
affirmation  while  expatiating  on  the  resurrection  of  the  dead?  "Death, 
the  last  enemy,  shall  be  destroyed."  "Death  is  swallowed  up  for 
ever."    "Grave,  where  now  thy  victory!" 

7th.  It  was  before  shown  that  the  final  conflagration  and  the  new 
creation  of  a  heaven  and  an  earth  more  congenial  with  the  new  bodies 
of  the  saints,  tvill  immediately  accompany  the  resurrection  of  the 
body;  while  the  premillennial  resurrection  indicates  a  residence  on 
the  present  earth  for  a  thousand  years  after  it  is  burned  up! 

These  seven  specifications  of  antitheses  between  the  literal  and 
figurative  resurrections  may  suffice  for  the  present.  There  are  other 
points  that  have  occurred  to  us  besides  these;  but  these,  we  presume 
iucontrovertibly  show  that  the  Lord  can  not  possibly  come  in  person 
before  the  Millennium;  and  that  with  me,  at  present,  is  all  that  I 
wish  to  establish.  The  events  that  do  accompany,  and  those  that  must, 
according  to  the  very  plainest  oracles,  precede  his  personal  return, 
are  such  as  forbid  any  one  well  read,  or  profoundly  attentive  to  the 
subject,  to  believe  or  teach  the  personal  coming  of  the  Lord,  or  a 
literal  resurrection  of  any  portion  of  the  saints,  before  the  Millen- 
nium. 

This  subject  is  daily  assuming  more  interest.  That  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  is  near,  comparatively  very  near,  is  now  a  popular  doctrine. 
Protestants  are  generally,  if  not  universally,  in  expectation  of  it. 
Hence  "the  many  running  to  and  fro;"  the  spirit  of  inquiry  now 
kindling  into  a  fervor,  and  the  thousand  heralds  of  the  anticipation  at 
home  and  abroad,  calling  upon  the  people  to  prepare  for  the  sublime 
scene.  All  concur,  whatever  their  theory  of  his  coming,  in  the  opin- 
ion that  it  is  to  be  an  awfully  grand  and  glorious  event.  To  Christ's 
party,  a  day  of  gladness — a  joyful  and  triumphant  time;  to  the  oppos- 
ing party,  a  day  of  terror  and  alarm — a  day  of  darkness,  an  era  of 
vengeance  and  destruction. 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  our  brethren  are  becoming  less  imagina- 
tive and  more  rational  on  the  subject. 

There  is  still,  however,  among  some  of  us  too  much  emphasis 
placed  on  the  importance  of  the  restoi-ation  of  the  unconverted  Jews 
to  their  own  land.  Some  seem  to  regard  a  restoration  of  Israel  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  to  the  land  of  Judea,  not  merely  as  a  consummation 
most  devoutly  to  be  wished,  but  as  the  consummation  of  the  predic- 
tions of  the  Prophets.     It  becomes  us  not  to  question,   at  this  time. 


82  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  return  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine.  Such  an  event  is,  to  a  certain 
extent,  probable.  But  were  it  to  take  place  to-morrow,  it  would  not 
fulfill  the  prophecies  of  the  restoration  of  Israel. 

The  11th  to  the  Romans  opens  brighter  scenes  to  our  vision.  A 
thorough  conversion  and  restoration  of  Israel  to  the  rank  of  being 
once  more  the  people  of  God  in  common  with  the  Gentiles — a  resto- 
ration of  them  to  "their  own  olive  tree,"  to  a  covenant  relation  to 
God,  in  virtue  of  the  Messiah's  triumph,  is  the  burthen  of  the  prophecy. 

That  the  return  of  Israel  to  Canaan  is  not  a  matter  in  which  the 
Christian  Church  is  much  interested,  and  more  than  the  Jews  them- 
selves, we  infer  from  the  following  consideration  and  facts: 

1.  The  return  or  restoration  of  Israel  to  Canaan,  is  neither  prom- 
ised nor  intimated  in  any  form  in  the  whole  New  Testament. 

2.  Unless  their  ancient  temple  and  religion  should  be  restored,  and 
the  ancient  wall  of  partition  between  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles  were 
to  be  rebuilt,  we  can  discover  no  great  blessing  that  it  could  be  to 
the  present  Jews  to  take  possession  of  the  desolations  of  many  gen- 
erations, the  ruined  and  dilapidated  cities,  and  the  poor  impoverished 
valleys  and  rocky  eminences  of  Judea. 

8.  Again,  if  returned  to  their  own  land  in  the  styie  of  some  of  the 
interpreters,  they  must  have  a  government  and  national  privileges  of 
their  own — a  new  monarchy  or  theocracy,  or  the  Lord  Messiah  in 
person.  David  was  to  be  their  king  politically,  when  a  restored  peo- 
ple. Are  we  Gentiles  prepared  for  this?  Have  we  not  proved  already 
that  he  will  never  revisit  the  earth  till  the  last  day  of  all  time!  And 
were  he  to  come  in  person  as  the  son  of  David  to  reign  in  Jerusalem 
over  the  Jews,  would  we  think  the  Gentiles  were  at  all  blessed  by 
such  an  event?  Would  we  then  be  "aH  one  in  Christ  Jesus,"  as  Paul 
has  taught  us? 

4.  But,  in  the  fourth  place,  we  are  taught  to  expect  their  conver- 
=!ion  to  the  Lord  to  occur  rather  in  their  dispersion,  than  when  seated 
in  their  own  land;  for  it  is  through  the  mercy  of  the  Gentiles  that 
they  are  hereafter  to  obtain  mercy;  for,  says  Paul  in  this  chapter, 
"as  you  in  time  past  have  not  believed,  yet  now  have  obtained  mercy 
through  their  unbelief,  even  so  have  these  also  now  not  obtained 
mercy,  that  through  your  mercy  they  also  may  obtain  mercy."  Does 
not  this  indicate  that  the  Jews  are  to  be  converted  through  the  inter- 
position of  the  Gentiles?  Again,  says  Paul,  "I  would  not  have  you 
ignorant  of  this  mystery,  that  blindness  in  part  has  happened  to 
Israel  till  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in;  and  so  all  Israel 
shall  be  saved;"  for  "out  of  Zion  shall  come  the  Deliverer,  and  shall 
turn  away  ungodliness  from  Jacob." 

This  fully  intimates  their  conversion.  It  is  still  more  clear  in 
the  original  than  in  the  common  version. 


THE    MUJJJXMAL    nAh'lUSGER    ABIilDOED.  83 

This  is  again  farther  intimated  in  another  promise  still  more 
plain,  because  spol^en  in  the  New  Testament.  Jesus  says  by  Luke, 
"The  Jews  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  shall  be  led  away 
captive  into  all  nations;  and  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  by  the 
Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  Were  this  the 
city  merely,  and  not  the  people,  that  are  trodden  down,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  reconcile  it  with  the  facts  of  history  ancient  and  modern. 
But  that  the  people,  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  has  been  so  trodden 
down,  all  the  world  knows  and  attests.  But  the  close  of  this  period 
shall  come:  for  blindness  in  part  has  happened  to  Israel  (only)  until 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in;  and  then  "all  Israel  shall  be 
saved." 

Mr.  Ward  and  his  brethren  regard  the  Millennium  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse as  a  comet  in  the  prophetic  heavens.    His  words  are — 

2.    THE    MILLE.NNIUM    OF    THE   APOCALYl'SE.      (A    Comet.) 

This  is  revealed  in  Rev.  xx.,  and  from  the  first  notice  of  it  by 
Justin  Martyr,  has  been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  curious,  a  sort  of 
absurd  quantity  to  the  prophetic  mathematicians;  an  enigma  of  mys- 
tery, glorious,  like  Melchisedec  among  kings,  and  divine  like  Elijah 
among  prophets;  but  abstruse  as  the  lineage  of  that  king,  and  unap- 
proachable as  the  chariot  of  fire  which  carried  that  prophet  into 
heaven.  I  have  no  solution  of  it  quite  satisfactory  to  my  own  mind, 
but  I  have  learned  to  regard  it  as  a  comet  in  the  heavenly  system, 
forming  and  performing  a  true  and  important  part  in  the  economy  of 
revelation;  comet-like,  of  an  orbit  so  eccentric,  and  a  revolution  so 
diverse  among  the  great  doctrines  of  the  heavenly  kingdom  that  no 
man  has  yet  been  able  to  measure  its  pathway,  to  determine  its  specific 
gravity,  or  to  calculate  its  period:  and  seen  in  one  view,  its  train 
on  a  time  sweeps  with  terrific  grandeur  over  a  quarter  of  the  skies, 
filling  all  hearts  with  dismay  and  alarm,  and  seen  at  another  time,  it 
dashes  in  among  the  moons  of  a  planet,  as  if  it  would  brush  them 
all  away,  but  absolutely  passes  off,  and  leaves  them  unharmed, 
unmoved,  unshaken,  itself  pursuing  its  inscrutable  way  among  the 
starry  host  of  heaven,   without  any   deviation   or  perceptible  change. 

Before  Justin  Martyr  we  have  Barnabas,  Clement,  Ignatius,  Poly 
carp,  and  Hermas,  whose  writings  record  their  hope  of  the  coming 
and  kingdom  of  Christ,  as  preached  in  the  Evangelists;  and  I  submit 
to  every  devout  mind,  how  little  we  ought  to  be  affected  by  any  new 
view  of  divine  truth,  which  first  appears  in  the  church  after  tho 
middle  of  the  second  century;  it  seems  to  be  safer  to  expound  the  Mil- 
lennium by  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  as  the  apostles  and  primitive  Chris- 
tians did.  than  to  open  a  new  doctrine  out  of  Rev.  xx.,  which  some 
in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  attempted  to  do. 

This  "coDict  Millennium,"  so  little  understood,  it  will  be  noted,  is 
the  only  Millennium  of  which  the  whole  Bible  speaks.  This  is  the 
Millennium  discarded,  as  I  conceive,  by  this  new  school,  to  find  room 
for  an  '•eternal"  .Millennium. 


84  THE    MILLEj^XIAL    HAh'BINGER    ABRIDGED 

The  difficulty  seems  to  be  not  about  a  personal  glorious  return  of 
the  Lord — not  about  the  creation  of  a  new  earth  and  heaven;  but 
whether  we  shall  have  a  verification  of  the  20th  of  the  Apocalyse  in 
this  world  at  all,  or  whether  it  be  a  prophecy  including  an  eternal 
rest.  Either  myself  or  the  Millennarians  seem  essentially  to  have  mis- 
taken the  subject  of  the  Millennium.  Is  not  the  Millennium  one  dis- 
tinct promise?  Is  it  not  a  new  testament — an  apocalyptic  intimation? 
We  have  but  one  Millennium  in  the  Divine  Volume,  and  is  not  that 
but  once  spoken  of  by  inspiration?  We  have  no  ''coineV  Millennium, 
solar,  lunar,  or  feidereal.  We  have  but  one  Millennium — one  thousand 
years  literal  or  figurative,  which  is  to  be  temporal,  and  not  eternal. 

The  hope  of  all  true  Christians  is  the  glorious  appearance  of  the 
great  God  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  The  whole  church,  antic- 
ipating his  coming,  not  for  a  sin-offering,  but  for  the  redemption  of 
his  people,  exclaim  with  one  voice,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly!" 
"We  believe  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  also  shall  appear  with  him 
in  glory — we  shall  be  like  him — we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Every  century  since  he  left  the  earth  has  expected  him.  The  many 
allusions  to  this  most  glorious  of  all  events  found  in  the  apostolic 
writings,  have  kept  this  hope  alive  in  every  age;  and  from  the  figura- 
tive and  literal  descriptions  of  it  in  time,  place,  and  circumstance, 
many  misapprehensions  and  mistakes  have  been  diffused  through 
society,  occasionally  to  the  mortification  of  the  more  enlightened  of 
the  community  of  the  faith,  and  sometimes  to  the  general  discredit 
of  the  profession. 

There  is  still  a  prevailing  idea  that  the  inculcation  and  persuasion 
of  his  immediate  return  would  greatly  tend  to  the  conversion  of  sin 
ners  and  to  the  sanctiflcation  of  the  faithful.  To  me,  I  confess,  there 
has  never  appeared  much  reason  for  this  conclusion,  nor  much  in  the 
history  of  humanity  to  warrant  such  an  expectation.  All  admit  that 
the  ultimate  coming  of  the  Lord  in  any  given  time  can  not  be  made 
more  certain  than  the  death  of  any  individual  in  a  given  time;  nay, 
that  no  reasonings  on  prophecy  can  make  it  so  certain  to  any  man 
at  the  age  of  thirty  that  the  Lord  will  appear  in  person  within  forty 
years,  as  that  he  will  go  to  the  Lord  in  that  period  of  time.  In  one 
word,  my  death  is  always  much  more  probable  in  any  fixed  period 
than  that  the  Lord  will  come  during  my  life.  Now  whether  I  go  to 
the  Lord  or  the  Lord  comes  to  me  within  forty-three  or  forty-seven, 
is  certainly  equal,  so  far  as  my  personal  salvation  is  concerned;  and 
the  former  event  being  more  probable  or  certain  than  the  latter,  will, 
of  course,  be  a  better  argument  in  favor  of  personal  holiness  or  Chris 
tian  perfection,  than  any  motives  which  could  be  deduced  from  the 
second  advent. 


THE    MILLE.\MAL    UAlililSij 111:    AHiniHiED.  85 

I  confess,  then,  that  I  have  never  felt  the  force  of  reason  in  any 
argument  drawn  from  the  second  advent  as  near  at  hand,  come  from 
what  source  it  might.  Indeed  I  am  much  more  certain  that  our 
individual  death  is  sometimes  called  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  than  I 
am  of  the  truth  or  reasonableness  of  any  of  the  Millennarian  theories 
now  being  preached  all  over  the  land.  I  hear  them  all  with  candor, 
as  I  have  impartially  submitted  them  to  my  readers.  Still  my  candor 
must  not  be  construed  into  acquiescence  with  any  of  them. 

"My  Lord  delays  his  coming,"  says  an  unfaithful  servant  in  a 
parable,  and  straightway  assaults  his  fellows  for  the  promotion  of  his 
own  interest  or  honor.  This  text  and  parable  are  now  held  out  in 
tirrorcm  over  the  heads  of  those  who  dissent  from  the  propagators  of 
some  of  those  now  current  theories  of  the  immediate  return.  They 
write  and  talk  as  though  that  text  was  written  for  the  special  benefit 
of  the  year  1842 — as  though  it  had  no  practical  utility  in  the  age 
when  it  was  first  promulged.  It  is  regarded  as  a  sign  of  an  unfaith- 
ful servant  should  anyone  just  now  say  that  the  Messiah  in  his  second 
advent  need  not  be  expected  for  some  years. 

True,  indeed,  there  are  some  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the 
settlement  of  the  question  concerning  the  Messiah's  return — advan- 
tages to  all  parties — to  the  Millennarians  and  to  the  Millennists.  Were 
■we  assured,  or  were  it  more  probable  than  the  contrary  opinion,  that 
he  would  return  immediately,  we  should  neither  build,  nor  plant,  nor 
make  any  provisions  beyond  the  time  anticipated.  We  would  do  aa 
Noah  did  when  warned  of  God  of  things  not  seen  as  yet.  If  we 
would  not  build  an  ark,  we  would  lay  aside  all  business  and  every 
pursuit  prospective  of  a  time  beyond  the  period  of  the  contemplated 
return.  If  we  would  not,  Thessalonian  like,  forbear  working  alto- 
gether, we  would  extend  our  efforts  only  commensurate  with  the  sup- 
posed interval.  On  the  other  hand,  should  we  conclude  that  genera- 
tions are  yet  to  intervene,  and  nations  yet  enveloped  in  the  gloom  o£ 
Paganism  to  be  converted  to  Christ,  before  he  appear  to  raise  the 
dead  and  wind  up  the  drama  of  human  doings  on  the  old  theatre,  we 
should  institute  an  inquiry  into  the  ways  and  means  by  which  to 
extend  Truth's  dominions  and  the  Gospel's  conquests  over  its  innumer- 
able rivals  in  the  human  heart.  The  practical  tendencies  of  the  true 
systems  of  prophetic  interpretation  are  as  dissimilar  as  the  views  of 
the  respective  parties  now  in  the  field.  On  this  account,  then,  we 
suppose  it  important,  if  practicable,  to  come  to  some  certainty  as  to 
the  time  when  the  pulse  of  Nature  will  make  a  full  and  perfect  pause, 
obedient  to  the  sovereign  mandate  of  her  Almighty  Lord. 

But  there  is  another  practical  aspect  which  this  subject  bears  to  the 
work  of  conversion  worthy  of  a  remark  or  two.  I  never  thought  that 
the  certainty  of  death,  or  the  uncertainty  of  life,  ranked  either  in  the 


86  THE    MlLLE2^2slAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

first  or  in  the  second  class  of  arguments  and  motives  inductive  to 
repentance  or  conversion.  My  chief  argument  in  evidence  is,  that  our 
Lord  and  his  Apostles  did  not  give  it  prominence  in  their  public 
addresses.  It  rarely  occurs  in  the  Gospels,  and  still  more  rarely  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  It  is  of  more  use  to  Christians  than  to 
sinners,  and  is  therefore  found  most  frequently  in  the  Epistles. 

Penitence  superinduced  by  affliction,  and  repentance  originating  on 
a  death-bed,  have  long  since  been  of  doubtful  reputation.  The  good- 
ness of  God  is  the  specific  argument  that  leads  to  true  repentance. 
Panic  fears  and  impulses  are  not  the  eloquence  of  Christ's  gospel.  The 
terrors  of  the  Lord  are  no  doubt  a  necessary  portion  of  the  arguments 
that  complete  Heaven's  grand  appeal  to  the  whole  nature  of  man.  Of 
all  the  arguments  addressed  to  the  fears  and  hopes  of  man,  none  is  so 
soul-subduing  and  transforming  as  those  deduced  from  his  philan- 
thropy as  displayed  in  the  gift  of  his  dearly  beloved  and  only  begotten 
Son.  This  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  the  eloquence  of  Prophets 
and  Apostles. 

I  should  fear  that  converts  made  to  Christ  from  the  preaching  of 
his  immediate  return,  in  case  of  a  disappointment  would  generally 
relapse  again.  They  would  rest  more  on  probabilities  and  peradven- 
tures  than  on  the  sure  word  of  divine  testimony.  If  they  hear  not 
Moses  and  the  Prophets,  neither  would  they  be  persuaded  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead.  Noah  preached  without  salutary  effect  the  imme- 
diate coming  of  the  Lord  for  one  century,  and  yet  made  not  one  true 
convert.  How  many  may  have  been  variously  convicted,  alarmed,  and 
half  persuaded,  we  are  not  told.  One  thing  is  certain:  none  were 
found  worthy  of  a  passage  in  the  Ark  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New. 
I  much  doubt,  then,  the  expediency  of  making  use  of  any  theory, 
interpretation,  or  calculation,  the  burthen  of  a  discourse  on  the  gospel 
as  an  incentive  to  acquiescence  with  the  overtures  of  divine  mercy. 
We  gain  nothing  from  the  Millennarians  in  persuading  men  to  obey 
the  gospel.  On  the  contrary,  it  appears  we  have  more  to  fear  than 
to  hope  from  any  effort  to  induce  men  to  come  to  the  Lord,  deduced 
from  prophetic  calculations.  The  gospel  is  the  same  document  of 
divine  wisdom  and  power  now  that  it  was  when  Christ  had  just  left 
the  earth,  and  it  will  have  no  fresh  power  from  the  apprehension  of 
his  immediate  return. 

The  practical  importance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immediate  return  is 
much  greater  in  another  direction  than  in  those  attitudes  in  which  it 
is  so  warmly  represented.  It  affects  more  the  action  of  the  Christian 
world  in  reference  to  the  Pagan,  than  it  does  the  Christian  community 
at  home  with  a  reference  to  itself.  True,  indeed,  that  portion  of  the 
civilized  Pagan  world  found  in  Christian  lands  is  as  much  within  the 
circumference  of  its  influence  as  that  which  lies  wholly  beyond  its 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  87 

precincts.  But  so  far  as  it  affects  our  action  at  home  or  abroad  in 
the  great  work  of  evangelizing — so  far  as  it  affects  our  prospective 
endeavors  in  laying  a  foundation  for  future  usefulness  in  any  schem« 
of  benevolence  reaching  into  the  future,  so  far  the  discussion  is  not 
without  inijioi  tant  bearings  on  the  whole  subject  of  Christian  energies. 

The  coming  of  the  Lord  is  not  the  hope  of  Christians;  but  it  is 
a  hope  so  intimately  connected  with  the  hope  of  eternal  life  at  his 
appearing  and  his  kingdom,  that  the  Apostle  exhorts  to  a  looking  for 
"that  blessed  hope,  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,"  as  one  of  the  best  means  of  holding  fast  our 
begun  confidence  unshaken  to  the  end.  They  always  kept  it  before 
the  minds  of  the  brotherhood  as  near  at  hand.  It  is  in  truth  very 
near  to  us  all;  so  near  that  no  interval  of  time  will  be  perceived  by 
those  who  have  gone  out  of  time  from  the  moment  of  their  departure 
from  earth.  No  suns  rise  or  set  to  the  dead  in  Christ.  There  is  no 
distance  nor  time  beyond  our  planet  to  human  spirits  severed  from 
their  mortal  tenements. 

The  premises  on  which  Mr.  Miller  mainly  rests  his  confident  asser- 
tions concerning  the  events  of  1843,  are  his  interpretations  of  Daniel's 
2,300  days  and  his  Bible  chronology;  at  least  so  it  appears  to  me. 
With  him  this  is  the  year  of  the  world  5999.  and  consequently  1843 
of  the  Christian  era  is  the  6,000th  year  since  the  creation.  Between 
him,  then,  and  the  chronology  of  Rede,  Usher,  Newton,  and  all  the 
Protestant  world,  there  is  a  discrepancy  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
years!  These  years  he  makes  up  in  part  by  conjecture,  and  in  part 
by  an  induction  of  Old  Testament  events  and  dates,  squaring  them 
off  to  the  answer  in  his  prophetic  arithmetic  to  the  question.  When 
conies  the  Lord?  whose  answer  with  him  is.  In  1843.  To  his  Bible 
chronology  I  have  several  objections  mostly  comprehended  under  two 
heads.  He  m.akes  the  lives  of  more  than  sixty  persons  in  succession  to 
have  been  just  po  many  years,  neither  a  day  more  nor  a  day  less.  In 
all  this  there  may  be  half  as  many  years  of  error  as  there  are  persons 
that  lived.  That  sixty  or  seventy  fathers  and  sons  should  have  lived 
exactly  so  many  years,  neither  a  day  less  nor  more,  no  man  of  reflec- 
tion can  believe;  and  yet  this  hypothesis  is  essential  to  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  in  1843,  so  far  as  the  alleged  age  of  the  world  is  concerned. 

In  the  second  place,  his  Bible  chronology  is  not  the  only  Bible 
chronology,  because  there  is  a  Samaritan,  a  Greek,  and  a  Hebrew 
chronology,  especially  of  the  two  latter,  that  differ  from  themselves 
as  they  do  from  one  another. 

The  world  is  now  according  to  the  Samaritan.  G542  years  old. 

according  to  the  Greek.  7714 

according  to  our  common  Hebrew.  .5857 
and  according  to  a  mixed 

Hebrew  and    Pagan,  5843 


88  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  result  ol'  my  examination  of  the  chronology  of  the  world  is  the 
full  and  fixed  conviction  that  it  is  lost  forever,  unless  revealed  from 
heaven.  But  when  1  say  lost,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  it  is  lost  by 
thousands  or  by  many  hundreds  of  years.  The  chasm  chiefly,  indeed, 
lies  beyond  the  period  of  prophecy,  before  the  flood,  and  before  the 
birth  of  Abraham.  By  the  Hebrew  text  those  epocha  are  quite  ascer 
tainable,  but  I  do  not  think  that  we  have  full  and  satisfactory  evidence 
that  the  Hebrew  is  always  right  when  it  differs  from  the  Greek  from 
Adam  to  Moses.  Since  the  days  of  Moses,  and  especially  since  the 
Jewish  Prophets,  the  errors,  if  any,  can  not  be  very  material.  Stul 
even  here  there  are  difficulties  that  will  forever  restrain  a  man  possess- 
ing a  well  balanced  and  well  informed  mind,  from  ever  presuming  to 
fix  the  era  of  Christ's  coming  from  anything  found  in  the  Old  or  New 
Testament.  The  precise  and  the  true  age  of  the  world  is  certainly 
lost.  Still  so  much  difficulty  concerning  short  periods  of  the  prophetic 
intervals  remains,  that  no  person,  not  enthusiastically  confident,  will 
speak  with  assurance. 

On  Mr.  Miller's  date  of  the  commencement  of  the  2,300  days  1  must 
offer  a  remark  or  two.  Although  so  early  as  my  debate  with  infidei 
Owen,  I  inclined  to  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus  as 
the  date  of  the  2,300  days,  and  have  not  yet  seen  valid  reason  to  repu- 
diate it,  still  it  is  but  probable  evidence,  and  probable  evidence  not 
of  the  superlative  degree.  That  the  2,300  days  denote  so  many  years, 
and  that  the  sanctuary,  (Jewish  or  Christian,  not  the  earth,)  was  to 
be  cleansed  at  the  expiration  of  those  days,  or  was  then  to  begin  to  be 
cleansed,  is  full  as  far  as  I  then  found  myself  authorized  to  go.  But 
the  greatest  difficulty  lies  in  the  demonstration  that  the  2,300  days 
are  to  be  counted  from  the  year  before  Christ  457,  or  from  the  seventh 
year  of  Artaxerxes.  Mr.  Miller's  confidence  in  this  point  does  more 
to  discredit  his  judgment  in  other  matters  than  any  other  frailty  in 
his  whole  performance,  so  far  as  I  now  remember.  This  is,  however, 
the  vital  point,  as  concerns  the  events  of  1843. 

We  shall,  then,  for  a  moment,  look  into  the  dates  of  Daniel's 
visions: — ■ 

His  hrst  vision,  chap,  vi.,  we  are  told  occurred  in  the  first  year  of 
Belshazzar  king  of  Babylon,  before  Christ  555.  His  second  vision  took 
place  in  the  third  year  of  the  same  prince,  before  Christ  553.  This 
last  vision  was  to  be  for  2,300  days,  but  no  date  is  here  fixed  from 
which  to  calculate  it.  Fifteen  years  after  this  time,  in  the  first  year 
of  Darius  the  Mede,  Daniel  had  other  explanations,  if  not  a  new  vision, 
specially  concerning  the  work  and  times  of  the  Messiah.  Mr.  Miller 
says  it  is  a  part  of  the  former  vision  explained,  and  not  a  new  one: 
and  on  the  clear  demonstration  of  that  rests  his  hypothesis.  The 
demonstration  given  by  him  amounts,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  to  a  clause 


rnu    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  89 

(ouiul  in  viMse  2od  of  the  ninth  chapter,  touching  an  event  then 
occurring  and  fifteen  years  distant  from  the  vision  touching  the  2,300 
days. 

Mr.  Miller  says  the  word  "'vision"  here  alludes  to  that  related  in 
the  eighth  chapter,  occurring  fifteen  years  before;  while  some  affirm 
that  it  relates  to  the  views  given  immediately  after  concerning  the 
events  of  the  "seventy  weeks,"  which  are  dated  from  the  aforesaid 
dccrea  The  demonstration,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  is  wholly  incon- 
clusive. 

To  say  no  more  at  present  on  this  theory,  I  must  repudiate  it  as 
wholly  imaginative,  if  for  no  other  reasons,  for  these  four: 

1.  His  chronology  of  the  age  of  the  world,  on  which  he  relies  with 
so  much  confidence,  I  have  shown  to  be  palpably  erroneous  and  false. 

2.  His  dating  of  the  2,300  days,  the  sub-basis  of  his  whole  specula^ 
tion,  from  the  seventh  of  Artaxerxes,  is  without  any  sufficient  author- 
ity; and  especially  his  manner  of  identifying  the  vision  in  the  third 
of  Belshazzar,  with  the  interpretations  in  the  first  year  of  Darius, 
we  have  shown  to  be  palpably  erroneous  and  deceptious. 

3.  His  making  the  last  thousand  years  of  the  world  a  mere  day  of 
judgment,  is  alike  destructive  of  the  meaning  of  the  last  day  and  of  a 
thousand  years,  reigning  of  the  saints,  and  of  his  own  theory  of  the 
age  of  the  world,  as  being  of  seven  thousand  literal  years'  duration. 

4.  And  last,  though  not  least,  his  radical  misconception  of  the  import 
of  the  word  sanctuary,  and  especially  of  the  phrase  "the  cleansing  of 
the  sanctuary,"  forbids  any  confidence  in  his  biblical  and  philological 
attainments  as  a  mere  commentator,  much  less  an  interpreter  of 
prophecy.  In  no  respect  is  Mr.  Miller  elevated  above  his  Baptist 
brethren  in  talent  or  erudition,  except  it  be  that  he  has  studied  the 
prophecies  more  than  the  most  of  them,  and  speaks  with  a  dogmatical 
assurance  greater  than  any  of  them.  For  my  part,  I  do  not  think 
that  any  man  who  substitutes  mourning  benches  and  anxious  seats 
for  the  Lord's  ordinances,  and  calls  for  sinners  to  come  up  to  him  as 
a  mediator  to  be  prayed  for,  instead  of  beseeching  them  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God,  and  to  come  to  God's  ordinances  for  comfort  and  deliv- 
erance, can  possibly  speak  by  any  inspiration  of  the  Spirit,  or  be  a 
chosen  vessel  to  harbinger  the  day  of  the  Lord. 

When  men  of  ardent  feelings  and  large  ideality  seize  an  idea  of 
this  magnitude — or,  rather,  when  it  seizes  them — they  seldom  or  ever 
any  longer  with  patience  endure  any  vigorous  opposition,  or  calmly 
weigh  the  force  of  opposing  evidence.  It  becomes  with  them  the 
present  truth  and  the  all-absorbing,  as  well  as  the  standing  topic  of 
public  teaching  and  of  private  conversation.  In  a  little  time  their 
souls  become  so  inflamed  with  the  splendors  of  their  own  imaginations, 
that,  to  thcni,  it  appears  as  though  the  whole  universe  of  truth  never 


90  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

had  any  other  meaning  or  design  than  to  prove  that  the  world  will 
come  to  an  end  in  a  given  year,  and  tliat  from  its  ashes  will  arise  a 
new  and  better  planet,  the  residence  of  eternal  youth  and  unfading 
beauty. 

In  their  case,  however,  there  is  this  favorable  circumstance: — High 
excitement  soon  finds  its  own  quietus  in  that  consequent  collapse  of 
feeling  and  fitfulness  which  nature  has  kindly  interposed  as  a  son 
of  safety  valve  to  the  social  system.  I  remember  well  the  answer 
which  Elias  Smith,  of  New  England  fame,  gave  to  me  in  Boston  in 
1836,  when  interrogated  on  his  present  views  of  the  personal  reign  of 
the  Messiah  in  Jerusalem,  with  all  his  saints,  as  promulged  in  a 
volume  issued  by  him  in  1808;  and  I  remember  also  the  impression 
made  upon  my  mind  touching  a  peculiar  class  of  minds  with  which 
I  have  been  frequently  in  converse,  while  the  old  gentleman  with  the 
greatest  candor  said,  "Sir,  I  was  so  greatly  charmed  and  delighted 
with  the  idea,  that  I  preached  it  incessantly  for  eighteen  months  all 
over  the  country  before  I  recovered  from  the  pleasing  imagination. 
But,  sir,"  continued  he,  "it  then  expired  within  me." 

There  are  two  sources  of  argument  on  which  these  friends  more 
emphatically  rely  than  upon  any  other.  The  one  is  the  2,300  days  of 
Daniel — the  other,  the  present  age  of  the  world,  or  the  new  chronology 
of  Mr.  Miller.  Of  the  last  of  these  I  have  spoken  with  some  freedom 
and  suggested  certain  difficulties  fatal  to  the  whole  theory  of  the  new 
chronology;  to  which  no  one,  so  far  as  I  have  seen,  has  yet  attempted 
to  respond.  I  shall  at  present  raise  one  objection  to  the  main  corner 
stone  of  the  whole  theory,  to  which  I  very  respectfully  and  earne.5tly 
invite  some  attention,  in  the  way  of  exposition  and  removal,  from  some 
of  those  who  have  more  leisure;  and  perhaps  more  taste  than  I  for 
such  investigations. 

I  believe  it  will  be  conceded  on  the  part  of  all  the  candid  advocates 
of  1843,  as  the  year  of  the  return,  that  this  hope  mainly  rests  upon  the 
answer  to  a  certain  question  propounded  by  one  saint  to  another 
(Dan.  viii.  14.)  The  one  saint  asked,  ''How  long  the  vision  concerning 
the  daily  sacrifice  and  the  transgression  of  desolation  to  give  both  the 
sanctuary  and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot?"  "And  he  said  unto 
me,  'Unto  two  thousand  three  hundred  days,  then  shall  the  sanc- 
tuary be  cleansed.'  "  It  is  now  assumed  that  these  2.300  days  cover 
the  whole  interim  between  the  date  of  the  vision,  and  the  literal  return 
of  the  Lord  to  cleanse  the  sanctuary.  Of  course  the  accuracy  ot  the 
interpretation  essentially  depends  upon  the  accuracy  of  fixing  the  date 
of  the  commencement  of  those  prophetic  days.  So  all  the  Miller  school 
seem  to  think  and  argue.  The  certainty  of  the  year  of  termination 
must  always  depend  upon  the  certainty  of  the  year  of  commencement. 
The  former  can  never  be  more  evident  than  the  latter.     The  certainty 


ThE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  91 

of  tho  cDding  in  1843  can  not  be  greater  than  the  certainty  of  the 
oeginning  in  457  before  Christ;  for  these  two  sums  only  complete  the 
period  assigned  to  the  continuance  of  this  desolating  abomination. 

By  what  logic,  then,  it  must  be  asked,  do  they  date  the  commence- 
ment of  these  2,300  days,  in  the  year  before  Christ  457? 

They  assume,  first,  that  the  prophecy  found  in  the  ninth  chapter  of 
Daniel  concerning  the  seventy  weeks,  is  only  a  development  of  a 
certain  period  of  the  2,300  days. 

They  assume,  second,  that  those  "seventy  weeks"  are  to  be  taken 
Or  cut  off  the  first  part  of  the  2,300  days;  and  consequently  that  the  date 
of  the  commencement  of  the  "seventy  weeks,'  and  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  2,300  days,  is  one  and  the  same. 

In  the  third  place,  they  assume  that  the  days  are  each  symbolic  of 
a  year;  and  that,  therefore,  the  whole  2,300  days  are  equal  to  2,300 
years. 

Other  assumptions  besides  these,  and  almost  of  equal  importance, 
are  essential  to  the  completion  of  the  new  theory;  but  at  present  we 
can  not  attend  to  them.  To  some  one  more  profoundly  read  in  the 
mysteries  oi  this  imposing  theory,  we  desire  to  submit  the  following 
difficulties  by  way  of  objections,  and  will  be  thankful  to  any  one  who 
can  give  us  a  satisfactory  solution  of  them: 

1st.  The  vision  in  which  the  2,300  days  are  found  as  the  terminus 
ad  quern,  or  the  boundary  to  which  it  extends,  occurred  in  the  year 
before  Christ  553,  as  all  admit;  whereas  the  prophecy  of  the  "seventy 
weeks"  occurred  538  years  before  Christ — that  is,  fifteen  years  later 
than  the  former. 

2d.  There  is  not  one  intimation  in  the  prophecy  concerning  the  "sev- 
enty weeks"  made  by  Gabriel  to  Daniel,  that  these  "seventy  weeks" 
had  any  reference  to  any  portion  of  the  vision  which  he  had  enjoyed 
in  Persia  fifteen  years  before.  And  as  Daniel  was  in  the  previous 
prayer  asking  no  light  upon  the  subject  of  that  vision,  nor  at  all  allud- 
ing to  it,  it  would  seem  a  very  unwarrantable  assumption  that  the 
frrophecy  of  the  "seventy  weeks"  icas  given  with  a  special  reference 
to  a  vision  then  fifteen  years  old,  and  that  merely  because  the  word 
"vision"  is  found  twice  in  the  eighth  chapter,  without  any  allusion  to 
any  vision — whether  to  that  of  the  first  year,  or  to  that  of  the  third 
year  of  Belshazzar — the  former  seventeen,  the  latter  fifteen  years  old. 

The  assumption  that  the  vision  of  the  third  of  Belshazzar,  fifteen 
years  anterior  to  the  prophecy  of  the  "seventy  weeks,"  is  now  being 
explained  by  Gabriel,  is  the  more  difficult  of  admission,  inasmuch  as 
Gabriel  was  commanded  then  and  there  to  make  Daniel  understand 
the  vision;  which  he  did  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  Daniel  to  take 
his  bed  for  some  time  in  utter  astonishment  and  grief,  because  of  the 
calamities  coming  upon  his  people. 


92  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Again,  if  it  had  been  the  intention  of  the  Spirit  to  have  made 
Daniel  and  his  people  understand  the  times  involved  in  the  2,300  days, 
would  it  not  have  been  more  apposite  and  edifying  to  have  kept  to  the 
figure  of  days,  and  instead  of  a  prophecy  concerning  "seventy  weeks," 
ought  it  not  to  have  been  in  keeping  with  the  types  of  the  vision,  to 
have  said  490  days  are  marked  for  thy  people? 

Again,  if  490  days  were  marked  off  for  Daniel's  people,  for  whom 
were  the'  remainder,  1,810  days,  determined!?  There  is,  then,  no 
account  taken,  nor  interpretation  given,  of  1,810  days  on  the  hypothesis 
that  Gabriel  is  now  explaining  the  times  to  Daniel  or  giving  the  full 
answer  to  the  question,  ''How  long?"  This  would  be  an  omission 
unprecedented  in  any  system  of  interpretation  human  or  divine,  claim- 
ing the  respect  of  the  intelligent  and  virtuous. 

But  I  must  proceed  to  the  one  and  only  objection  that  I  intend  to 
raise  in  the  present  essay  against  the  speculations  of  my  contempo- 
raries, in  reference  to  which  I  only  allude  to  these  minor  difficulties. 
Now  that  I  may  do  this  with  all  clearness  and  despatch,  I  must  request 
the  reader  to  consider  attentively  the  two  prophecies  between  which 
that  of  the  fortunes  of  the  sanctuary  stands.     For— 

Whether  in  the  form  of  visions  or  of  verbal  representations,  to  us 
there  are  three  distinct  prophecies  found  in  the  seventh,  eighth  and 
ninth  chapters  of  Daniel;  each  of  which  has  its  own  peculiar  actors, 
events,  and  dates.  Each  prophecy  has  also  its  own  specific  design,  and 
makes  all  its  representations  with  a  supreme  reference  to  that  design. 

Now  the  period  of  2,300  days  belongs  to  the  second  vision  and 
prophecy,  and  neither  to  the  first  nor  to  the  third.  And  here  arises 
the  all-important  question,  From  what  event  or  incident  shall  it  be 
computed?  We  must  either  find  in  it  some  person  or  thing  of  promi 
nence,  or  we  must  arbitrarily  select  some  extrinsic  fact  or  circum- 
stance without  it,  from  which  to  fix  its  commencement.  We  shall 
therefore  first  read  it:  "Then  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes  and  saw,  and 
behold,  there  stood  before  the  river  a  ram,  which  had  two  horns,  and 
the  two  horns  were  high;  but  one  was  higher  than  the  other,  and 
the  higher  came  up  last.  I  saw  the  ram  pushing  westward,  and  norlh- 
ward,  and  southward;  so  that  no  beasts  might  stand  before  him, 
neither  was  there  any  that  could  deliver  out  of  his  hand;  but  he  did 
according  to  his  will  and  became  great.  And  as  I  was  considering, 
behold,  an  he-goat  came  from  the  west,  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  touched  not  the  ground:  and  the  goat  had  a  notable  horn  between 
his  eyes.  And  he  came  to  the  ram  that  had  two  horns,  which  I  had 
seen  standing  before  the  river,  and  ran  unto  him  in  the  fury  of  his 
power.  And  I  saw  him  come  close  unto  the  ram,  and  he  was  moved  with 
choler  against  him,  and  smote  the  ram,  and  brake  his  two  horns; 
and  there  was  no  power  in  the  ram  to  stand  before  him,  but  he  cast 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  93 

him  down  to  the  ground,  and  stamped  upon  him:  and  there  wa^  nono 
that  could  aeliver  the  ram  out  of  his  hand.  Therefore  tho  hegoat 
waxed  very  great:  and  when  he  was  strong,  the  great  horn  was  broken, 
and  for  it  came  up  four  notai)le  ones,  toward  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  And  out  of  one  of  them  came  forth  a  little  horn  which  waxed 
exceeding  great,  toward  the  south,  and  toward  the  cast,  and  toward 
the  pleasant  land.  And  it  waxed  great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven: 
and  it  cast  down  some  of  the  host  and  of  stars  to  the  ground,  and 
stamped  upon  them.  Yea,  he  magnified  himself  even  to  the  prince  of 
the  host,  and  by  him  the  daily  sacrifice  was  taken  away,  and  the  place 
of  his  sanctuary  was  cast  down.  And  an  host  was  given  him  against 
the  daily  sacrifice  by  reason  of  transgression,  and  it  cast  down  the 
truth  to  the  ground;  and  it  practiced,  and  prospered.  Then  I  heard 
one  saint  speaking,  and  another  saint  said  unto  that  certain  saint 
which  spoke.  How  long  shall  be  the  vision  concerning  the  daily  sac- 
rifice, and  the  transgression  of  desolation,  to  give  both  the  sanctuary 
and  the  host  to  be  trodden  under  foot?  And  he  said  unto  me,  Unto 
two  thousand  and  three  hundred  days;  then  shall  the  sanctuary  be 
cleansed." 

Evident  it  is,  that  in  the  scenes  just  read,  there  is  one  supreme, 
while  all  the  others  are  subordinate.  And  who  can  doubt  that  the 
LiTTi.E  nous  and  his  achievements  must  engross  the  attention  ot  the 
Prophet  and  of  the  interpreting  angel,  as  well  as  occupy  the  largest 
space  in  the  whole  group?  Neither  does  the  "ram"  with  his  two  horns, 
nor  the  "he-goat"  with  his  one  horn,  so  much  arrest  the  Prophet's  eye 
as  the  presumptuous  deeds  and  heaven-daring  impiety  of  the  "little 
horn."  We  must,  therefore,  in  all  reason,  contemplate  him  as  the 
hero  of  this  drama.  He  was  the  person  who  was  to  desecrate  the 
sanctuary  and  to  tread  down  the  host  for  2,300  days. 

When,  then,  did  he  appear?  But  first  comes  the  question.  Who  is 
hef  We  have  to  choose  amongst  but  three  candidates — Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  Mahomet,  and  the  Pope.  But  none  of  these  can  by  any 
means  subserve  the  views  of  the  Millerites,  or  any  of  those  who  are 
predicting  or  anticipating  the  end  of  the  world  this  year.  If  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  the  "days"  must  be  literal  days;  and,  indeed,  no  individ- 
ual ever  did  more  completely  fill  up  a  prophetic  description  for  the 
time  designated,  than  did  that  fierce  enemy  of  the  Jewish  people,  their 
temple,  and  worship. 

Make  the  days  prophetic  we  must,  if  we  elect  the  Pope  or  Mahomet 
to  this  dishonorable  conspicuity.  Then  each  day  will  stand  for  a  year. 
But  if  so,  then  the  Pope  and  Mahomet,  the  two  great  Antichrists — 
one  of  the  Eastern,  the  other  of  the  Western  defection,  must  yet  reign 
f-ome  thousand  years  and  more,  supposing  them  to  have  commenced 
their  career  early  in  the  seventh  century. 


94  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Some  there  are  who  would  date  the  vision  from  the  moment  it 
occurred,  as  they  would  date  a  book  from  the  year  in  which  it  was 
printed  rather  than  from  any  character  or  narrative  found  in  its  pages. 
These,  therefore,  seize  the  date  as  its  head,  viz.:  the  third  of  Belte- 
shazzar;  and  that  being  the  year  before  Christ  553,  the  vision  closed, 
and  the  sanctuary  was  cleansed  in  1747,  almost  a  hundred  years  ago. 
Others  again  take  the  scenes  communicated  in  the  vision,  and  begin 
with  the  Medo-Persian  "ram,"  commencing  with  the  1st  of  Darius  or 
the  Fall  of  Babylon.  But  that  helps  not  the  chronology:  for  them 
the  catastrophe  is  over  and  the  sanctuary  was  cleansed  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1762,  some  eighty  years  ago. 

Again,  in  the  preceding  vision,  chapter  vii.,  and  in  the  succeeding 
prophecy,  chapter  ix.,  the  dates  assigned  are  inseparately  connected 
with  the  chief  person  or  main  subject  of  the  scene — the  little  horx 
of  the  seventh  and  the  Messiah  of  the  ninth.  I  ask  then,  in  the  name 
of  all  consistency,  by  what  oracle  of  reason,  by  what  canon  of  inter- 
pretation, can  any  one  presume  to  depart  from  these  precedents,  and 
borrow  the  interpretation  of  the  2,300  days,  the  date  of  the  interme- 
diate prophecy,  from  the  date  of  the  third,  rather  than  from  that  of  the 
first;  or  from  that  of  the  first,  rather  than  from  that  of  the  third? — ! 

From  this  difficulty  I  see  no  escape  except  in  a  new  assumption, 
viz.:  that  the  question  propounded  by  the  one  saint  in  the  intermediate 
vision  has  respect  rather  to  the  continuance  of  the  whole  vision,  than 
to  the  days  of  the  little  horn,  its  main  subject. 

But  then  we  must  take  the  date  of  the  vision,  not  from  the  year  in 
■which  Daniel  was  favored  with  it,  as  before  shown,  (for  then  it  is 
accomplished  long  since,)  nor  from  the  scenes  of  the  Medo-Persian 
"ram;''  for  in  that  case,  too,  the  time  is  also  expired,  and  the  prophecy 
fulfilled,  but  from  the  vision  of  the  "he-goat,"  and  his  empire  alone,  for 
that  is  the  special  vision  of  the  eighth  Daniel.  Then  the  only  ques- 
tion is.  What  is  the  date  of  the  vision  of  the  "he-goat"  out  of  a  frac- 
tion of  whose  empire  the  kingdom  of  the  "little  horn"  arose.  This  ques- 
tion decided,  and  our  objection  is  insuperable. 

Now  this  question  is  of  peculiarly  easy  solution;  for  no  event  in 
history  is  more  notorious  than  the  battle  at  the  river  Granicus,  in 
which  Alexander  the  Great,  the  first  king  of  the  Grecian  Empire,  tri- 
umphed over  Darius  and,  broke  to  pieces  the  Medo-Persian  dynasty. 
Now  we  can  not  date  the  Grecian  Empire  under  the  symbol  of  the 
•'goat,"  (which,  by  the  way,  was  the  ensign  armorial  of  the  Macedonian 
people,)  more  correctly  than  from  the  invasion  of  Asia  by  Alexander 
and  his  all-conquering  army,  in  the  year  before  Christ  334.  Here,  then, 
we  are  compelled,  by  the  force  of  historic  facts,  to  date  the  vision 
under  consideration.    From  this  date  we  compute  the  2,300  days.    And 


Tilt:    MILLESMAL    HAUlilSOER    ABRIDGED.  95 

what  is  tho  result?  The  time  of  the  end  will  be  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  19G6 — one  hundred  and  Ixccnty  three  years  yet  distant. 

If,  then,  the  Millerites,  and  all  who  agree  with  them  in  their  times 
and  seasons,  seek  to  rid  themselves  of  all  the  previous  difficulties  by 
taking  tho  date  of  tho  vision  proper,  to  which  the  2,300  days  belong; 
if  they  prefer  this  horn  of  the  dilemma,  is  it  not  as  evident  as  demon- 
stration that  they  have  wholly  mistaken  the  dales,  (to  say  noiliing 
more,)  and  that  which  they  are  now  expecting  in  1843,  can  not  occur 
till  196G!  Having  now  directed  my  investigations  to  the  cornerstone 
ot  the  Miller  hypothesis,  the  very  basis  of  all  their  assurance  and 
strong  assertions,  and  shown  it  to  be,  as  I  humbly  conceive,  a  palpable 
mistake,  I  regard  it  as  a  work  of  supererogation  to  expose  the  other 
errors  of  the  system,  until  at  least  some  of  them,  or  of  our  brethren 
who  endorse  for  them  in  the  main,  shall  have  satisfactorily  expounded 
and  removed  tho  difficulty  and  main  objection,  offered  in  these  remarks 
to  their  speculations  on  the  subject. 

I  presume  no  man  of  sense  among  them  will  deny  that  their  very 
confident  predictions  of  all  the  exciting  events  of  the  present  year,  rest 
exclusively  upon  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  the  2,300  days  of 
Daniel's  second  vision.  While  1  regret  to  see  the  vile  abuse  ot  an 
ignorant  and  unbelieving  multitude  of  priests  and  people,  heaped  upon 
our  amiable  enthusiast  and  pious  expectant  of  the  world's  end  in  1843, 
1  have  no  sympathy  for  a  theory,  which,  in  my  humble  opinion,  makes 
of  non  effect  much  of  the  oracular  predictions  of  Ciod's  Spirit;  and 
which,  ill  the  manner  of  the  operations  of  its  author  and  his  warm 
adherents,  is  calculated  to  do  an  infinite  mischief,  if  it  be  possible  for 
the  most  extravagant  fictions  and  enthusiastic  scenes,  transacted  in 
modern  times,  to  do  an  incalculable  mischief  to  the  cause  of  a  sulfering 
and   degraded  Christianity. 

If  the  Lord  will  come  next  year,  or  "immcdiateh/."  how  can  such 
Scriptures  as  these  be  verified? — 

1.  "They  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks."  This  indicates  that  after  wars  shall  have  ceased 
and  tho  peace  of  Messiah's  reign  shall  have  become  universal,  sworda 
and  spears  shall  be  fabricated  no  more;  and  that  the  demand  for 
ploughs  and  pruning-hoo-ks  will  survive  the  demand  for  the  imple- 
ments of  war.  Now  if  the  world  ends  next  year,  or  immediately, 
then  we  shall  no  more  need  ploughshares  and  pnining-hooks  than 
swords  and  spears.  Nor  will  it  help  the  matter  to  view  the  last 
thousand  years  as  one  day  of  judgment,  and  thus  make  the  Millennium 
and  the  day  of  judgment  identical:  for  in  the  day  of  judgment  they 
will  no  more  need  ploughs  and  pruning-hooks  than  swords  and  lances. 

2.  "Habylon  the  Great  is  fallen!"  ?ay  the  weeping  merchants  while 
they   survey   her   smoking   ruins.     They    lament   that   the  market   for 


96  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

their  wares  has  ceased  forever.  But  if  the  world  terminate  immedi- 
ately, Babylon  never  falls,  unless  Babylon  means  the  whole  world. 
Jerusalem  and  Babylon,  the  gorgeous  palaces,  the  solemn  temples,  the 
lofty  towers,  the  great  globe  itself  shall  dissolve  into  ruin  at  the  same 
moment.     Babylon,  then,  never  falls  if  the  world  ends  next  year. 

3.  Again,  Satan  is  never  "bound  for  a  thousand  years"  if  the  world 
end  next  year.  There  will  ba  no  nations  to  deceive;  and,  indeed,  there 
will  be  no  utility  in  binding  him  a  captive  when  nations  are  no 
more. 

4.  Can  any  one  believe  that  the  following  predictions  have  yet  been 
accomplished?— Isa.  lix.  16-21;  Ix.,  Ixi.,  Ixii.,  and  Ixiii.;  Ixv.  17-25,  and 
Ixvi.  10-24.  Also  Jer.  xxx.  1-3,  17-24;  xxxi.  and  xxxii.  36-42,  and  xxxiii. 
1-26;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  and  xxxvii.;  also  chapters  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.,  con- 
cerning Gog  and  Magog.  Can  any  one  say  that  these  prophecies  are 
now  fulfilled?  and,  if  not,  can  any  one  show  how  they  are  to  be  fulfilled 
after  the  end  of  the  world? 

Dan.  ii.  40-44;  vii.  7-14,  23-27.  Compare  these  with  John's  Apoca- 
lypse, chapter  xvi.  12-21,  with  chapters  xvii.,  xviii.,  xix.,  and  espe- 
cially chapter  xx.  1-10.  Surely  no  one  will  affirm  that  all  these  things 
have  yet  come  to  pass. 

The  following  assumptions,  while  essential  to  this  theory,  are. 
nevertheless,  fatal  to  the  views  of  prophecy  which  they  seem  to  enter- 
tain:— 

1st.  The  day  of  the  Lord's  coming  is  the  end  of  all  time. 

2d.  It  is  also  the  end  of  the  present  heavens,  earth,  and  sea. 

3d.  It  is,  moreover,  the  end  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Now,  all  this  is  only  equivalent  to  affirming  that,  when  the  Lord 
comes,  the  material  heavens,  earth,  sea,  time,  and  nations,  shall  be  no 
more.  It  is,  therefore,  incumbent  on  them  to  show  that  all  the  prophe- 
cies that  respect  these  heavens,  earth,  sea,  time,  and  nations,  have 
been  fulfilled.     Indeed,  this  is  their  strong  and  oft-repeated  assertion. 

"Will  anyone  ekilled  in  that  theory,  please  reconcile  it  and  John's 
intimations  in  the  following  particulars? 

1.  John  gave  a  thousand  years'  respite  from  Satan's  influence. 
(Rev.  XX.  1.)  And  how  shall  we  count  a  thousand  years  after  time  is 
no  more?  2.  John  speaks  of  nations  existing  after  the  thousand  years 
are  past.  Are  we  to  expect  new  nations  to  be  created  after  the  pres- 
ent nations  are  destroyed?  He  also  speaks  of  the  earth,  in  its  common 
acceptation,  as  existing  after  the  thousand  years  are  ended.  His  words 
are — "And  when  the  thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed 
out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in 
the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  whose  number  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 
They  went  up  upon  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed  the  camp 
of  the  saints,"  etc.    Now,  all  this  is  positively  said  to  occur  after  the 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  97 

Millennium — that  is,  alter  time,  earth,  sea,  and  nations  shall  have 
been  destroyed,  there  shall  be  a  thousand  years — the  present  earth, 
and  sea,  and  nations,  numerous  and  puissant.  Are  these  prophecies 
lu  in  lied? 

Pleasing  and  delightful,  however,  though  the  vision  be,  I  regret 
that  I  can  find  no  real  foundation  on  which  to  build  a  hope  that  the 
opinion  has  any  evidence  from  the  "sure  word  of  prophecy."  Nay, 
the  manner  in  which  it  seems  to  propagate  itself  is  so  destitute  of 
rational  arguments,  or  well  defined  Scriptural  premises,  that  I  can  not 
acquiesce  in  the  conclusions  so  strongly  affirmed  by  some  whom  I 
j^reatly  esteem  and  love. 

When  the  excitement  of  the  present  year  shall  have  passed  away, 
it  will  be  more  profitable  to  analyze  the  whole  premises  from  which 
we  anticipate  great  changes  in  the  world:  for  I  am  one  of  those  that 
look  for  a  thorough  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary  as  an  event  not  only 
most  devoutly  to  be  wished,  but  most  certainly  soon  to  be  commenced 
iu  a  way  which  perchance  but  few  of  us  either  expect  or  are  at  all 
prepared  for.  a.  c. 

In  the  Harbinger  of  1833— pages  153-lCO— appears  the  following: 

RELATION  OF  JESUS  TO  GOD. 

Dear  Brother  Campbell: 

There  are  several  of  your  readers,  besides  myself,  in  this  vicinity, 
who  respectfully  solicit,  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  our  fellowship  in 
the  same,  a  brief,  but  definite  explanation  of  your  remarks  in  the  last 
Harbinger,  page  9,  on  the  nature  of  our  blessed  Lord.  Whether  it  is 
to  be  attributed  to  obtuseness  of  understanding  on  our  part,  or  to 
indefiniteness  of  statement  on  yours,  the  fact  is,  beloved,  that  from 
the  closest  attention  we  are  capable  of  giving  to  all  you  have  written 
on  this  subject,  we  do  not  yet  understand  you. 

We  are  equally  opposed  with  you  to  "Trinitarian,  Arian,  and  Uni- 
tarian speculations  on  the  divine  essence."  From  the  systems  of  fal- 
lible and  erring  man,  we  trust  the  Son  has  made  us  free.  Our  desire 
is,  simply  to  understand  what  the  Spirit  of  truth  teaches  on  this  and 
every  other  subject. 

Most  cordially  do  we  unite  with  you  in  acknowledging  the  Messiaii 
as  "a.  divine  person,  the  only  begotten  of  God."  Most  devoutly  would 
we  love,  "worship  and  adore  him"  as  "the, only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  favor  and  truth."  But  we  tremble  at  the  word  of  Him  who 
will  not  give  the  glory  to  another,  and  we  obey  that  word  which 
teaches  us  to  love  and  worship  the  Son  "to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father." 

Will  you  favor  us  with  a  definite  answer  to  the  following  queries.' 

1.  Who  is  the  One  God,  besides  whom  there  is  none  else — who  is 


98  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

to  be  acknowledged,  loved,  adored  and  worshiped  as  the  eternal,  unbe- 
gotten,  independent  All  in  all,  of  whom  are  all  things? 

If  you  reply,  in  the  words  which  the  Holy  Spirit  teaches,  (I.  Cor. 
viii.  6,)    "the  Father,"   we  ask — 

2.  Do  you,  in  the  term  Father,  used  in  the  above  sense,  as  "the  on-? 
God,"  include  or  exclude  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  who  was 
with  him  "before  the  world  was"? 

3.  Do  you,  or  do  you  not,  understand  the  terms  first,  only  begotten 
Son,  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God,  first  born  of  every  creature, 
"in  the  full  import  and  meaning  of  (these)  words,"  as  we  do,  viz.:  as 
teaching  that  the  Son,  in  his  highest  personal  nature,  is  a  distinct 
being  from  the  Father,  and  had  a  "beginning"  of  existence? 

4.  Do  you  understand  our  Lord's  words,  "My  Father  is  greater  than 
I,"  in  a  limited,  or  unlimited  sense?  Do  you  understand  him  to  affirm 
this  without  any  reservation?  When  the  Son,  or  Word,  was  with  the 
Father,  before  he  came  down  from  heaven,  was  he,  or  was  he  not,  as 
independently  wise,  powerful,  self-existent  and  eternal,  as  the  Father? 

5.  Do  you,  or  do  you  not,  make  distinction  in  the  worship  you  offer 
the  Father  and  the  Son?  Do  you  not  worship  the  Son  as  the  begotten 
of  the  Father?  Do  you  not  worship  the  Father  as  unhegotten?  Do 
you  not  worship  him  as  the  one  God,  of  whom  are  all  things;  who,  by 
his  own  infinite,  underived  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  creates, 
upholds,  saves,  and  judges?  Do  you  thus  worship  the  Son,  also?  or  do 
you  worship  him  as  the  one  Lord  by  whom  are  all  things,  iy  whom 
God  made  the  worlds,  by  whom  he  saves,  and  by  whom  he  will  judge 
us?  Do  you  not  worship  the  Son  to  the  glory  of  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  to  his  own  independent  glory? 

I  am  aware  that  an  answer  to  some  of  these  questions  will  neces- 
sarily involve  an  answer  to  others;  but  I  have  thus  presented  the 
subject,  that  we  may,  by  a  singleness  of  eye  to  truth  and  the  favor  of 
our  Lord,  obtain  an  understanding  of  what  is  written  in  our  Father's 
book  concerning  his  best  beloved,  and  that  believing  we  may  have  life 
through  his  name. 

I  have  too  much  confidence  in  your  kindness  and  candor  to  think 
that  you  will  decline  publishing  this  communication;  nor  can  I  imagine 
that  you  will  excuse  yourself  from  giving  a  definite  answer  (which 
many,  for  the  truth's  sake,  are  wishing  to  hear)  with  the  plea  that  we 
have  presented  to  your  vain  speculations.  It  will  not  be  denied  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  God  of  whom  are  all  things,  or  he  is  not.  Nor 
can  it  be  denied  that  it  is  important  for  us  to  know  whether  he  is 
so  or  not,  that  we  may  worship  with  understanding  and  in  truth. 
Yours  in  the  good  hope  through  favor, 

Henky  Grew. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  February  6,  1833. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  99 

TO  BROTHER   HENRY  GREW. 
Dear  Sir: 

With  that  promptitude  and  candor  due  to  yourself  and  those  of  my 
readers  whom  you  represent,  I  proceed  to  answer  the  questions  which 
you  have  so  affectionately  and  respectfully  propounded  to  my  consid- 
eration. 

Averse  to  all  speculations  which  can  have  no  practical  influence  on 
the  hearts  or  behavior  of  men,  the  only  reluctance  which  I  could  feel 
in  replying  to  some  of  these  interrogatories  is  their  apparent  propin- 
quity to  the  high  and  cold  latitudes  of  metaphysical  theology.  In  our 
ascent  to  these  high  and  cold  regions  of  abstract  speculation,  it  is  no 
easy  matter  to  keep  the  mercury  from  freezing.  I  will,  however, 
attempt  to  give  them  as  practical  an  aspect  as  the  off-hand  and  desul- 
tory thoughts  of  an  hour  snatched  from  other  pressing  subjects  of 
examination  will  afford. 

Before  replying  to  your  queries  in  the  form  of  direct  answers,  1 
would  request  your  attention  to  the  following  preliminary  reflections. 
These  considerations  will,  indeed,  explain  some  of  the  reasons  which 
influence  the  answers  which  I  may  tender,  and  therefore  I  would  urge 
the  necessity  of  giving  them  due  attention. 

The  modus  of  the  Divine  existence,  as  well  as  the  modus  of  the 
Divine  operations  in  creation,  providence,  and  redemption,  is,  to  our 
finite  minds,  the  creatures  of  yesterday,  wholly  inscrutable  and  incom- 
prehensible. On  both,  the  Bible  is  silent.  Becomes  it  us,  then,  to  be 
dogmatical  on  such  a  theme,  or  to  stretch  our  inquiries  beyond  the 
terra  firma  of  revelation? 

My  principal  objection  to  the  popular  doctrine  of  "the  Trinity"  is 
not  that  it  is  either  irrational,  or  unscriptural,  to  infer  that  there  are 
three  Divine  persons  in  one  Divine  nature.  That  these  three  equally 
have  one  thought,  purpose,  will,  and  operation,  and  so  one  God; — or, 
to  use  the  words  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  "In  the  Unity  of  the 
Godhead  there  be  three  persons,  of  one  substance,  power,  and  eter- 
nity;" I  say  I  object  not  to  this  doctrine  because  it  is  contrary  to  rea- 
son, or  revelation,  but  because  of  the  metaphysical  technicalities,  the 
unintelligible  jargon,  the  unmeaning  language  of  the  orthodox  creeds 
on  this  subject,  and  the  interminable  war  of  words  without  ideas  to 
which  the  word  Trinity  has  given  birth.  For  example,  in  the  same  sec- 
tion from  which  I  have  quoted  the  above  words  is  found  the  following 
jargon:  "The  Father  is  of  none,  neither  begotten  nor  proceeding;  the 
Son  is  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father;  the  Holy  Ghost  eternally 
proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son." 

Were  any  one  to  ask  me.  Can  there  be  three  distinct  persons,  or 
even  beings,  in  one  God?  I  would  say,  Reason  informs  me  not.  and 
revelation  does  not  assert  it.     But   if  asked,  Can   there   be  one.   and 


100  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

one  three  in  the  same  sense?  I  reply,  Both  reason  and  revelation  say 
No.  But  then  no  Trinitarian  or  Calvinist  affirms  that  the  three  are 
one,  and  the  one  three,  in  the  same  sense. 

Language  fails  and  thought  can  not  reach  the  relation  in  which 
the  Father  and  Son  have  existed,  now  exist,  and  shall  forever  exist. 
But  that  there  is,  and  was,  and  evermore  will  be,  society  in  God  him- 
self, a  plurality  as  well  as  unity  in  the  Divine  nature,  are  inferences 
which  do  obtrude  themselves  on  my  mind  in  reflecting  upon  the  divine 
communications  to  our  race.  I  will  add,  that  common  sense,  reason, 
and  revelation,  give  one  and  the  same  testimony,  in  my  ear,  upon  this 
subject. 

If  you  ask  how  this  can  oe,  I  will  ask  you.  How  can  there  be 
one  selt-existent,  independent,  unoriginated,  eternal  God?  You  will 
say,  I  believe,  but  can  not  comprehend.  So  say  I.  But  while  our 
faith  has  in  its  first  effort  to  encounter  a  truth  so  incomprehensible, 
and  to  receive  it;  a  truth  so  mysterious,  supernatural,  unsearchable, 
transcendant;  a  truth  which,  in  its  stupendous  dimensions,  encom- 
passes infinite  space,  an  eternity  past — the  universe,  natural,  intellec- 
tual, moral;  a  truth  which  leaves  out  no  existence,  past,  present,  or 
future;  which  overwhelms  every  intellect,  and  sets  at  defiance  the 
combined  efforts  of  all  created  intelligence — I  repeat  it,  since  this 
must  be  the  Alpha  of  our  faith,  where  shall  we  place  our  Omega,  on 
the  mode  of  the  Divine  existence?  He  that  comes  to  God,  must  first 
believe  that  he  is. 

But  I  am  not  more  confounded  than  delighted  with  the  idea  of  the 
One,  Self-existent,  and  Eternal  God.  To  me,  its  incomprehensibility 
is  a  source  of  joy.  With  exultation  I  ask,  "Who  by  searching  can 
find  out  God,  or  know  the  Almighty  to  perfection?"  My  child  says. 
Who  made  God?  and,  methinks,  I  am  no  wiser  in  the  estimation  of 
my  superiors. 

But,  sir,  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  all  the  scholastic  strifes  about 
trinity,  and  all  the  questions  agitated  for  fifteen  centuries  on  the  mode 
ol  Divine  existence,  appear  to  me  to  spring  from  one  source.  None 
appears  to  me  to  have  noticed,  with  sufficient  attention,  that  there  is 
"but  one  word  in  the  language  of  viortals  ivhich  is  absolute  and  irrela- 
tive. It  angels  have  a  language,  although  I  am  in  perfect  ignorance 
01  their  stipulated  signs,  one  thing  I  can  affirm,  that  they  too  have 
bui  one  word  in  their  language  which  is  not  relative. 

All  the  names  of  God  are,  with  the  exception  of  this  one,  the  names 
of  relations.  God,  Almighty,  Lord,  Creator,  Father,  King,  Governor, 
Judge — infinite,  omniscient,  eternal,  etc.  If  no  Satan,  there  could  be 
no  God:  il  no  mighty,  no  Almighty;  if  no  dominion,  no  Lord;  if 
no  creation,  no  Creator;  if  no  Son,  no  Father;  if  no  subjects,  no 
King    etc      But    what   sublimity,   what   unspeakable    meaning,    in   the 


THE    MILLEySIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  101 

address  to  Moses  (Ex.  vi.  2,  3):  "And  God  said  lO  Moses,  1  am  Jeho- 
vah. I  appeared  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,  by  the  name 
o.  God  Almighty;  but  by  my  name  Jkiiovau  was  I  not  known  to 
them.  I  AM  knows  no  relation  to  any  creature,  or  being;  to  past, 
present,  or  future;  to  time  or  to  eternity.  It  is  equivalent  to  /  exist, 
a  name  which  can  not  be  given  to  any  being  which  by  nature  is  not 
God,  or  self-existent. 

I  repeat  it,  I  am  not  more  oewildered  than  delighted.  In  the  idea  of 
the  incomprehensibility  of  the  same  Jehovah.  And  while  this  name 
is  before  us,  let  me  ask  the  wavering  to  reflect,  how  man  could  be 
created  social,  and  in  the  image  of  God;  man,  having  in  his  nature 
plurality,  incomplete  in  one  person;  for  man  is  not  without  the  woman, 
nor  the  woman  without  the  man,  in  nature  or  religion.  I  ask.  How 
could  man  be  created  in  the  image  of  God,  incomplete  in  one  person, 
social,  and  necessarily  plural;  and  that  God,  in  whose  image  and 
likeness  he  was  created,  could  be  a  solitary  eternal  unit,  without  soci- 
ety and  plurality  in  himself!  This  I  can  not  comprehend,  when  I 
believe  that  God  said,  "Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  in  our  like- 
ness, and  let  him  have  dominion;"  and,  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God." 

While,  then,  I  do  most  cordially  repudiate  the  whole  scholastic 
phraseology  of  the  Trinitarian,  Arian,  and  Socinian  speculations,  I 
do  not,  with  some  Trinitarians,  regard  my  Lord  Messiah  as  having 
always  been  an  eternal  Son;  nor  can  I,  with  the  Arian,  view  him  as 
some  super-angelic  creature,  filling  an  immense  chasm  between  Jeho- 
vah and  the  supernal  hosts;  and  still  less  can  I  degrade  him,  with  the 
Socinian,  to  the  rank  of  a  mere  man,  the  son  of  Joseph.  Common 
sense,  reason,  and  revelation,  put  their  veto  on  such  hypotheses.  No; 
my  Lord  and  Saviour  is  no  creature,  nor  the  son  of  a  creature.  In 
the  beginning  he  was  the  Woku  of  God,  is  now  the  Son  of  God,  and 
will,  when  government  is  no  longer  necessary,  be  again  recognized 
as  the  Word  of  Ood,  "a  name  which  no  man  knows,  but  he  himself." 

I  must  be  born  again,  and  be  endowed  with  other  reasoning  powers 
and  have  another  revelation,  before  I  can  become  an  Arian.  I  will 
give  you  one  reason  out  of  a  hundred,  and  but  one,  because  I  feel 
that  it  alone,  if  I  had  not  another,  would  forever  preclude  the  hy- 
pothesis: it  is,  in  one  sentence.  Because  the  Arian  philosophy  converts 
the  wisdom  of  God  into  folly. 

If  I  am  asked  to  explain  how  this  can  be,  I  refuse  not.  The  Arian 
toils  and  sweats,  and  taxes  his  ingenuity  to  show  what  a  glorious 
creature  the  Son  of  God  was  in  his  pre-existent  state.  He  fancies 
and  represents  the  Son  as  filling  some  intermediate  rank  more  than 
midway  between  the  Arch  Seraphim  and  the  Deity.  He  thinks  he 
devoutly  consults  tho  honor  ot  the  Son.  when  he  finds  for  him  some 


102  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

vacant  throne,  nearest  to  the  Self-existent  and  Eternal,  beyond  the 
aspirations  of  the  cherubim  and  seraphim.  There  he  places  him,  a 
sort  of  sub-deity,  whence  he  descends  to  become  incarnate.  Yet, 
strange  to  tell,  when  this  first  and  high-born  One,  of  unrivalled  glory 
amongst  the  creatures  of  God,  appears  in  human  flesh,  he  gives  him 
nothing  to  do,  which  the  son  of  Joseph  could  not  have  done  as  ivellU! 
Was  ever  folly  more  consummate!  What  is  folly,  but  the  adoption  of 
inadequate  means  to  ends?  Is  it  not  folly  to  give  a  diamond  for  a 
straw? — to  raise  a  tempest  to  move  a  feather? — to  discharge  the  ar- 
tillery of  heaven  against  a  worm? — to  hurl  the  thunderbolts  of  Omnip- 
otence against  a  fly? — to  despatch  the  Archangel  on  an  errand  which 
the  son  of  Joseph  could  have  as  well  performed? 

What  creature  could  do  more  than  Abel,  Moses,  John  the  Baptist, 
Stephen,  Peter,  James  the  just,  or  Paul  did — tell  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  lead  an  exemplary  life,  and  as  a  martyr  offer  up  his  soul  to 
God! 

What,  let  me  again  ask,  is  folly,  if  this  be  not  folly?  To  waste 
resources,  or  squander  means,  is  as  foolish  as  not  to  provide  them. 
He  who  provides  the  materials  for  a  palace,  and  builds  a  cottage,  is 
as  very  a  simpleton  as  he  who  attempts  to  build  a  palace  out  of  the 
materials  of  a  tent.  Could  not  Gabriel,  who  waited  on  Daniel  on  the 
banks  of  Ulai;  nay,  could  not  Paul  himself,  do  as  much  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  world,  as  the  Arian  Son  of  God?  When  some  philos- 
opher appears,  who  with  a  dash  of  his  pen  can  blot  out  sin,  or 
show  me  that  the  tears  of  the  penitent,  or  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
goats  can  wash  it  from  the  universe,  then,  but  not  till  then,  will  1 
turn  Arian. 

For  the  same,  or  a  similar  reason,  I  can  not  be  a  Socinian.  This  is 
but  a  new  edition  of  the  lable — the  mountain  in  labor,  and  a  mouse 
is  born.  Heaven  taught  sages;  legislators,  kings,  prophets,  priests, 
and  seers,  for  four  thousand  years,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  revelation,  exhaust  all  the  similitudes,  analogies,  and  imagery  oi 
this  creation;  impoverish  the  eloquence  of  heaven  and  earth,  all  fig- 
ures and  forms  of  speech,  to  raise  the  expectations  of  mankind  in 
anticipation  of  a  wonderful  child,  on  whose  shoulders  the  government* 
of  the  universe  was  to  remain,  whose  name  was  written,  "Wonderful 
—Counsellor— the  Mighty  God— the  Father  of  Eternity— the  Prince  of 
Peace — Immanuel";  yet  when  the  prediction  is  accomplished,  Mary 
travails,  and  the  carpenter's  son  is  born — a  Son  of  God,  it  is  true,  as 
Adam  was! ! ! 

With  me,  consistency  must  precede  faith.  I  must  see  types,  figures, 
prophecies,  promises,  harmonizing;  I  must  see  the  means  and  the  end 
correspondent;  I  must  see  wisdom,  power,  goodness;  justice,  mercy, 
love:    condescension,  truth,  and  holiness,  shining  in  all  the  splendors 


THH    MILLESSIAL    IIARBINOER    ABRIDGKD.  103 

of  Divinity,  before  I  cau  subscribe  to  any  proposition  toucliiug  the 
personal  dignity  and  standing  of  my  Lord  the  King. 

It  will  not  suffice  to  puzzle  me  with  hard  questions  about  how 
this  can  be,  since  my  laith  has  in  its  infancy  to  master  the  master 
truth  of  revelation — to  admit  that  God  is  Jehovah;  or,  that  God  was, 
and  always  is,  the  self-existent,  immutable  and  eternal,  never-began- 
to-be,  the  eternal  inhabitant  of  eternity.  Believing  this,  I  find  no 
difficulty  in  believing  that  there  was,  and  is,  and  evermore  shall  be, 
society  and  plurality — a  liberal  I,  and  thuii,  and  he— a.  we,  and  our, 
and  us,  in  one  divine  nature.  This  to  me  is  as  easy  as  the  idea  of 
self-existent;  yea,  more  easy  when  /,  and  thou,  and  he  deliberate 
on  creation,  providence,  and  redemption.  I  can  not,  for  my  life,  even 
fancy  a  nature  destitute  of  /,  and  thou,  and  he.  I  am  certain  it  is 
not  the  human — 1  am  certain  it  is  not  the  angelic — certain,  too,  that 
it  is  not  the  divine. 

In  our  nature  there  is  no  more  than  I,  and  thou,  and  he,  as  respects 
primary  relation.  'Ihere  is  no  more  in  the  angelic,  and  the  Bible 
reveals  no  more  than  I,  and  thou,  and  he  in  the  divine.  But  not 
turning  aside  to  answer  objections  v.hich  are  anticipated,  be  it  ob- 
served that  I  make  not  this  a  matter  of  inference  only;  for  there  is 
an  association  of  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  revealed  relation  of  the  three  persons,  I,  tJiou,  and  he, 
and  just  in  ihe  dignity  of  these  three.  "I  send  thee,"  "I  and  thou 
send  him,"  "Jehovah  and  his  spirit  has  sent  me."  On  this  principle 
the  Christian  economy  is  arranged  and  developed.  So  I  read  the  vol- 
umes of  revelation.  These  reflections  premised,  I  proceed  to  answer 
your  ingenious  questions: 

QUERY    1,    ANSWERED. 

Jehovah  is  the  only  living  and  true  Ood.  I  can  not  adopt  the 
answer  you  suggest  (I.  Cor.  viii.  6),  for  that  anstcers  not  your  ques- 
tion. Had  you  propounded  the  question  which  Paul  had  in  his  eye, 
then  I  would  have  given  his  answer.  It  was  not  the  contradistinguish- 
ing of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  respects  divinity,  which  Paul  had 
in  view;  but  the  contradistinguishing  of  the  "gods  many,"  and  the 
"lords  many"  of  Paganism,  from  the  one  God  and  one  Lord  of  Chris- 
tians. 

C^UEUV     2,    ANSWEUEU. 

As  the  phrase,  "one  Cod"  (I.  Cor.  viii.  6),  is  not  applied  to  the 
Father,  but  in  contradistinction  from  "gods  many;"  so  we  can  not 
say  that  in  contradistinction  from  the  Son  or  the  only  begotten,  that 
it  either  includes  or  excludes;  for  that  was  net  in  the  mind  of  the 
Apostle  when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians.  The  phrase  "Son  of  God" 
in  the  New  Testament   imports  a  participation   of  the  divine  nature. 


104  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

A  little  more  reflection,  and  I  presume  you  will  perceive  how  I  should 
err  were  I  to  answer  your  first  question  in  the  words  of  I.  Cor.  viii.  6. 
Were  you  asked,  "Do  you,  in  calling  Jesus  the  one  Lord,  include  or  ex- 
clude the  Father  from  the  nature  and  essential  attributes  of  the  one 
Lord?"  what  would  you  answer?  Would  you  not  say,  "The  Father  is 
not  excluded;  for  certainly  he  is  the  one  absolute  Lord:  for  so  the 
Prophets  have  named  and  addressed  him  a  thousand  times.  But  now 
he  has  made  Jesus  Lord.  So  that  in  the  new  economy  the  Father  is 
our  only  God,  and  Jesus  ia  our  only  Lord." 

QUERY    3,    ANSWERED. 

The  word  "being,"  in  its  luU  latitude,  signifies  simple  existence; 
but  in  its  appropriated  sense  here  you  mean  something  more  than 
simple  existence.  I  find  the  personal  pronouns  always  used  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  speaking  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  therefore,  if  I  must  use  an  abstract  term,  I  will  use  per- 
son rather  than  being — though  i  am  not  much  in  love  with  either. 
The  Scriptures  nowhere  teach  me  that  the  Son  in  his  high  personal 
nature  had  a  beginning  of  being  or  existence;  "the  Word  was  in  the 
beginning  with  God,"  even  that  Word  "which  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us."  "The  Word  ivas  God,"  and,  as  such,  I  venerate  "the 
Word  made  flesh,"  "as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 

QUERY  4,  ANSWERED. 

"My  Father  is  greater  than  1,"  I  understand  in  an  economical  or 
restricted  sense.  But  it  militates  not  with  the  dignity  of  the  Son  of 
God,  if,  in  some  sense,  the  Father  was  always  greater  than  he.  The 
Trinitarians  themselves,  who  make  him  an  eternal  Son,  fairly  con- 
cede this;  for  a  Son  is,  in  some  sense,  inferior  to  the  Father;  while, 
in  another  sense,  he  may  be  superior.  But  I  regard  all  that  was  spoken 
by  Jesus  of  this  import  as  respecting  his  state  of  humiliation  and  its 
oonsequences. 

QUERY   5,   ANSWERED. 

In  worshiping  Jesus,  I  worship  him  as  my  Lord  and  Saviour,  as 
the  Son  of  God,  to  the  glory  of  the  Father.  In  worshiping  the  Father, 
I  worship  him  through  the  Son;  and  therefore  I  honor  both  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  But,  my  dear  sir,  I  do  not  think  of  worshiping 
with  that  exactitude  of  which  you  speak,  as  if  I  were  to  pay  so  much 
tax  to  the  King  and  so  much  tithe  to  the  Priest.  I  can  not  thus  math- 
ematically worship  either  the  Father  or  the  Son.  The  Father  and 
the  Son  are  one  in  my  salvation.  The  Father  is  my  God,  and  Jesus 
is  my  Lord.  They  are  one  in  the  admiration  of  my  understanding — 
they  are  one  in  the  adoration  of  my  heart. 


THt]    MILLESSIAL    UAUBlSGElt    AUlilDGKD.  105 

Thus,  Brother  Grew,  if  compelled  to  philosophize,  I  would  answer 
your  questions.  I  own  that  much  depends  upon  our  views  of  the 
personal  dignity  and  standing  of  the  Lord  Messiah.  Indeed,  such 
was  the  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was, 
and  such  is  the  glory  which  he  now  enjoys  as  Lord  of  all  in  our 
nature,  that  I  think  we  are  much  more  likely  to  fail  in  forming  too 
low,  than  too  high,  conceptions  of  his  essential  dignity.  The  Father 
has  so  glorified  him  as  our  head,  and  has  so  signified  to  us  his  delight 
in  him,  that,  of  all  the  texts  in  the  Bible,  there  is  none  we  could  mis- 
apply in  reference  to  Jesus  more  than  that  which  says,  "Jehovah  will 
not  give  his  glory  to  another."  He  has  laid  no  restrictions  upon  the 
admiration  and  adoration  of  the  human  or  angelic  hosts  in  reference 
to  his  only  begotten  Son;  nay,  all  angels  and  men  are  commanded  to 
worship  him.  No  idolatry  in  worshiping  the  King  of  glory!  1  I  would 
not  for  the  universe  weaken  the  force  of  a  single  expression,  or  sub- 
tract from  the  boldest  metaphor  aught  of  its  riches,  designed  to  set 
forth  the  peerless  claims  of  our  Redeemer  to  the  unqualified  adoration 
of  my  soul.  His  is  the  temple  of  the  universe — his  the  hallelujahs  of 
the  heavens — his  the  hosannas  of  the  church.  All  things  were  crea- 
ted by  him  and  for  him.  He  made  himself  poor  that  he  might  make 
us  rich;  and  shall  our  tongues  falter  in  his  praise,  or  our  hearts  not 
gladly  bear  their  part  in  the  general  song?  May  it  be  your  and  my 
happy  lot  to  stand  before  him,  when  he  comes  in  his  glory,  approved; 
and  to  unite  with  the  admiring  and  adoring  throng,  singing: 

To  him  who  lov'd  us,  and  has  wasliM 
Us  from  our  sins  in  his  own   bluotl, 
And  who  has  made  us  kings  and  priests 
To  his  own  Father  and  liis  God, 
Tlie  glory  and  dominion  bo 
To  him  t'ternally.     Amen! 

In  this  blissful  hope,  I   remain  yours.  Editor. 


EOOK  III. 

HOLY    SPIRIT. 


BOOK    III. 

THE     HOLY    SPIEIT. 

In  a  series  of  essays  on  "The  Gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  in  the 
Harbinger  for  1834,  Mr.  Campbell  says: 

With  many  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  investigate  and  decide  every 
subject.  They  have  only  to  read  a  few  texts  of  Scripture  and  hear  a 
sermon  from  some  popular  preacher,  and  they  are  quite  satisfied 
they  understand  the  matter  perfectly.  One  decides  in  favor  of  this 
theory,  and  another  in  favor  of  that,  after  a  few  days',  or  sometimes 
a  few  hours',  reflection,  and  become  as  dogmatical  as  the  pope.  Others 
prefer  the  opinion  of  some  favorite  author  or  creed;  and  from  their 
conviction  of  the  learning,  piety,  and  talents  of  those  who  have  thought 
for  them,  they  are  willing  to  repose  in  full  assurance  that  they  are 
right,  and  to  denounce  all  others,  as  in  error  who  may  falter  in  yield- 
ing unqualified  assent  to  their  borrowed  opinions. 

Many,  indeed,  can  not  take  comprehensive  views  of  any  subject; 
and  if  they  can  only  get  a  hold  of  a  few  simple  ideas,  they  have  no 
desire  to  extend  their  inquiries  or  their  views  on  the  subject  But 
there  are  some  restive  and  inquisitive  persons  who  are  always  prying 
into  the  most  abstruse  subjects,  and  are  never  satisfied  till  they  get 
to  the  bottom  of  a  subject,  or  have  pushed  their  inquiries  beyond  the 
terra  firma  of  revelation  and  experience. 

For  our  own  part,  we  are  desirous  to  understand  all  that  God  has 
revealed,  and  to  receive  the  exact  ideas  which  are  couched  in  the 
words  which  tlie  Holy  Spirit  used. 

I  propose  to  institute  a  few  inquiries  and  to  attempt  a  Scriptural 
answer  to  them.  Indeed,  all  that  I  now  propose  will  be  to  ascertain 
the  meaning  of  the  sacred  dialect  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  will,  there- 
fore exclude  from  our  phraseology  every  scholastic  term  and  phrase 
on   this  topic.     Without   further   ceremony   we   proceed. 

1.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit".' 

This  phrase  is  found  in  the  New  Testament  twice — in  the  Old 
Testament  never.  The  gifts  of  the  Holy  Svirii  is  not  a  Scriptural 
phrase,  and,  therefore,  we  have  nothing  to  say  about  it.  We  have  said 
that  the  phrase  is  not  found  in  the  Old  Testament:  the  idea  is  not, 
therefore,  to  be  sought  in  that  volume.  It  is  a  New  Testament  phrase, 
and  its  meaning  must  be  found  In  the  Living  Oracles  of  the  Apostles 
and  Evangelists  of  Jesus  Christ. 

That  we  may  have  clear  and  certain  knowledge  on  this  subject,  we 
shall  submit  facts  only. 


110  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Fact  1.  There  are  only  the  eight  following  words  found  in  the 
approved  Greek  text,  translated  gift  in  the  common  version  of  the 
apostolic  writings:  dorea,  dorema,  doron,  doma,  dosis,  merismo'S,  charis, 
charisma. 

Dorea  occurs  eleven  times,  and  is  used  by  Luke,  John  and  Paul — 
dorema  twice,  used  by  Paul  and  James — doron  eighteen  times,  used  by 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  Paul — doma  four  times,  used  by  Matthew, 
Luke  and  Paul — dosis  once,  used  by  James — merismos  twice,  used  by 
Paul — charis  occurs  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  times,  and  used 
by  Luke,  John,  Paul,  James,  Peter  and  Jude,  in  the  common  version 
mostly  grace.  It  is  rendered  charity  in  the  new  version  two  or  three 
times.  (IL  Cor.  viii.)  Charisma  is  found  seventeen  times,  used  by 
Paul  and  Peter.  Now,  of  these  doma  and  doron  denote  common  gifts 
from  man  to  man,  from  father  to  child,  or  religious  sacrificial  donations 
according  to  the  law.  But  dorea  and  charisma  are  the  words  which  we 
have  now  to  consider. 

Fact  2.  When  "spiritual  gifts"  are  spoken  of,  no  other  word  is  used 
but  charisma — that  is,  where  we  have  the  phrase  "spiritual  gifts"  in  the 
common  version,  we  have  charisma  expressed  or  implied  in  the  Greek. 

Heb.  ii.  4  is  not  an  exception,  for  there  it  is  distributions :  common 
version,  "gifts" — not  "the  gifts"  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  word  here  is 
merismos,  found  only  twice^ — Heb.  ii.  4  and  iv.  12.  In  the  last  place  it 
is  translated  "dividing  asunder" — common  version. 

Fact  3.  But  when  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  spoken  of,  or,  indeed, 
alluded  to,  no  other  word  than  dorea  is  used  by  any  writer  who  speaks 
of  it. 

Every  particular  gift  of  the  Spirit  spoken  of,  or  alluded  to,  is  desl;^ 
nated  by  charisma;  but  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  by  dorea  only. 
This  is  certainly  worth  something  to  those  who  wish  to  understand 
the  Scriptures. 

From  this  last  fact  the  inference  may  be  drawn,  that  a  gift  of  the 
Spirit,  or  a  spiritual  gift,  is  not  the  same  as  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
inasmuch  as  the  sacred  writers  in  their  language  never  confounded 
them.  Ought  we  not  now  to  inquire  what  is  the  precise  import  of  the 
words  dorea  and  charisma? 

That  the  English  reader,  curious  to  understand  this  matter,  may  be 
furnished  with  all  the  means  in  his  power  to  understand  for  himself, 
we  shall  now  give  him,  in  order,  all  the  passages  where  these  words 
occur  in  the  original;  and  first  for  dorea  let  him  consult  John  iv.  lu; 
Acts  ii.  38;  viii.  20;  x.  45;  xi.  17;  Rom.  v.  15,  17;  II.  Cor.  iv.  15;  Eph.  iii. 
7;  iv.  7;  Heb.  vi.  4.  From  a  careful  inspection  of  these  passages  both 
in  the  common  and  new  version,  he  will  discover,  that  this  term 
expresses  and  denotes  the  largest,  freest,  and  best  bounty  of  God.  To 
express  the  bounty  of  God  in  its  most  extensive  display  over  all  crea- 


THK    MILLEXXIAL    HARBIXOER    ABRIDGED.  Ill 

tion,  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  wisdom   (chap.  xvi.  25)   this  word  is 
found — he  pantatrophos  sow  dorea — "thy  ail-nourishing  bounty." 

Jesus  uses  it  to  the  woman  of  Samaria  to  exalt  her  conceptions  of 
God's  bounty.  "If,"  says  he,  "you  knew  the  bounty  of  God" — "the  gift 
of  God."  Free  gift  is  the  fullest  version  of  it  which  our  languaga 
admits,  according  to  Macknight;  but  this  does  not  fully  express  it.  it 
denotes  the  largest  and  freest  gift  of  God. 

Charisma  next  deserves  our  attention.  The  English  reader  will 
examine  all  the  passages  in  which  it  is  found  when  he  inspects  the 
following:  Rom.  i.  11;  v.  15,  16;  vi.  23;  xi.  29;  xii.  6;  I.  Cor.  i.  7; 
vii.  7;  xii.  4,  9,  28.  30,  31;  II.  Cor.  i.  11;  I.  Tim.  iv.  14;  II.  Tim.  i.  6; 
I.  Pet.  iv.  10. 

This  word  has  always  some  indefinite  favor  or  gift  as  its  import — a 
favor  or  a  bounty;  and,  when  used  definitely,  it  is  the  particular  favor 
or  gift  before  mentioned.  It  is  specific  in  its  import,  while  dorea  is 
rather  generic.  Hence,  prophecy,  speaking  foreign  languages,  interpre- 
tation of  foreign  languages,  power  of  working  miracles  are  fully 
expressed  by  charistna.  It  might,  indeed,  be  added,  that  dorea  respects 
the  bounty  from  which  the  gift  flows;  while  charisma  represents  the 
thing,  the  favor,  or  benefit,  given.  But  the  splendid  bequest,  as  well 
as  the  bounty  which  freely  confers  it,  are  also  expressed  by  this  term. 
Definition  goes  no  farther. 

We  have  this  phrase,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  has  been  said, 
but  twice,  in  all  the  apostolic  writings — Acts  ii.  38  and  x.  45,  both  of 
which  denote  all  that  is  comprehended  in  the  promise  of  Joel,  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  all  his  miraculous  powers.  It  is,  indeed  (Acts  viii.  20),  called 
"the  gift  [dorea]  of  God;"  and  that  gift,  mentioned  Acts  x.  45,  com- 
pared with  that  mentioned  Acts  ii.  28,  is  called  by  Peter  (Acts  xi.  IT) 
ten  isen  dorean,  the  same  gift. 

Although,  as  has  been  said,  this  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy 
of  Joel,  it  is  also  represented  as  the  Holy  Spirit  himself.  See  Acts  viii. 
15,  17,  19,  from  which  it  is  very  evident  that,  in  the  judgment  of  Peter, 
John  and  Simon,  this  gift  was  regarded  as  the  Holy  Spirit  himself;  and 
i;;  also  called  "the  gift  of  God." 

From  all  which  the  following  conclusion  is  Inevitable,  that  the 
phrase,  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  means  the  Holy  Spirit  himself 
given,  as  foretold  by  Joel,  and  vouchsafed  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  at  the 
erection  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  and  on  their  admission  into 
it.  But  a  question  may  here  arise  concerning  what  influences,  or  divine 
powers,  the  Holy  Spirit  displayed  on  the  bodies,  souls  and  spirits  of 
those  who  received  this  gift,  or  in  whom  he  made  his  abode. 

Having  ascertained  the  import  of  the  phrase,  "the  gift  of  the  Holu 
Spirit,"  to  be  the  Holy  Spirit  himself  givcti.  as  foretold  by  Joel — we 
proceed  to  examine  some  other  phrases  employed  by  the  Spirit  himself 


112  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

in  setting  forth  the  effects  of  his  residence  in  men.  Be  it  observed  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  himself  a  gift.  He  is  not  the  donor,  but  the  dona- 
tion. He  never  gives  himself.  This  is  the  philosophy  which  explains 
the  reason  why  no  inspired  man,  saint,  or  Christian,  till  John's  death, 
in  the  year  of  the  world  4100,  ever  prayed  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  asked 
him,  or  thanked  him  for  anything.  We  address  and  thank  the  donor, 
not  the  gift.  The  unscriptural  prayers  addressed  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  hymns  sung  to  him  by  those  who  study  theology  in  the  schools 
of  human  philosophy,  and  not  in  the  church  of  God,  show  the  state 
of  biblical  knowledge  in  this  "enlightened  age  of  benevolent  enterprise! " 

Jesus  himself,  after  his  baptism,  received  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the 
form  of  a  dove  he  descended  upon  him.  God  gave  him  this  gift.  John 
the  Immerser  says,  "To  him  God  gives  not  the  Spirit  by  measure" 
(John  iii.  34).  Singular  phrase!  "The  Spirit  by  measure!"  What 
can  it  mean?  The  Prophets  had  received  the  Spirit  by  measure.  By 
measure  he  was  given  to  the  Prophets — not  by  measure  to  the  Son. 
They  spoke  not  always,  and  not  only,  the  words  of  God;  but,  as  John 
explains  the  phrase  in  the  preceding  verse,  Jesus  spoke  only  and  always 
the  words  of  God.  The  Spirit  of  the  context  is  this:  "Jesus  whom  God 
has  sent  speaks  the  words  of  God;  for  God  gives  not  the  Spirit  by 
measure  to  Mm."  ''To  Tiim"  is  a  supplement,  but  a  necessary  one;  else 
God  always  gives  the  Spirit  without  measure. 

With  respect  to  this  word  ''measure'^  in  reference  to  the  Spirit,  it 
is  only  found  in  this  passage;  unless  we  understand  Rom.  xii.  3  and 
Eph.  iv.  7  as  referring  to  the  same  subject.  "The  measure  of  faith" 
(Rom.  xii.  3)  is  explained  (verse  6)  as  denoting  gifts  spiritual.  So 
in  Eph.  iv.  7,  "To  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace  [charis^  according  to 
the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ."  This  -'gift  of  Christ"  is  explained 
(verses  8  and  11)  as  expressive  of  the  offices  of  apostles,  prophets,  evan- 
gelists, pastors,  teachers.  These  offices,  and  those  that  filled  them,  are 
the  gift  of  Christ  alluded  to;  for  when  he  ascended  to  heaven  he 
received  the  promise  of  the  Father,  and  gave  gifts  to  men.  These  gilts 
were  the  measures  of  the  Spirit.  "The  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ" 
is  the  measure,  or  distribution  of  that  Spirit  which  Christ  on  his  ascen- 
sion sent  down. 

Be  it  observed  that  the  creation  of  an  ofl^.ce  is  a  gift;  and  the  quali- 
fications of  the  person  who  fills  that  oflSce  is  also  a  gift  or  grace 
bestowed  on  the  church:  "Having,  then,  gifts  differing  according  to 
the  grace  [office]  given  to  us — if  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy  according 
to  the  measure  of  faith,  according  to  the  gift  of  prophecy  which  we 
enjoy,"  etc. 

No  one  person,  it  appears,  possessed  the  Holy  Spirit  himself  without 
measure.  The  Head  of  the  Church  had  this  pre-eminence;  or,  in  other 
words,  no  person  was  so  possessed  of  the  Spirit  as  to  be  only  and 


Tilt:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  113 

always  under  his  guidance  and  entire  influence,  except  the  Messiah. 
One  prophesied — another  had  gilts  of  healing — another,  of  speaking  for- 
eign languages — another,  of  interpreting  these  foreign  languages.  The 
Spirit  distributed,  or  gave  what  measures  he  pleased  to  every  person  on 
whom  he  was  bestowed. 

For  it  is  evident  that  the  Spirit  himself,  though  a  gift,  displayed 
his  presence  in  the  spiritual  men  by  such  measures  or  distributions  of 
his  power  as  seemed  good  to  himself.  Hear  Paul  (I.  Cor.  xii.  9-11), 
"To  one,  indeed,  is  given  by  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  wisdom;  to  another, 
the  word  of  knowledge,  according  to  the  same  Spirit;  and  to  another, 
faith  [to  attempt  a  miracle]  by  the  same  Spirit;  and  to  another,  the 
gifts  of  healing,  by  the  same  Spirit;  and  to  another,  the  operations 
of  powers;  and  to  another,  prophecy;  and  to  another,  discerning  of 
spirits;  and  to  another,  diverse  kinds  of  foreign  tongues;  and  to 
another,  the  interpretation  of  foreign  tongues."  Now  all  these  (meas- 
ures of  himself)  does  the  one  and  the  same  Spirit  effectually  work, 
distributing  to  each  respectively  as  he  pleases.  These  are  the  spir- 
itual gifts,  portions,  or  measures  of  the  Spirit,  bestowed  by  himself 
ou  those  to  whom  he  was  given. 

Having,  then,  from  these  examples,  ascertained  that  such  is  the 
meaning  of  the  phrases,  "measures,"  "distributions  of  the  Spirit,"  or 
"spiritual  gifts,"  an  inquiry  arises.  Did  everyone  who  possessed  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  every  one  on  whom  the  Spirit  himself  was 
bestowed,  in  the  Scriptural  acceptation  of  the  phrase,  possess  and 
exhibit  such  "o  manifcsiation  of  the  Spirit"  as  those  described,  thereby 
investing  him  with  superhuman  power?  Such  a  question  can  only 
be  answered  correctly  by  an  induction  of  all  the  particular  cases  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament,  or  by  a  definition  of  the  terms  found  in 
the  Record  on  this  subject. 

Be  it  remembered,  that  in  proposing  such  questions,  we  have 
supremely  in  view  the  determining  of  the  meaning  of  the  words  and 
phrases  in  current  circulation  in  the  times  of  the  New  Institution,  or 
during  the  apostolic  age.  Our  present  inquiries  extend  no  farther. 
The  question  now  before  us  may  be  varied  so  as  to  bring  up  another 
New  Testament  phrase.  For  example — Is  every  measure,  distribution, 
portion,  or  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  recorded  in  the  Living  Oracles,  a 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit f  To  proceed  with  deliberation  and  with 
confidence,  let  us  first  examine  the  phrase,  "manifestation  of  the  Spirit  " 
(I.  Cor.  xii.  7). 

Phanerosis  (rendered  manifestation.  Old  Version  and  New)  occurs 
but  ticice  in  the  Living  Oracles.  Paul  is  the  only  writer  who  uses  it. 
and  he  only  uses  it  once  in  each  of  his  letters  to  the  Corinthians  (2ud 
ICpistle,  chap.  iv.  2).  "By  manifestation  of  the  truth,  commending  our- 
selves  to   every   man's   conscience   in    the    sight  of   God."     The   word 


114  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER.  ABRIDGED. 

piiAXEnoo,  which  eignifies  to  make  manifest,  to  disclose,  to  bring  to 
light,  occurs  more  than  fifty  times:  irom  this  is  derived  phanerosis, 
manifesiation,  eihihition,  disclosure.  It  is  quite  obvious,  then,  that  all 
the  measures,  gifts,  or  distributions  of  the  Spirit,  were  visible,  sensible, 
and  manifest  to  ail:  for  they  are  called  "manifestations  of  the  Spirit." 
In  writing  on  "spiritual  gifts"  (I.  Cor.  chaps,  xii.,  xiil.  and  xiv.)  in  the 
opening  of  the  subject,  Paul  (chap.  xii.  7)  classifies  them  under  one 
general  head,  which  he  denominates  "a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit." 
"There  is  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  given  to  every  man  [all  the 
spiritual  men]  for  the  advantage  of  all  [the  brethren]."  Then  come 
the  specifications  of  these  manifestations  of  the  Spirit  before  enumer- 
ated— "To  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom,"  etc.,  etc.  If, 
then,  by  "a  manifestation  of  the  t'ruth"  Paul  meant  such  a  public  and 
sensible  exhibition  of  it  as  would  commend  the  honesty  and  sincerity 
of  the  heart  to  every  man's  conscience,  by  "a  manifestation  of  the 
Spirit"  he  meant  such  an  exhibition  of  his  presence  and  residence  in 
the  heart,  as  would  convince  the  understanding  of  all  that  these  spirit- 
ual men,  who  professed  to  have  received  the  Holy  Spirit  himself,  did 
in  truth  possess  that  divine  agent.  From  all  which,  may  it  not  oe 
inferred  that  a  person  in  the  apostolic  age,  professing  to  have  received 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the  Holy  Spirit  himself,  without  a  mani- 
festation of  it;  or  who  was  unable  to  display  it  by  some  unequivocal 
exhibition  of  it,  would  have  been  considered  either  a  knave  or  a 
simpleton? 

Before  we  approach  nigher  to  the  question  before  us,  there  is  another 
Scriptural  phrase,  so  similar  to  this,  used  by  the  same  inspired  writer, 
and  in  the  same  epistle,  which  deserves  a  passing  remark.  The  intel- 
ligent reader  will  no  doubt  think  of  "the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit" 
found  in  I.  Cor.  ii.  4,  "I  came  not  to  you,  brethren,  with  excellency  of 
speech  and  of  wisdom.  My  discourse  also  and  my  proclamation  were 
not  with  persuasive  words  of  human  wisdom,  but  with  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  and  of  power,  that  your  faith  might  not  stand  in 
the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God."  We  quote  the  whole 
passage,  that  the  import  of  this  word  "demonstration"  {apodeixis), 
which  occurs  but  once  in  all  the  Living  Oracles,  may  be  duly  felt.  The 
verb  apodeiknumi  (to  demonstrate)  occurs  Acts  ii.  22;  xxv.  7;  I.  Cor. 
iv.  9;  II.  Thess.  ii.  4.  Jesus  Christ  was  "recommended  [demonstrated) 
to  you  by  God  by  powerful  operations,  wonders,  and  signs  which  God 
wrought  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you."  Thus  the  verb  is  first  used 
(Acts  ii.  22);  and  from  this  we  learn  what  is  called  a  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit.  "They  were  not  able  to  prove  [to  demonstrate]  their 
accusations  against  Paul"  (Acts  xxv.  7).  "God  has  set  forth  us  [dem- 
onstrated us  Apostles]  Apostles  last  as  persons  appointed  to  death" 
(I.  Cor.  iv.  9).    "Sitting  in  the  temple  of  God,  openly  showing  [demon- 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  115 

strating]  himself  to  be  a  god"  (II.  Thess.  ii.  4).  With  all  the  prem- 
ises in  the  Book,  tho  reader  may  now  see  that  a  dcmonslration  of  the 
Uliirit  is  a  public,  evident,  sensible  display  of  supernatural  power,  ou 
which  the  faith  of  a  person  may  stand  as  on  the  power  of  God;  or 
such  a  manifestation  or  exhibition  of  the  Spirit,  evincing,  beyond 
rational  doubt,  that  he  is  no  linave  or  vain  pretender  who  says  that  ho 
has  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Perhaps  our  question  is  already  sufficiently  answered  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  the  reader.  Was  every  one  mentioned  in  the  volumes  of  God 
as  possessing  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  able  to  give  a  manifestation 
or  demonstration  of  the  Spirit?  This  is  the  question  now  before  us; 
and  it  is  proved  two  ways — either  by  an  induction  of  all  the  cases 
which  we  have  not  yet  attempted,  or  by  a  definition  of  all  the  phrases 
employed  to  express  the  meaning,  design,  or  extent  of  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  latter  is  more  immediately  our  object — the  other  is 
rather  a  consequence  drawn  from  the  premises  fairly  exhibited  and 
examined.  This  much  we  may  say,  and  it  must  suffice  for  the  present 
essay,  that,  when  the  Scriptural  import  of  the  phrases  "the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,"  "spiritual  gifts."  "measure"  or  "distribution  of  the 
Spirit  "  "<lemoustrati07i  of  the  Spirit,"  is  fully  and  clearly  ascertained, 
they  all  indicate  a  "manifestation  of  the  Spirit."  And  perhaps  it  may 
be  inferred  that  no  man  ever  did  possess  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  could  not,  and  who  did  not,  afford  a  manifestation  of  the  Spirit. 
For  every  manifestation  of  the  Spirit,  says  Paul,  was  given  to  every 
spiritual  man  for  the  advantage  of  all;  and  unless  the  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  was  to  all,  it  could  not  be  an  advantage  to  all. 

Let  none  of  the  admirers  and  believers  in  "physical  and  moral  opera- 
tions of  the  Spirit" — in  "common  and  special  operations" — in  "divine 
influences,"  be  alarmed  at  this  investigation  of  the  matter.  We  are 
now  ascertaining  from  the  proper  authority  (the  Scriptures  them- 
selves), the  true  and  only  authorized  meaning  of  the  sacred  dialect. 
When  we  discuss  the  merits  of  these  popular  and  ecclesiastic  terms 
and  phrases,  we  shall  not  use  the  Bible,  but  the  creeds  and  commen- 
tators of  modern  Christendom.  Meanwhile,  it  is  Bible  words  and  Bibl? 
ideas  only  we  are  prying  into. 

EARNEST    OK   THE    SPIRIT. 

Having  ascertained  the  Scriptural  import  of  the  following  words  and 
phrases,  "gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  "spiritual  gifts,"  "the  Spirit  by 
measure,"  "distribution  of  the  Spirit,"  "demonstration  of  the  Spirit," 
"manifestation  of  the  Spirit" — we  proceed  to  the  examination  of  some 
other  apostolic  phrases  relative  to  the  same  subject.  The  phrase  "car- 
7iest   of  the  Spirit"   next  deserves  our  attention. 


116  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

If  the  reader  lias  some  preconceivea  system  in  his  mind  which  he 
desires  to  see  established  by  these  examinations,  I  think  it  is  probable 
he  will  be  disappointed;  for  we  are  not  seeking  to  establish  any.  We 
prosecute  this  inquiry  as  if  we  had  never  written  nor  spoken  ono  word 
upon  the  subject.  We  are  taking  a  new  course  of  examination,  and  if 
it  result  as  did  our  former  inquiries  by  another  process,  it  will  be  then 
confirmatory  of  the  views  already  offered;  just  as  if  the  working  of  a 
question  by  the  Rule  of  Three  should  give  the  same  result  as  already 
ascertained  by  the  Rule  of  Practice,  it  establishes  the  certainty  of  the 
former  solution;  but  if  it  should  give  a  different  result,  then  it  must 
call  for  a  reconsideration  of  the  matter.  The  reader,  then,  if  he  do 
justice  to  himself,  will  place  himself  in  the  same  circumstances  as 
the  writer,  and,  with  the  candor  and  docility  of  a  student,  open  the 
Living  Oracles,  and  ask.  What  say  the  Scriptures? 

Arrahon,  the  word  translated  earnest  in  the  phrase  before  us,  found 
II.  Cor.  i.  22,  occurs  only  in  two  other  passages;  viz.:  II.  Cor.  v.  5; 
Eph.  i.  14.  It  is  a  Hebrew  word  adopted  into  the  Greek  language  of  the 
New  Testament,  as  the  word  baptism  is  a  Greek  word  adopted  into 
the  English  New  Testament.  It  is  translated  usually  pledge,  earnest. 
In  the  common  and  in  the  new  version,  this  word  is  always  rendered 
earnest.  The  ancient  Hebrew  and  Phoenician  word  is  a  commercial 
term,  and  indicates  that  part  of  the  price  of  any  article  which  was 
given  in  hand  at  the  time  of  purchase.  The  goods  were  marked  or 
sealed,  and  a  sum  in  hand  paid,  when  the  purchase  was  made;  hence 
the  Hebrew  verb  from  which  it  is  derived  signifies  to  make  sure,  or 
to  become  surety.  It  is  found  three  times  only  in  the  translation  of  the 
Seventy,  and  always  adopted  as  in  the  New  Testament,  from  which 
writings  doubtless  the  Apostles  had  it. 

Before  we  attempt  to  ascertain  the  precise  import  of  this  phrase, 
there  is  a  word  which  occurs  in  the  same  connection  with  it,  both  in 
the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  and  Ephesians,  which  must  be  distinctly 
understood  antecedent  to  a  full  intelligence  of  "the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit."  It  is  the  word  sealed.  "God,"  says  Paul,  "has  anointed  us 
Apostles" — "Christ  establishes  us,  God  anoints  us,  and  has  also  sealed 
us,  and  given  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts"  (II.  Cor.  i.  21, 
22).  And  Eph.  i.  13,  14,  speaking  of  the  Ephesian  converts  in  the 
second  person,  contrasted  with  the  Jewish  converts  who  before  expected 
the  Messiah,  Paul  says,  "Having  believed,  you  were  sealed  with  the 
Spirit  of  the  promise,  the  Holy  Spirit  [the  promised  Spirit],  who  is  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance,  for  the  redemption  of  the  purchase  to  the 
praise  of  his  glory." 

The  reader  now  perceives  the  intimacy  between  God's  anointing, 
sealing,  and  giving  of  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit,  and  feels  the  import- 
ance of  understanding  the  terms  sealed,  anointed,  as  well  as  the  term 


Tilt:    MILLLWMAL    IlAIiBlNOER    AliltlDQED.  117 

earnest.     We  shall   therefore  attend   to  them   in   order;    and   first,  to 
the  word  seal: 

tiijhnujis  (seal)  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  sixteen  times.  Uf 
these,  thirteen  are  in  the  Apocalypse;  and  always  denote  a  public  mark 
or  external  sign,  such  as  the  seal  upon  a  letter.  The  instrument  by 
which  a  visible  mark  or  impression  is  made  is  literally  a  seal.  This 
seal  has  an  inscription  upon  it;  and  therefore  we  have  the  instrument, 
the  inscription,  and  the  impression  made  by  it,  all  denominated  "'seal:' 
They  are,  however,  all  visible.  The  instrument,  the  inscription,  and 
the  impression  on  the  wax  or  on  the  paper,  are  called  seals.  Metaphor- 
ically it  denotes  secrecy,  and  is  so  used  in  the  Apocalypse.  It  also 
imports  confirmation. 

Let  us  now  examine  all  the  places  in  which  it  occurs.  Rev.  v.  5, 
"Seven  seals" — visible  impressions  or  marks  indicative  of  security  and 
secrecy.  It  is  found  chap.  v.  1,  2,  5,  9,  and  chap.  vi.  1,  3,  5,  7,  9,  12; 
viii.  1 — eleven  times  in  this  sense:  chap.  vii.  it  denotes  the  instrument 
by  which  impressions  are  matle;  chap.  viii.  1  and  chap.  ix.  4,  the  impres- 
sion made  on  the  forehead;  II.  Tim.  ii.  19,  it  seems  to  be  used  for 
the  inscription  on  the  seal;  and  Rom.  iv.  11  it  denotes  a  confirmatory 
mark.  Circumcision  was  in  the  person  of  Abraham  a  seal  or  confirma- 
tion of  the  faith  he  had  in  uncircuracision.  It  is  only  found  once 
more  (I.  Cor.  ix.  2),  "For  the  seal  of  my  apostleship  you  are  in  the 
Lord."  The  converted  Corinthians  were  a  confirmation  of  Paul's  apos- 
tleship.   From  this  comes  the  verb, 

To  seal  (sphragizo) ,  which  occurs  seventeen  times.  Ten  of  these 
are  found  in  the  Revelation  in  the  sense  above  defined — Rev.  vii.  3,  4, 
5,  6,  7,  8;  X.  4;  xx.  3;  xxii.  10;  Matt,  xxvii.  66,  it  is  applied  to  the 
stone  on  the  sepulchre.  John  vi.  27,  God  has  sealed  his  Son,  confirmed 
his  mission  by  the  Holy  Spirit  without  measure.  Rom.  xv.  28,  meta- 
phorically, to  secure.  The  remaining  passages  bear  upon  the  subject 
directly,  and  are  found  Eph.  i.  13  and  iv.  30,  in  the  sense  applied  to 
Jesus,  John  vi.  27.  God  sealed  his  Son  by  the  manifestations  of  his 
Spirit.  The  Apostles  were  sealed  as  his  ambassadors  by  the  same 
Spirit;  and  the  converts  from  among  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  also 
sealed  as  God's  people  by  the  manifestations  of  the  same  Spirit. 

To  give  a  ring  with  an  inscription,  or  to  give  a  seal,  indicated  in 
all  ages  of  the  world  the  conferring  of  an  office.  Pharaoh  gave  Joseph 
a  ring  (Gen.  xli.  42)  when  he  made  him  governor.  A  similar  example 
is  found  Esth.  viii.  2;  iii.  10.  The  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  Lord 
Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  Lord  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  the  Secretaries 
of  State  receive  their  oflSce  by  the  king's  delivering  to  them  the  seals 
of  their  respective  offices. 

The  seal  of  the  Spirit  was  then  a  pul)lic  sign.  mark,  or  pledge  that 
God  had  sent  his  Son — that  Jesus  had  sent  the  Apostles;  and  on  their 


118  THE    AIILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

converts  it  was  a  sign  or  a  pledge  that  God  had  received  them  as  his 
people.  Every  "manifestation  of  the  Spirit"  was  a  confirmation  of  the 
mission  of  the  Apostles,  a  seal  of  their  apostleship.  The  spiritual  gifts 
bestowed  upon  the  converts  by  the  hands  of  the  Apostles,  was  a  seal 
of  the  apostleship  of  the  persons  who  conferred  them,  and  it  was  also 
a  pledge  that  God  had  received  the  persons  sealed  as  his  property. 

Connected  with  sealing  is  the  figure  of  anointing:  for  kings,  and 
prophets,  and  priests,  on  receiving  their  office,  or  on  being  sealed,  were 
also  anointed  with  oil.  The  pouring  of  oil  upon  the  head  was  a  literal 
anointing;  but  figuratively,  the  bestowing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  some 
spiritual  gifts,  is  the  anointing  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament.  An 
examination  of  all  the  places  where  it  is  found  makes  this  unquestion- 
able. The  word  chrio  (to  anoint)  is  only  found  five  times  in  the 
apostolic  writings:  Luke  iv.  18;  Acts  iv.  27;  x.  38;  II.  Cor.  i.  21;  Heb. 
i.  9.  It  is  four  times  applied  to  Jesus,  and  once  only  to  the  Apostles; 
and  certainly  alludes  to  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  in  the  ascertained 
sense  of  that  phrase.  Luke  iv.  18,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
me,"  says  Jesus,  "because  he  has  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel." 
Acts  iv.  27,  "Against  thy  holy  Son  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  anointed." 
Acts  X.  38,  "How  God  anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ivith  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  tvith  power:'  This  explains  the  matter  fully.  Heb.  i.  9,  "God  has 
anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows" — his  other 
public  servants.  The  oil  is  the  ointment  or  anointing,  called  the 
chrisma,  found  only  in  John's  Letter,  ii.  27 — the  gift  of  the  Spirit — • 
■  The  anointing  teaches  you  all  things."  The  remaining  passage  is 
II.  Cor.  i.  22,  and  is  connected  with  the  seal  and  the  earnest:  "God  h^s 
anointed  us,  sealed  us,  and  given  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our 
hearts."  As  "the  Holy  Spirit  and  power"  are  not  two  things,  neither  is 
the  anointing  and  the  seal.  "God  anointed  and  sealed  us"  (Apostles) 
are  not  two  distinct  acts,  but  the  same  act  presented  under  two  figures. 

Those  who  regard  John  the  Baptist  as  pouring  water  upon  the 
Messiah  call  that  his  anointing,  or  christening ;  and  therefore  those  who 
sprinkle  water  upon  the  head  of  infants  formerly  called  it  christening, 
from  the  Greek  word  chrisas,  which  signifies  anointing! 

The  oil,  the  pouring  of  the  oil,  and  the  head  on  which  it  was  poured, 
are  all  external  and  visible.  Hence  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  on  the 
head  of  the  Messiah  visibly,  and  sat  upon  the  head  of  the  Apostles  in 
the  resemblances  of  fiery  tongues.  Thus  were  Jesus  and  the  Apos- 
tles anointed. 

There  is,  however,  a  difference  in  meaning  between  the  word 
anointing  and  the  oil,  and  between  the  oil  and  its  effects.  Oil  had 
sensible  effects  upon  the  person.  Hence,  as  the  emblem  of  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  bestowed  on  Jesus,  it  is  called  "the  oil  of  gladness:' 
Joy  in  the  heart,  arising  from  consecration  to  the  Lord,  was  the  natural 


nil-:    MlLLKWfAL    HAIiniSGER    AliiniXiKI).  119 

effect  of  this  anointing.  Tliis  joy  in  the  heart  is  a  prelude  of  the 
fullness  of  joy,  an  earnest  of  the  inheritance.  This  brings  us  within 
sight  of  the  meaning  of  the  association  of  the  anointing,  the  seal,  and 
the  earnest. 

A  seal  and  an  earnest  are  not  the  same  thing,  though  the  same 
thing  may  l)o  both  a  seal  and  an  earnest.  Anointing  and  sealing  are 
not  the  same  act,  though  the  same  act  may  be  both  an  anointing  and 
sealing.  .\  sign  and  a  seal  are  not  the  same  thing;  yet  circumcision 
to  Abraham  was  both  a  sign  and  a  seal.  There  is  this  difference 
between  a  seal  and  an  earnest:  they  are  the  same  so  far  as  an  assurance 
is  concerned;  but  the  seal  assures  of  an  inheritance  without  being  any 
part  of  it:  whereas  an  earnest  assures  us  of  an  inheritance,  and  is  a 
part  01  the  inheritance  itself.  A  seal  may  be  a  pledge  to  others,  but 
an  earnest  is  a  pledge  to  ourselves. 

The  seal  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  explained  by  Paul  (Eph.  i.  13),  is 
the  earnest  of  the  inheritance  until  the  full  possession  of  it.  The 
seal  may  be  upon  my  head,  but  the  earnest  is  in  the  head  and  in  the 
heart.  If  the  head  be  anointed,  the  whole  person  is  perfumed  with 
its  graces.  The  oil  poured  on  the  head  of  Aaron  descended  in  its 
perfumes  and  influences  to  the  tuft  of  his  robe.  The  heart  was  always 
filled  with  joy  when  the  head  was  anointed.  All  the  members  of 
Christ's  body  are  anointed  with  him,  and  all  experience  the  joy  of 
that  unction  in  their  hearts;  and  this  to  them  is  an  earnest,  an  assur- 
ance of  the  aihness  of  joy.  Cut  to  this  subject  we  can  not  do  full  jus- 
tice till  we  have  examined  "the  fruits  of  the  Spirit." 

Thus  far  we  have  progressed — God  anointed  and  sealed  his  Son 
and  the  Apostles  by  his  Spirit,  and  sealed  the  converts  made  by  their 
ministry  as  his  people,  by  various  manifestations  of  his  Spirit;  and 
those  manifestations  filled  the  heart  with  the  fruits  of  God's  Spirit, 
which  constituted  an  earnest  in  their  hearts  of  the  full  fruition  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance. 

The  argument  or  assurance  which  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
saints  gives,  is  thus  expressed:  "If  the  Spirit  of  him  who  raised  up 
Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  us,  he  who  raised  up  Christ  from  the 
dead  will  make  even  our  mortal  bodies  alive  through  his  Spirit  who 
dwells   in  us." 

Before  we  speak  of  ''the  fruit  of  the  Spirit."  and  of  "the  first  fruits 
of  the  Spirit."  w^  think  it  necessary  to  extend  our  vision,  and  bring 
into  our  horizon  what  is  spoken  about  the  Spirit  in  the  ages  of  the 
world  antecedent  to  the  Christian  economy.  We  shall,  therefore,  glance 
through  the  ancient  oracles. 

There  is  not  in  the  .lewish  and  Christian  Scriptures  a  word  of 
more  diversified  occurrence  and  of  greater  variety  of  meaning,  than  the 
word  .'ipirit.     It  occurs  very  often  without  any  epit!-rt.  and  we  find  it 


120  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

in  the  following  connections:  Holy  Spirit,  Spirit  of  God,  Spirit  of 
Christ,  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God,  Spirit  of  adoption. 
Spirit  of  antichrist,  Spirit  of  the  Arabians,  Spirit  of  bondage,  Spirit 
of  burning,  Spirit  of  counsel.  Spirit  of  divination,  Spirit  of  Egypt, 
Spirit  of  error,  Spirit  of  fear.  Spirit  of  fear  of  the  Lord,  Spirit  of  glory. 
Spirit  of  grace,  Spirit  of  jealousy.  Spirit  of  judgment,  Spirit  of  infirm- 
ity, Spirit  of  knowledge,  Spirit  of  heaviness,  Spirit  of  holiness,  Spirit 
of  life,  Spirit  of  meekness.  Spirit  of  might.  Spirit  of  your  mind.  Spirit 
of  the  Philistines,  Spirit  of  promise.  Spirit  of  prophecy.  Spirit  of 
slumber.  Spirit  of  his  Son,  Spirit  of  truth.  Spirit  of  understanding, 
Spirit  of  whoredoms.  Spirit  of  wisdom. 

We  have  also  another  class  of  combinations  of  this  word;  such  as 
broken  spirit,  dumb  spirit,  evil  spirit,  free  spirit,  foul  spirit,  faithful 
spirit,  good  spirit,  humble  spirit,  meek  spirit,  new  spirit,  patient  spirit, 
perverse  spirit,  quickening  spirit,  quiet  spirit,  sorrowful  spirit,  unclean 
spirit,  wounded  spirit. 

Add  to  these  the  phrases.  Born  of  the  Spirit,  Earnest  of  the  Spirit, 
Fruit  of  the  Spirit,  First  Fruits  of  the  Spirit,  Newness  of  Spirit,  Love 
of  the  Spirit,  Mind  of  the  Spirit,  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  Demonstration 
of  the  Spirit,  Manifestation  of  the  Spirit,  Ministration  of  the  Spirit, 
Sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit,  Quench  not  the 
Spirit,  Resist  the  Holy  Spirit,  Blaspheme  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Cruden,  in  his  Concordance,  ascribes  nineteen  different  acceptations 
or  significations  to  the  word  Spirit  as  found  in  both  Testaments.  Cal- 
met  attempts  to  generalize  them  under  four  distinct  heads  of  signifi- 
cation, but  evidently  fails.  Brown  also  makes  an  abortive  attempt 
of  the  same  sort. 

Even  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is  spoken  of,  it  does  not  always  mean 
the  same  thing.  The  Spirit  of  God  sometimes  unequivocally  means  the 
breath  of  natural  life.  Thus  in  Job  xxvii.  3,  "The  Spirit  of  God  is 
in  my  nostrils,  all  the  while  the  breath  is  in  me."  The  four  winds 
are  in  the  same  metaphor,  called  the  four  spirits  of  the  heavens.  (Zech. 
vi.  5.)  The  Spirit  of  God  moving  upon  the  face  of  the  great  deep,  may 
also  be  a  figurative  expression;  for  the  Hebrews  were  accustomed  to 
express  their  superlative  comparison  by  adding  the  word  God  as  an 
adjective  to  a  noun.  Thus  "the  cedars  of  God,"  "the  hills  of  God,"  "the 
mountains  of  God,"  were  very  lofty  cedars,  hills  and  mountains. 
However  this  may  be,  we  find  the  phrase  does  not  always  mean  the 
same  thing. 

The  "Spirit  of  God"  in  the  Old  Testament  is  spoken  of  thirteen 
times  only.  When  Pharaoh  discovered  the  divine  wisdom  which  was 
found  in  Joseph  after  he  interpreted  his  visions,  he  said  to  his  serv- 
ants, "Can  we  find  such  a  man  as  this  Joseph,  in  whom  the  Spirit  of 
God  is?"    The  Lord  also  called  Bezaleel  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  "filled 


TIU-J    MILLKXXIAL    /lARBlXGER    ABniDnED.  121 

him  with  the  Spirit  of  (Jod,  in  wisdom,  understanding,  and  knowledge, 
and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship."  The  "Lord  put  wisdom  in  tho 
hearts  of  all  who  were  wise-hearted,"  who  with  Aholiab  and  Bezaleel 
•were  to  construct  the  tabernacle  and  its  furniture  as  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses.  "The  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  Balaam  [Num.  xxiv.  21, 
upon  Saul  IL  Sam.  x.  10;  xi.  6]  and  upon  the  messengers  of  Saul  [xix. 
20],  and  they  all  prophesied."  The  Spirit  of  God  in  like  manner  "came 
upon  Azariah,  and  he  preached  to  Asa,  to  Judah,  and  Benjamin"  (11. 
Chron.  xv.  1).  Ezekiel  says  (xi.  24),  "The  Spirit  took  me  up  and 
brought  me  in  vision  by  the  Spirit  of  God  into  Chaldea."  This  is  all 
we  learn  of  the  Spirit  of  God  from  the  Old  Testament. 

But  although  we  have  not  this  phrase  more  frequently  in  the  Old 
Testament,  much  is  said  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  ancient  revelations.  The 
Lord  took  of  the  Spirit  that  was  upon  Moses,  and  put  it  upon  the 
seventy  senators  appointed  to  the  government  of  Israel  with  Moses; 
and  when  the  Spirit  came  upon  them  they  prophesied  without  inter- 
mission. (Num.  xi.  17,  25.)  When  Moses  heard  of  their  prophesying, 
he  said.  Would  to  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  Prophets,  and  that 
the  Lord  would  put  his  Spirit  upon  them! 

Caleb  and  Joshua  are  spoken  of  as  men  possessing  another  spirit — 
it  is  spoken  doubtless  allusively  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  spirit  of 
Elijah  means  the  spirit  which  God  bestowed  upon  him,  which  also 
rested  upon  Elisha.  The  spirit  came  upon  Amasa,  one  of  David's  cap- 
tains, as  the  spirit  of  courage;  and  the  same  spirit  gave  a  pattern  of 
the  Temple  to  David,  according  to  which  it  was  erected.  (L  Chron. 
xviii.  21.)  This  spirit  dwelt  in  all  the  prophets.  (Neh.  ix.  39.)  David 
prayed  to  be  upheld  by  God's  free  Spirit.  An  excellent  spirit  was 
found  in  Daniel,  and  God  by  Solomon  promised  to  pour  out  his  Spirit 
upon  all  who  turned  to  the  Lord.  "Turn,  you  sinners,  at  my  reproof, 
and  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  you." 

But  the  phrase  "Spirit  of  the  Lord"  frequently  occurs  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  is  found  twenty-six  times,  and  is  always  used  synony- 
mously with  the  Spirit  of  God.  It,  as  well  as  the  Spirit  of  God,  some- 
times signifies  the  iclnd.  Isa.  xl.  7,  "The  grass  withereth,  the  flower 
fadeth,  because  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it.  Surely  the 
people  is  grass!"  It  came  on  the  great  warriors  and  judges  of  Israel — 
on  Othniel,  on  Gideon,  on  Jephthah,  en  Samson,  on  Saul,  on  David,  on 
Jehaziel,  upon  Isaiah,  upon  Ezekiel,  and  upon  Micah,  and  upon  all  the 
prophets.  AH  who  had  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  or  "the  Spirit  of  God," 
in  this  age  of  the  world,  were  supernaturally  endowed  in  some  respect 
or  other. 

"My  Spirit  "  in  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  occurs  ten  times  in  the  Old 
Testament  He  promises  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  upon  all  flesh — upon 
all  who  returned  to  him — upon  all  the  seed  of  Israel — upon  the  Messiah 


122  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

—upon  the  prophets.  This,  of  course,  will  be  found  in  the  same  accep- 
tation of  the  phrase  "Spirit  of  God,"  "Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  unless  we 
regard  it  prospectively  in  reference  to  other  influences  promised  in 
the  times  of  the  Messiah.  This,  however,  only  applies  to  those  prom- 
ises applicable  to  the  Christian  age. 

'•Holy  Spi7-it"  in  the  first  four  thousand  years  of  the  world,  is  only 
found  three  times.  David  and  Isaiah  are  the  old  prophets  who  use 
it.  Davia  says  (Ps.  li.),  "Take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me;"  and 
Isaiah  (Ixiii.  10,  11)  says  of  Israel,  in  reference  to  God's  miraculous 
care  of  them,  "They  rebelled  and  vexed  his  Holy  Spirit;  therefore,  he 
turned  to  be  their  enemy,  and  he  fought  against  them.  Then  he  remem- 
bered the  days  of  old,  Moses  and  his  people,  saying.  Where  is  he  that 
brought  them  up  out  of  the  sea  with  the  Shepherd  of  his  flock?  Where 
is  he  that  put  his  Holy  Spirit  within  him,  that  led  them  by  the  right 
hand  of  Moses  with  uis  glorious  arm  dividing  the  water  before  them  to 
make  himself  an  everlasting  name?"  From  this  we  discover  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  used  as  equivalent  to  the  Spirit  of  God  bestowed  on 
Moses  and  Joshua,  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  which  fell  on  the  saviors 
of  Israel. 

It  is  here  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  King's  translators  did  never 
use  the  phrase  Holy  Ghost  in  translating  the  Old  Testament.  On  three 
occasions  they  ought,  upon  their  own  principles,  to  have  used  it;  for 
it  is  the  same  phrase,  which  in  the  New  Testament,  with  four  excep- 
tions, they  have  uniformly  translated  •'Holy  Ghost." 

Pneuma  hagion,  or  to  Pneuma  to  hagion,  occurs  ninety-four  times 
in  the  New  Testament.  Ninety  times  they  translated  it  Holy  Ghost, 
and  four  times  Holy  Spirit.  Curiosity  is  inquisitive  to  find  some  reason 
for  these  four  exceptions.  They  are  found  Luke  xi.  13;  Eph.  i.  13; 
iv.  30;  I.  Thess.  iv.  8.  In  Luke  xi.  13  there  is  no  article — it  simply 
reads,  "Give  a  holy  spirit  to  them  that  ask  him."  They  did  not  say, 
"Give  a  holy  ghost."  Why?  Is  it  because  there  is  no  article?  We 
shall  examine  the  other  passages  and  see  whether  they  are  uniform 
in  this.  Eph.  i.  13;  iv.  30,  and  I.  Thess.  iv.  8  the  article  is  found. 
Besides,  in  many  other  places,  where  the  article  is  not  found,  they  have 
Holy  Ghost.  Is  it  because  what  Luke  calls  "Holy  Ghost,"  Matthew,  in 
quoting  the  same  passage  of  Christ's  discourse  (chap.  vii.  11),  uses 
"good  things?"  Probably  it  was;  for  they  seem  to  .use  "Holy  Ghost" 
as  if  by  it  a  person  was  always  intended;  at  least,  this  will  apply  to 
the  New  Testament:  for  we  have  seen  they  have  no  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  Old  Testament.  But  then  it  will  be  asked.  Are  they  uniform  in 
this?  Is  not  their  Holy  Ghost  meant  Eph.  i.  13  and  iv.  30  and  I.  Thess. 
iv.  8?  It  would  appear  so.  But  the  construction  is  peculiar  in  Eph.  i. 
13,  for  the  arrangement  is,  "You  are  sealed  by  the  spirit  of  the  prom- 
ise, the  holy:"  and  as  the  King's  translators  promised  only  the  Holy 


TJIE    MILLE.\MAL    liAlililXUER    ABRIDGED.  123 

Spirit  in  tho  Old  Testament,  and  not  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  could  not 
with  propriety  speak  of  a  promised  Holy  Ghost:  for  in  chap.  iv.  30 
they  seem  to  have  their  eyes  turned  batk  to  Isa.  Ixiii.  11,  where  they 
rendered  it,  "Grieve  his  Holy  Spirit,"  and  therefore  they  can  not  say, 
"Grieve  not  the  Holy  Ghost  of  God,"  the  figure  in  Isa.  Ixiii.  10,  11,  bein? 
tho  same  found  in  Eph.  iv.  30.  They  prefer  to  agree  with  themselves  in 
the  Old  Testame'nt,  rather  than  with  themselves  in  the  New.  And  in 
the  last  place  U.  Thess.  iv.  8)  we  can  find  no  reason,  except  that  they 
found  It  incongruous  to  use  Holy  Ghost  in  reference  to  God  himself— 
"Who  has  given  to  us  his  Holy  Spirit,"  rather  than  his  Holy  Ghost. 
This  is,  in  all  candor,  all  we  can  say  in  their  defense.  There  is,  there- 
fore, no  good  reason  for  preteiring  Ghosl  to  Spirit  ninety  times  to  fow 
in  the  New  Testament. 

There  is  a  saying  found  in  the  covenant  subscribed  by  Nehemiah, 
the  governor,  twenty-two  priests,  seventeen  Levites,  and  forty-four 
chiefs  of  Israel,  which  is  worthy  of  attention  here.  The  Tir.shatha 
(Neh.  ix.  20),  speaking  of  the  instructions  given  to  Israel  in  the  wil- 
derness by  Moses  and  Aaron,  says,  "Thou  gave«t  also  thy  good  Spirit 
to  instruct  them,  and  withheldest  not  the  manna  from  their  mouth, 
and  gavest  them  water  for  their  thirst;"  and  in  verse  30,  speaking  of 
the  various  prophets  sent  to  remonstrate  with  Israel,  he  says,  "Thou 
testifiedst  against  them  by  the  Spirit  in  thy  prophets;  yet  would  they 
not  give  ear." 

The  good  bpirit,  the  holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord,  thy  Spirit,  and  my  Spirit,  as  applied  to  God  in  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures, when  not  used  metaphorically,  always  indicates  the  spirit  of 
supernatural  wisdom,  knowledge,  power  and  goodness  bestowed  upon 
the  prophets,  the  kings,  the  priests,  the  judges,  the  artificers,  the 
great  generals  and  illustrious  men  of  Israel.  It  was  the  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  revelation  in  Moses  and  in  the  prophets:  it  was  the  spirit  of 
might,  and  power,  and  courage,  in  all  the  heroes  and  judges  of  Israel: 
tho  Joshuas,  the  Gideons,  the  Samsons,  the  Davids,  etc.;  it  was  the 
spirit  of  natural  science  and  the  fine  arts  in  Bezalcel,  Aholiab.  and  all 
the  ingenious  artificers  that  erected  and  beautified  the  Tabernacle  and 
adorned  the  high  priest  of  God.  It  was  the  spirit  of  holiness  and 
goodness  In  all  the  models  of  human  excellence,  which  yet  give  a 
lustre  and  renowfi  to  the  splendid  names  enrolled  on  Israel's  his- 
toric page — which  shed  a  celestial  radiance  around  those  magnificent 
constellations  which  will  shine  in  the  Jewish  firmament  forever  and 
forever. 

We  now  request  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  one  most  important 
and  prominent  acceptation  of  this  term  in  the  New  Institution.  In 
order  to  this  we  shall  carefully  examine  the  phrase  ''ministration  of 
the  Spir't." 


124  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Although  we  have  the  word  diakonia,  here  rendered  ministration, 
at  least  thirty-two  times  in  the  Apostles'  testimony,  we  have  it  but 
once  in  connection  with  the  word  Spirit.  (IL  Cor.  iii.  9.)  This  word 
is  properly  rendered  by  the  word  ministration,  ministry,  serving,  serv- 
ice, waiting,  attendance,  charge,  according  to  the  connection.  This  is 
universally  admitted.  The  most  common  and  current  acceptation  of  tha 
word  is  indicated  by  the  term  ministry.  Paul  freqifently  uses  it  in 
this  precise  import. 

In  the  passage  under  consideration  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in 
ascertaining  the  meaning;  for  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit  is  con- 
trasted with  the  ministration  of  death;  ahd  what  is  called  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  is  also  called  the  ministration  of  righteousness;  and 
this  again  is  contrasted  with  the  ministration  of  condevmation.  Now 
the  thing  that  was  formerly  ministered  is  in  verse  6  called  letter;  and 
the  thing  that  is  now  ministered,  is  called  spirit. 

No  passage  in  the  Apostles'  writings  abounds  more  with  strong 
contrasts  than  this  third  chapter  of  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans. "We  have  in  it  Old  Institution  and  New  Institution — tables  of 
stone,  tables  of  the  heart — letter  and  spirit — killing  and  making  alive — • 
ministry  of  Spirit,  ministry  of  death,  ministry  of  justification,  ministry 
of  condemnation,  ministry  of  Moses,  ministry  of  the  Apostles — Moses 
veiled,  the  Apostles  unveiled — fading  glory,  abounding  glory — the  thing 
abolished,  and  the  thing  which  continues. 

The  Apostle  seems  to  have  fallen  into  this  mood  by  the  petulance 
of  some  who  talked  about  his  carrying  letters  of  recommendation  to 
the  church  in  Corinth.  He  told  them  that  they  themselves  were  Christ's 
letters  of  recommendation  to  him,  though  ministered  by  himself  and 
his  fellow-laborers,  written  not  with  ink,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  living 
God ;  not  on  tables  of  stone,  but  on  the  fleshly  tables  of  the  heart. 

Our  present  object,  however,  is  only  to  ascertain  the  precise  import 
of  the  phrase  ministry  or  ministration  of  the  Spirit.  The  contrasts 
drawn  by  the  Apostle  leaves  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of  the  attentive 
student,  that,  by  these  words  the  Apostle  only  means  the  introduction 
of  the  gospel,  by  the  ministry  of  the  Apostles,  contrasted  with  the  intro- 
duction of  the  law  by  the  service  or  ministry  of  Moses. 

The  contrast  throughout  is  between  tivo  institutions — law  and  gospel 
— letter  and  spirit — a  system  of  condemnation,  a  system  of  justification 
— death  and  life' — two  writings — one  on  stone,  and  one  on  the  heart — 
one  killing,  the  other  making  alive' — one  veiled  in  figure,  and  one 
unveiled — the  one  tending  to  bondage,  the  other  to  liberty. 

The  spirit,  then,  here  is  only  another  name  for  the  gospel.  This  is 
so  evident  that  most  critics  and  commentators  of  eminence  assert  it. 
The  reason  is  obvious — not  indeed  because  the  gospel  was  first  preached 
accompanied  by  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit" — not  because  the  Apostles 


THE    MILLEXXTAL    IIARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  12*; 

proclaimed  the  gospel  with  "the  demonstration  and  manifestation  of 
the  Spirit;"  for  Moses  in  the  ministry  of  the  letter  was  Eusiained  by 
tho  Spirit  of  God,  by  various  demonstrations  of  its  presence  and  power; 
but  because  the  gospel  is  in  part  "the  promise  of  the  Spirit,"  and  is 
designed  to  minister  the  Holy  Spirit  to  all  the  believers.  That  which  is 
begotten  and  born  by  the  gospel  is  a  new  and  holy  spirit;  or,  in  other 
words,  "that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit,"  Hence  by  a 
metonymy,  a  very  common  figure  of  speech  in  the  sacred  writings,  the 
gospel  is  sometimes  called  the  spirit. 

Illustrative  and  confirmatory  of  this,  the  reader  has  only  to  examine 
the  context  in  which  this  phrase  occurs.  The  Old  Institution  or  Testa- 
ment is  as  often  and  as  variously  spoken  of  in  this  chapter  as  the  New 
Institution  or  the  gospel.  It  is  explained  as  "the  law  tcritten  and 
engraven  on  two  tables  of  stone."  It  is  by  the  same  figure  of  speech 
called  "condemnation" — "death" — because  it  ministered  condemnation 
and  death.  It  is  said  "to  kill,"  while  the  gospel  quickens  or  "makes 
alive." 

Now,  whatever  gives  life  gives  spirit.  The  law  gave  no  life,  no 
spirit,  except  that  of  bondage,  because  it  killed — the  gospel  gives  the 
spirit  of  liberty  and  life,  because  it  makes  alive.  The  law  was  not, 
however,  naked  or  abstract  death;  neither  is  the  gospel  naked  or 
abstract  spirit.  The  law  was  death  clothed  in  words  of  threatening; 
the  gospel  is  spirit  clothed  in  words  of  life. 

This  is  not  the  only  passage  in  which  the  Apostle  thought  and  spoke 
in  this  manner  of  contrast.  AVe  find  him  using  the  sane  leading  con- 
trasts and  giving  the  same  designations  to  law  and  gospel.  In  Romans?, 
seventh  chapter,  he  contrasts  the  state  under  Moses  and  under  Christ — 
under  the  letter  and  the  spirit.  In  the  beginning  of  the  8th  chapter 
he  asserts,  "There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  under  Christ;"  because 
under  Christ  he  has  before  shown,  "we  are  not  under  law,  but  under 
favor."  But  here  he  adds,  "Because  the  law  of  t.Re  Spirit  of  life" — 
t.  e.,  the  gospel  coming  by  Jesus  Christ,  "has  made  me  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  and  death" — i.  e.,  the  letter.  "We  now  serve  in  newness  of 
spirit,  and  not  in  oldness  of  the  letter." 

In  the  same  context  he  ppeaks  of  living  according  to  the  flesh,  and 
according  to  the  spirit;  of  living  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  spirit;  of  hav- 
ing both  "Christ"  and  "the  spirit  of  Christ"  dwelling  in  us;  of  being 
"led  by  the  Spirit,"  and  "having  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelling  in  us." 

In  his  letter  to  the  Galatians  he  speaks  in  the  same  language: 
"Walk  by  the  Spirit,"  says  he,  "and  you  will  not  fulfill  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh."  "If  you  be  led  by  the  Spirit,  you  are  not  under  the  law.  ' 
"Since  we  live  by  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  by  the  Spirit."  And  it  Is 
in  this  connection,  when  contrasting  law  and  gospel,  the  walking  by 
the  flesh  and  ihe  walking  by  the  Spirit,  he  speaks  of 


12G  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"the  fkuit  of  the  spirit." 

This  is  opposed  to  the  works  of  the  flet,h,  the  offspring  of  that  prin- 
ciple, which  under  the  law  works  death.  The  phrase  "fruit  of  the 
Spirit,"  in  the  connection  in  which  it  stands,  is  equivalent  to  the  fruit 
of  the  gospel.  The  gospel  obeyed  works  out  "love,  joy,  peace,  Icng- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  fidelity,  meekness,  temperance:  against 
such  fruit  there  is  no  law"  (Gal.  v.).  Again,  says  Paul  (Eph.  v.  8). 
"Walk  as  children  of  light."  (Now  the  fruit  of  this  light  [the  Spirit] 
consists  in  all  goodness,  and  righteousness,  and  truth.)  "Be  filled  with 
the  Spirit."  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  richly  in  you,"  "singing 
psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs."  Thus  the  phrases  "Being  filled 
with  the  Spirit,"  and  "Having  the  word  of  Christ  [gospel]  dwelling 
richly  in  the  heart,'  are  explained  by  the  same  injunction  to  sing 
psalms,  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  with  grateful  hearts  to  the  Lord. 
Compare  Eph.  v.  18,  19,  and  Col.  iii.  16. 

If,  then  (as  I  presume  the  intelligent  will  perceive),  the  phrase 
'^ministration  of  the  Spirit"  mean  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  by 
the  ministry  of  the  Apostles;  and  ''the  fruit  of  the  Spirit"  mean  the 
practical  results  of  the  gospel  in  the  heart,  or  the  gospel  obeyed;  and 
thus  the  term  "spirit,"  in  the  style  of  the  Apostles,  occasionally  means 
no  more  than  the  gospel,  may  it  not  be  said  that  receiving  the  gospel 
into  the  heart,  is,  in  the  Apostles'  sense,  receiving  the  Spirit? 

This  question  at  least  deserves  a  careful  and  devout  examination. 
It  is  obvious  that  Christ  is  received  by  receiving  the  gospel;  and  if 
Christ  be  received  by  receiving  the  gospel,  why  not  the  Spirit  of 
God  also? 

But  where  is  the  proof  that  Christ  is  received  by  receiving  the 
gospel?  "He  came  to  his  own  people,  and  they  received  him  not — 
believed  not  in  him;  but  to  as  many  as  received  him  to  them  he  gave 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,"  etc.  To  receive  a  person,  is  to 
receive  him  crediting  and  cordially  recognizing  him  in  his  own  proper 
character.  "As  you  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,"  walk  by  his 
directions.  Thus  they  who  credit  his  word,  receive  him;  and  are  there- 
fore said  to  "have  Christ  in  them."  "If  Christ  be  in  you,"  says  Paul 
to  the  Romans,  "the  body  is  dead  as  respects  sin."  ''That  Christ  map 
dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith."    "Christ  liveth  in  me." 

There  was,  then,  a  receiving  of  Christ,  familiarly  spoken  of  in  the 
age  of  the  Apostles;  and  there  was  a  receiving  of  the  grace  of  God, 
and  a  receiving  of  the  Spirit  also,  in  receiving  the  gospel.  There  was 
a  dwelling  and  living  of  Christ  in  the  heart;  nay,  there  was  an  inhabi- 
tation of  God  himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  believers.  For  "if  a  man 
love  me,"  says  the  Messiah,  "he  will  keep  my  word,  and  my  Father 
will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  and  make  our  abode  xvith  him."     "Be- 


THE    Mn.LllSSlAL    JlAinUSOKli    AH  It  IDG  ED.  127 

hold,'  says  Jesus,  "I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock:  if  any  man  hear 
my  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  enter  and  sup  with  him  and  ne 
with  me."  "Our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesua 
Christ  our  Lord." 

But  besides  this  indirect  and  figurative  reception  of  the  Spirit  of 
Cod,  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  the  gospel;  these  gracious  influences,  sugges- 
tions, illuminations,  consolations  and  invigorating  impulses  of  the  good 
Spirit  of  God,  by  and  through  the  gospel  in  the  heart,  making  the 
heart  a  cistern,  a  fountain  whence  living  waters  constantly  flow;  is 
there  not  a  substantive,  a  real  and  unfigurative  reception  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  himself,  in  the  sense  of  the  question  Paul  asked  the  Galatians 
(iii.  2),  "Did  you  receive  the  Spirit  by  works  of  law,  or  by  obedience 
of  faith?" 

Such  a  reception  of  the  Spirit  there  certainly  was;  and  of  this  "gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  this  "demonstration  of  the  Spirit,"  this  "manifes- 
tation of  the  Spirit,"  these  "spiritual  gifts,"  we  have  already  spoken  as 
conferred  upon  the  firstfruits  in  the  last  days  of  the  Jewish  age — in 
the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah;  but  of  such  a  reception 
of  the  Si)irit  since  the  last  1)ay.s  of  the  Jewish  age,  since  the  creation 
of  one  new  man  of  believing  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  the  breathing  into 
him  the  holy  spirit  of  this  new  life,  there  has  been  no  substaniive, 
abstract  and  literal  communication  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  any  man.  Such 
is  the  experience  of  all  the  catholic  congregation  of  Christ.  There  has 
arisen  no  prophet,  no  originator  of  new  ideas,  no  worker  of  miracles,  no 
controller  of  nature's  laws,  no  person  having  any  manifestation  of  the 
Spirit,  or  showing  any  divine  power  among  me". 

Now  these  manifestations  of  the  Spirit  were  for  the  benefit  of  the 
community;  but  the  Holy  Spirit  as  now  promised  and  received  through 
the  gospel,  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  subject  himself.  There  are,  how- 
ever, other  phrases  and  terms  found  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  which 
require  our  attention,  and  when  correctly  appreciated  farther  illus- 
trate and  confirm  the  preceding. 

Although  with  respect  to  various  misconceptions  of  what  is  writ- 
ten on  this  subject,  we  have  enlarged  our  remarks  beyond  the  limits 
of  literary  investigation,  still  we  aimed  at  no  more  in  this  essay  than 
a  fair  and  full  examination  of  the  phrases  •'ministration  of  the  Spirit," 
one  acceptation  of  the  word  "Spirit,"  the  "fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  and 
"receiving  of  the  Spirit."  If  we  have  ascertained  these,  it  is  all  the 
merit  we  claim  for  the  present  essay. 

The  following  Scriptural  phrases  are  worthy  of  special  considera- 
tion, in  attempting  to  understand  what  the  Scriptures  teach  of  the 
Influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  hearts  of  believers:  — 

"The  Spirit  bears  witness  with  our  spirit." — "Grieve  not  the  Spirit." 
— "Quench     not    the    Spirit." — "Led    by    the    Spirit." — "Walk    in    the 


128  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDOED. 

Spirit."— "Live  after  tlie  Spirit."— "Strengthened  witli  might  by  the 
Spirit  in  the  inward  man."— "Sanctification  of  the  Spirit." — "Immers- 
ing into  the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit."— "Communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit." 

That  the  Spirit  of  God  does  influence  believers,  or  work  in  their 
hearts,  to  think,  will,  and  do,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  God, 
is  a  proposition  that  no  person,  who  has  paid  an  ordinary  attention 
to  the  writings  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  can  reasonably  deny. 

But  concerning  the  nature,  manner,  aad  extent  of  this  influence  or 
operation,  real  Christians  have  differed  and  may  differ  again,  in  their 
apprehensions  and  communications.  Our  province  is  to  understand  and 
teach  the  meaning  of  the  words  and  sentences,  which  the  inspired 
writers  have  used  on  this  subject,  judging  that  when  these  are  fairly 
and  fully,  that  is,  grammatically  and  logically  understood,  we  are  in 
possession  of  the  ideas  which  God  designed  to  communicate  to  us. 

We  have  clearly  seen  in  the  examinations  already  completed,  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  was  the  author  of  all  the  supernatural  intelligence, 
wisdom,  and  power,  which  appear  in  the  writings  and  doings  of  all 
God's  messengers  to  men: — and  that  he  is  the  author  of  all  genuine 
goodness  in  the  human  heart,  is  quite  apparent.  We  have  also  dis- 
cerned, that  all  the  converting  power — or  saving  power,  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  exerts  on  the  human  mind,  is  now  in  and  by  the  word 
written,  read  or  heard;  for  that  where  this  word  has  never  been  heard 
or  known,  not  one  supernatural  idea  exists; — not  one  ray  of  spiritual 
or  celestial  light  has  shone. 

"  'Tis  midnight  with  the  soul,  till  he, 
Bright  Morning  Star,  bid  darkness  flee." 

But  whether  this  influence  is  direct  or  indirect;  in  the  word  only, 
or  without  the  word;  abstract  and  naked,  or  clothed  with  light  and 
motive;  have  been,  and  still  are,  questions  undecided  by  many.  To 
assist  such  persons,  ia  our  supreme  object  in  instituting  the  present 
investigation  of  words  and  phrases;  and  as  we  have  already  afflrmed, 
we  are  now  only  concerned  to  know  and  communicate  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  of  the  Scripture  style,  as  though  we  were  examining  a 
matter,  on  which  we  had  formed  no  opinion  ourselves. 

Before  we  resume  our  philological  labors  in  the  phrases  now  before 
us  for  examination,  it  may  be  expedient  to  remark,  with  a  special 
reference  to  the  difficulties  of  some  of  the  more  thoughtful  on  this 
subject,  that, — the  %chole  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Apostles' 
time,  was  not  to  originate  new  ideas,  fior  to  clothe  men  with  super- 
natural and  extraordinary  powers; — such  as  speaking  foreign  lan- 
guages, and  tongues  unkyiown  before,  and  in  controlling  or  suspending 
the  laws  of  physical  nature;  but  in  strengthening  the  m.ind  and  mem- 
ory, and  in   reviving   the  recollections   of   things   said  and   done,   in 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  129 

time  lung  past, — and  in  reproducing  the  exact  images  of  things  ichich 
had  vanished  from  the  mind.  This  is  now  simply  premised,  in  refer- 
ence to  some  phrases  shortly  to  be  examined;  and  to  furnish  to  the 
curious  speculators  on  this  subject,  some  data,  which  at  least  are 
entitled  to  their  consideration. 

But  we  proceed  to  the  phrase,  "The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness 
with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God"  (Rom.  viii.  16 — 
Com.  ver.).  "Also  the  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  together  with  our 
spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God." — Macknight.  "Also  this 
Spirit  bears  witness  together  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  children  of 
God." — New  version,  fourth  edition. 

The  preceding  verse,  which  reads,  "You  have  received  the  Spirit 
of  adoption,  by  which  we  cry,  Abba  Father;"  seems  to  present  the 
argument  thus,  "But  this  Spirit  of  adoption  is  not  the  only  proof  that 
the  believing  Gentiles  are  the  adopted  sons  of  God:  for  in  addition 
to  this,  the  spirit  which  has  thus  breathed  into  our  hearts  the  Spirit 
of  adoption,  has  also  borne,  and  still  bears  witness  to  our  sonship,  by 
the  spiritual  gifts  bestowed  on  the  believing  Gentiles. 

Two  witnesses  are  adduced  by  the  Apostles,  concurring  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  fact,  that  believing  Gentiles  are  divinely  constituted 
sons  of  God.  The  first  is  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  which  they  had  indi- 
vidually received;  infusing  into  their  hearts  the  cry,  "Abba,  Father;" 
the  other,  the  extraordinary  gifts,  or  the  manifestations  of  the  Spirit, 
bestowed  equally  upon  the  Gentiles,  at,  and  after,  their  first  calling 
into  the  kingdom  of  Jesus. 

As  Dr.  Macknight  well  observes,  "God  is  said  to  have  sealed  the 
believing  Gentiles  as  his  sons,  by  giving  them  the  Spirit"  (II.  cor. 
i.  22;  V.  5;  Eph.  i.  13,  14).  "By  the  Spirit's  witness,  we  are  to  under- 
stand a  particular  revelation  to  individuals,"  the  same  translator  dis- 
tinctly aflSrms. 

I  have  learned  from  Prof.  Stuart's  version  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  and  his  notes  on  this  passage,  which  appeared  since  my  dis- 
sertation in  1830,  on  the  twenty-sixth  and  twenty-seventh  verses  of 
this  chapter,  that  I  was  not  alone  as  I  then  apprehended,  in  supposing 
the  Spirit  of  adoption  to  be  "the  Spirit  that  intercedes  for  us,  in 
sighs  which  can  not  be  uttered;"  for  he  testifies,  page  324.  that  those 
who  regard  the  Spirit  of  adoption  spoken  of  in  the  fifteenth  verse,  to 
be  the  same  with  the  spirit  spoken  of  in  the  sixteenth  verse,  "compare 
this  with  verses  twenty-six  and  twenty-seven,  which  they  construe  in 
the  same  way." 

"For  a  long  time,"  says  the  Professor,  "I  preferred  this  interpre- 
tation;" that  is,  making  the  Spirit  of  God  (verse  16)  the  same  as  the 
Spirit  of  adoption  (verse  15).  "But."  he  adds,  "repeated  and  atten- 
tive study  of  the  whole  passage  in  the  connection,  has  of  late  brought 


130  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

me  to  a  pretty  full  persuasion,  that  auto  to  pneuma  (verse  16)  is  the 
same  as  pneuma  theou  (verse  14);"  or  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  rather 
than  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  is  intended  in  verse  16.  I  may  add,  that 
Professor  Stuart  in  his  version,  renders  the  verse  in  examination, 
thus — "The  same  Spirit  beareth  witness  to  our  spirit,  that  we  are 
children  of  God."  This  may  be  sustained  by  Rom.  ii.  15;  ix.  1;  but 
is  not  in  so  full  accord  with  the  word  summarturei,  according  to  the 
grammatical  construction  of  the  Greek  language,  as  in  the  new  ver- 
sion. The  Professor's  version  would,  however,  better  express  my 
views  of  the  passage  than  the  new  version,  if  it  could  be  as  well  sus- 
tained. For  it  is  to  our  spirit  the  witness  is  offered  at  last,  read  it 
as  we  may.  I  would  paraphrase  the  passage  thus:  "The  Spirit  of 
God  by  his  demonstrations  or  seal  vouchsafed  to  the  believing  Gen- 
tiles, as  well  as  to  believing  Jews,  bears  witness  to  our  understanding 
in  conjunction  with  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  which  we  have  individually 
received,  that  we  are  children  of  God. 

When  we  speak  of  testimony  or  witness,  there  are  two  things 
always  to  be  taken  into  consideration; — the  fact  or  proposition  in  sup- 
port of  which  the  testimony  is  presented, — and  the  person  or  persons 
to  whom  the  testimony  is  offered.  There  is  something  to  be  proved, 
and  some  person  to  whom  or  for  whom  it  is  to  be  proved.  Now,  a 
person  can  not  be  both  the  subject  and  the  object  of  the  same  testi- 
mony himself.  For  example.  Let  the  question  be,  "Am  I  a  child  of 
God?''  This  is  to  be  ascertained  for  my  own  satisfaction.  I  am  the 
person  to  xchom  it  is  to  be  proved.  There  is  something  represented 
by  the  pronoun  /,  which  is  constituted  judge  in  this  case.  This  then 
can  not  be  both  witness  and  judge.  A  witness  in  me  must  be  some- 
thing distinct  from  me.  Well:  what  is  the  witness  in  me  distinct 
from  myself,  unless  it  be  the  Spirit  of  adoption  breathing  in  me  all 
filial  dispositions?  Now  if  Paul  and  his  companions  rejoiced  in  the 
testimony  of  their  own  conscience,  why  may  I  not  rejoice  in  the  tes- 
timony of  this  witness?  But  as  this  is  but  one  witness,  and  as 
everything  of  importance  requires  two  witnesses;  and  especially  as 
this  witness  may  be  suspected  of  being  under  the  influence  of  near 
relation  and  not  easily  cross  examined,  it  requires  a  concurrent  testi- 
mony. Now  this  is  that  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  presented  in  the 
written  word — sealed  by  its  own  demonstrations.  An  exact  corre- 
spondence between  these  two  witnesses  begets  full  confidence,  or  satis- 
factorily answers  the  question,  "Am  I  a  child  of  God?" 

But  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  testimony  of  God  in  the  authenti- 
cated word,  and  the  testimony  within,  are  both  necessary  to  the  full 
assurance  of  our  sonship.  Hence,  John  says,  "If  our  heart  condemn 
us  not,  then  we  have  confidence."  By  loving  "not  in  word  only,  but 
in  deed  and  in  truth,"  says  the  divine  Apostle,  "we  know  that  we  are 


THE    MILLEXMAL    IIARBIKOER    ABRIDGED.  131 

of  the  truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  l)otore  him.'*  Happy  frames 
and  good  feelings  are  no  evidence  of  our  sonship,  unless  sustained 
by  the  testimony  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  And  this  calls  for  unre- 
served obedience  to  all  the  commandments  of  Jesus. 

But  while  this  and  much  more  may  be  necessary  to  illustrate  the 
testimony  borne  to  our  spirits  by  the  Spirit  of  God;  the  fact  that  such 
a  witness  exists,  and  the  bare  meaning  of  the  phrase,  are  all  that 
fairly  lie  within  our  present  object.  The  Apostle's  design  in  the  con- 
nection in  which  the  phrase  occurs,  clearly  ascertains  its  import. 
His  proposition  is:  "As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit,  these  are  the 
sons  of  God."  "To  be  led  by  the  Spirit,"  or  to  be  led  by  any  person, 
is  simply  to  be  guided  by  what  they  say.  Those  thus  led,  are  chil- 
dren of  God.  That  they  are  the  children  of  God,  is  proved  to  them- 
selves by  two  witnesses; — what  the  Spirit  has  testified  in  the  written 
word,  and  sustained  by  miracles, — and  by  the  filial  dispositions,  called 
the  Spirit  of  adoption,  which  it  has  inspired  into  the  hearts  of  all 
the  believers,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles. 

In  ascertaining  tne  import  of  the  phrase,  "The  Spirit  hears  tcit- 
ness  with  our  spirit,"  we  quoted  Dr.  JMacknight  as  asserting  that  ""by 
the  Spirit's  witness  we  are  to  understand;"  whereas  it  ought  to  have 
read,  "By  the  Spirit's  witness  we  are  not  to  understand  a  particulz^r 
revelation  to  individuals."  This  typographical  mistake  was  not 
noticed  till  after  we  sat  down  to  write  the  present  essay.  It  was 
implied,  if  not  distinctly  stated  in  our  last,  that  the  phrase  "spirit  of 
adoption"  indicates  those  filial  dispositions  which  are  engendered  in 
the  believers  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  that  to  be  "led  by  the  Spirit," 
is,  in  our  style,  to  be  guided  by  what  he  says  to  us. 

The  phrase  now  before  us  is,  "Grieve  not  the  Spirit."  In  the  com- 
mon version  of  the  Scriptures,  God  is  said  to  have  been  grieved  for 
forty  years  with  the  manners  of  the  Jews  in  the  wilderness.  (Ps. 
xcv.  10;  Heb.  iii.  10,  17.)  Again,  the  question  is  asked  (Ps.  Ixxviii. 
40),  "How  often  did  they  grieve  him  in  the  desert?"  Jesus  also 
is  said  (Mark  iii.  5)  to  have  been  "grieved  at  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts."  From  these  Scriptures  we  may  easily  perceive  the  meaning 
of  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit.  As  Israel  of  old  grieved  God  in  the  desert, 
so  Christians  may  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  by  suffering  corrupt  com- 
munications to  escape  their  lips,  or  by  disobeying  his  precepts. 

Children  grieve  their  parents  by  their  foolish  behavior,  and  Chris- 
tians are  figuratively  said  to  grieve  the  Spirit  when  they  act  in  a  way 
unbecoming  his  presence  with  them.  The  Lord  was  present  with  the 
Jews  in  the  wilderness,  therefore  they  could  grieve  him.  His  Spirit 
Is  in  the  congregation,  and  therefore  Christians  may  grieve  him.  The 
Spirit  when  grieved  with  Adam,  forsook  him — when  displeased  with 
the  Jews,  it  forsook  thorn.     David,  when  conscious  of  his  faults,  prays. 


132  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"Take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me!"  and  the  command,  'Grieve  not 
the  Spirit,"  implies  that  Christians  may  also  be  forsaken  by  God. 

''Quench  not  the  Spirit."  This  phrase,  like  the  preceding,  is  found 
but  once  in  the  New  Testament  (I.  Thess.  v.  19).  The  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  having  been  like  a  flame  of  fire,  this  figure  is  most 
expressive  and  beautiful.  Referring  to  those  gifts  extraordinary, 
enjoyed  by  many  of  the  first  converts,  Jewish  and  Gentile,  the  Apostle 
could,  with  all  propriety  of  metaphor,  say  to  them  who  had  any 
spiritual  gift,  "Quench  not  the  Spirit,"  "Despise  not  prophesying,"  etc. 
And  to  Timothy,  in  the  same  style,  he  could  say,  "Stir  up  the  gift 
which  is  in  you."  The  word  used  in  Timothy  is  anazopurein,  blow 
up  this  fire — quench  it  not — put  not  out  this  sacred  fire  in  yourself 
or  in  others,  but  rouse  it  to  a  flame. 

To  "walk  in  the  Spirit,"  and  "live  after  the  Spirit,"  are,  in  effect, 
the  same  as  to  be  "led  by  the  Spirit."  Christians  who  think,  speak, 
and  act  according  to  the  gospel,  are  walking  after,  or  according  to, 
the  Spirit — living  according  to  the  Spirit — led  by  the  Spirit.  Thus 
the  Platonist  was  led  by  Plato — walked  according  to  Plato — lived  as 
Plato  directed. 

"Strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man"  (Eph. 
iii.  16);  or,  "Mightily  strengthened  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man." 
Paul  implores  this  blessing  from  God  upon  the  Ephesians.  There  is 
much  to  be  learned  from  the  prayers  of  the  Apostles,  both  for  them- 
selves and  their  brethren,  as  to  their  views,  their  practical  views  of 
the  influence  and  aid  of  the  good  Spirit  of  God.  That  they  expected 
some  help  from  God  of  some  sort,  is  clearly  and  fully  expressed  in  all 
their  petitions,  both  for  themselves  and  for  one  another.  Let  the 
reader,  intent  on  understanding  the  Apostles'  views  and  style,  care- 
fully examine  their  prayers,  as  if  to  learn  what  they  expected  to  be 
yet  done  for  them.  The  following  specimens  will  be  sufficient  to  our 
present  purpose: — 

"On  this  account  I  bow  my  knees  to  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  from  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  upon  earth  is 
named,  praying  that,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory,  he  would 
grant  you  to  be  mightily  strengthened  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inward 
man;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  through  faith;  that  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  you  may  be  completely  able  to  apprehend, 
with  all  the  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and 
height — even  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  surpasses  knowledge, 
that  you  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God.  Noiv  to  him 
that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  beyond  all  that  we  can  ask 
or  think,  according  to  the  poioer  tchich  works  effectually  in  us — to 
him  be  glory  in  the  congregation  by  Christ  Jesus,  during  all  the  end- 
less succession  of  ages.     Amen." 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  133 

That  the  Apostle  expected  the  strengtheuing  of  the  faculties  cf  the 
mind,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  these  saints  at  Ephesus, 
can  not  be  doubted;  but  that  this  was  to  be  effected  by  faith — by 
Christ  dwelling  in  the  heart  by  faith,  is  not  to  be  questioned.  If  such 
petitions  were  necessary  in  the  age  of  spiritual  gifts,  they  are  no  less 
so  in  the  present  time;  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  does  in  some  way 
by  faith  work  in  men  both  to  will  and  to  do,  and  that  he  does  and 
may  do  for  us  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  is  not  to  be  questioned, 
if  Paul  in  this  passage  is  to  be  understood  according  to  what  we  call 
common  sense. 

The  thanksgivings,  as  well  as  the  petitions  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
imply  all  this  and  more.  When  he  heard  of  the  faith  and  love  of  the 
Ephesians,  he  said,  "I  cease  not  to  give  thanks  for  you,  making  men- 
tion of  you  in  my  prayers — that  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Father  of  glory,  would  give  you  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation 
iti  the  knowledge  of  him;  that  the  eyes  of  your  understanding  being 
enlightened,  you  may  know  what  is  the  hope  of  his  calling,  and  ichat 
the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance  among  the  saints,  and  tchat 
the  exceeding  greatness  of  his  power  in  relation  to  us  who  believe, 
according  to  the  working  of  his  mighty  power  which  he  wrought  in 
Christ  when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  set  him  at  his  oicn 
right  hand  in  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  government,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  lordship,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come,"  etc. 

The  Apostles  taught  the  Christians  by  precept  or  example  to  pray 
for  the  following  things: — for  eloquence  and  boldness  for  those  who 
labor  in  the  word  and  teaching;  for  wisdom  for  themselves;  for  favor, 
mercy,  and  peace  for  the  brotherhood;  for  the  healing  of  the  sick; 
for  an  offending  brother;  for  being  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  tne 
will  of  God;  for  their  own  strength  and  that  of  their  brethren;  for 
the  good  behavior  of  the  brotherhood;  for  the  protection  and  salva- 
tion of  kings,  governors,  and  all  sorts  of  men;  for  every  promised 
blessing,  and  for  every  necessary  thing,  either  for  the  present  or  the 
uture;  for  themselves  and  for  their  brethren.* 

These  apostolic  prayers  are  full  of  edification:  they  are,  in  com- 
parison of  mere  didactic  communications,  as  experiment  to  theory,  or 
as  example  to  precept.  The  views  of  the  Apostles  on  the  subject  of 
divine  influences  will  be  found  in  their  petitions,  supplications,  arid 
thanksgiving.  That  they  expected  much  in  answer  to  their  prayers, 
and  that  they  and  their  converts  did  not  ask  in  vain,  need  not  be 
argued  to  those  who  will  carefully  examine  this  matter. 


•Will  tlie  ciirioiis  and  inqiiisitivo  attPiitivcly  consider  llio  following  portions  of  tho 
apostolic  writings  ?  Jjis.  i.  5;  v.  l(i;  I.  John  v.  22;  Col.  i.  1>-11 ;  Kph.  vi.  Ill;  Phil.  i.  fl,  10. 
II;  Koni.  i.  10;  Col.  iv.  12;  I.  Thcss.  v.  2o;  I.  Tim.  ii.  1;  Heb.  iv.  16;  I.  Pet.  v.  10;  I.  John 
▼.  14, 15,  etc. 


134  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

But  the  phrase  "communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  will  still  mora 
fully  illustrate  their  views.  It  is  koinonia,  fellowship,  joint  participa- 
tion. We  have  this  word  twenty  times  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  to 
the  close  of  the  Epistles.  It  is  twice  applied  to  the  Holy  Spirit— II. 
Cor.  xiii.  13;  Phil.  ii.  1.  It  is  applied  to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son— 
I.  John  i.  3-6;  I.  Cor.  i.  9.  We  have  the  communion  of  the  Father, 
the  communion  of  the  Son,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or 
the  fellowship  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit;  for  it  is  the  same 
term  uniformly  in  the  passages  quoted.  The  communion  of  saints;  of 
the  blood  of  Christ;  of  the  body  of  Christ,  denote  their  joint  participa- 
tion of  the  influence,  presence,  and  comforts  of  the  good  Spirit  of  God. 

We  have  communion  with  one  another  when  we  mutually  give  and 
receive  consolation,  whether  in  sentiment,  in  sympathy,  in  communi- 
cation, or  in  any  of  the  blessings  of  society.  Man  was  made  for  com- 
munion with  God  and  hig  fellows,  but  he  lost  it  in  Adam  the  first.  In 
Adam  the  second  he  is  restored  to  that  communion;  but  while  in  his 
mortal  body  his  communion  with  God  is  only  by  his  Spirit  through. 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

But  we  have  not  yet  caught  the  precise  idea  expressed  in  the  Apos- 
tle's benediction — "The  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  with  you 
all!"  There  is  suggested  in  this  phrase  a  participation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  common  to  all  the  members  of  the  body  of  Christ.  It  is  not 
some  gift  or  special  influence  of  the  Spirit,  imparted  only  to  a  few; 
but  that  fellowship  of  the  Spirit  which,  under  Christ,  is  common  to  the 
many — to  all  the  family  of  God — of  which  the  Apostle  spoke.  The 
best  definition  of  the  word  communion  which  I  can  give,  is,  union 
in  that  which  is  common.  Wherever  there  is  union  in  common,  there 
is  communion.  As  the  glory  of  the  Lord  equally  filled  all  the  taber- 
nacle and  the  temple,  so  the  Spirit  of  God  animates,  consoles,  and 
refreshes  the  whole  body  of  Christ.  These  consolations,  joys,  and 
refreshments  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  the  Apostle  imprecated 
upon  all  the  Corinthian  converts.  He  wished  them  a  full  fellowship, 
an  equal  participation  of  those  measures  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
belonged  to  the  body  of  Christ  as  such.  The  three  greatest  blessings 
which  Paul  could  invoke  on  the  Corinthians,  were,  "the  favor  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  These  are  not  one  and  the  same  idea;  but  three  distinct  ideas 
— as  distinct  as  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  He  that  enjoys  the 
favor  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  has  all  the  fullness  of  God,  and  is  as  blessed  as  mortal 
man  can  be. 

Into  these  relations  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  we  are  immersed;  for  the  Lord  commanded  the  believers  to  be 
immersed  into  the  mime  of  the  Holy  Spiril  as  well  as  into  the  namo 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGHR    ABRlDiil'J)  Mu 

of  the  Father  and  the  Son.  To  be  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  prepares  for  the  enjoyment  of  this  communion;  as  being 
Immersed  into  the  Father,  introduces  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  love 
of  God;  and  as  immersion  into  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  introduces 
us  into  the  favor  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  This  love,  grace,  and  communion 
are  the  superlative  glory  of  the  Christian  institution.  They  are  equally 
apprehensible,  though  in  their  nature  and  modes  of  development 
incomprehensible.  It  is  the  duty,  honor,  and  privilege  of  Christians 
to  enjoy  all  that  into  which  they  are  immersed.  There  is  as  much 
wisdom  or  folly  in  disparaging  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
in  undervaluing  the  love  of  God  or  the  favor  of  Jesus  Christ. 

There  is  also  as  much  reason,  and  Scripture,  and  honor  in  being 
immersed  into  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Should  any  one  think  that  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
ceased,  he  may  as  well  imagine  that  the  love  of  God  has  ceased  and 
that  the  favor  of  Jesus  Christ  is  extinct.  If  he  can  not  comprehend 
the  one,  he  can  not  comprehend  the  other.  But  as  we  are  immersed 
into  the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  must  look  for  and  constantly 
expect  the  communion  of  that  Spirit,  as  well  as  the  love  of  God  and 
the  favor  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

There  yet  remains  the  phrase  "sanctification  of  the  Spirit."  This 
understood,  I  presume  the  whole  New  Testament  phraseology  on  ihe 
subject  of  the  Spirit  will  be  easily  understood  by  every  attentive  reader. 
The  original  phrase  is  hagiasmos  pneumatos,  and  is  found  only  in 
II.  Thess.  ii.  13;  I.  Pet.  i.  2.  In  both  places  it  appears  to  refer  to  the 
sanctification  of  the  spirit  of  believers.  It  is  literally  rendered  'sane- 
tification  [or  holiness]  of  spirit."  There  is  no  article  in  the  original 
and  no  epithet  that  suggests  the  Holy  Spirit  in  either  passage.  God 
has  chosen  men  to  salvation  through  (or  by)  holiness  of  spirit;  not 
through  the  holiness  of  his  Spirit,  but  through  the  holiness  of  their 
spirit  When  Jesus  prayed  (John  xvii.)  for  the  sanctification  or  holi- 
ness of  his  disciples,  it  was  through  the  truth:  "Sanctify  them  through 
the  truth;  thy  word  is  truth."  The  belief  of  the  truth  is,  therefore, 
by  Paul  associated  with  this  holiness  or  sanctification  of  spirit.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  frequently  denominated  in  these  days,  "the  Sane- 
tificr."  Let  it  be  granted  that  it  is  the  Spirit  that  sanctifies  or  sets 
apart  men  to  God,  still  it  must  be  argued  from  the  Record  that  ne 
sanctifies  them  only  through  the  truth  or  gospel  believed.  A  sanctified 
unbeliever  is  inconceivable;  and,  as  "without  holiness  [or  sanctifica- 
tion of  spirit]  no  man  can  see  the  Lord;"  so,  without  faith,  there  can 
be  no  holiness,  and  no  action  acceptable  to  God. 

All  persons  sanctified  to  God  to  any  high  office  or  function,  were 
anointed,  and  thus  consecrated  to  his  special  service.  So  all  Chris- 
tians,  being   priests,    are   anointed    or   sanctified   by   the   Holy   Spirit 


136  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

through  the  obedience  of  the  truth,  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  cleansing  their  consciences  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living 
God.  In  this  we  find  the  secret  of  the  most  usual  epithet  of  the  Spirit. 
It  is  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  because  it  is  the  Spirit  of  truth.  It  is  the 
Holy  Spirit,  because  by  its  influence  it  makes  us  holy;  and  these  influ- 
ences which  sanctify  are  always  by  and  through  the  truth.  When 
God  chose  men  to  salvation,  it  was  through  sanctification  of  spirit; 
and  as  a  means  to  this,  it  was  thi'ough  the  belief  of  the  truth. 

In  1842  and  1843  Robert  Richardson  presented  a  series  of  essays 
on  "The  Spirit  of  God."  For  his  very  full  discussion,  see  the  book, 
"The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  by  R.  Richardson.  Editor. 


BOOK  lY. 

THE    BIBLE. 


m 


BOOK    TV. 

THE    BIBLE. 

Mr.  Campbell's  treatment  of  the  Scriptures  was  most  reverent. 
The  pages  of  the  Harbiriger  overflow  with  the  discussions  and  expo- 
sitions of  the  Scriptures.  He  delighted  in  the  one  Book.  We  can  give 
only  a  small  part  of  what  was  written. 

In  1845,  page  433,  Mr.  Campbell  wrote  of  the  Bible: 

The  Bible  is  the  oldest  and  best  book  in  the  world.  It  is  trans- 
lated into  more  languages  and  read  by  more  people  than  any  other 
volume  ever  written.  Its  history  and  its  prophecy  comprehend  the 
entire  destiny  of  the  world.  It  presents  to  us  man  in  his  natural, 
preternatural,  and  supernatural  conditions  and  characteristics.  It 
records  the  three  great  ages  of  the  world  by  developing  three  dis- 
pensations of  religion — the  Patriarchal,  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian. 
"Man  as  he  was,  man  as  he  is,  and  man  as  he  shall  hereafter  be,  are 
its  three  grand  themes.  It  reveals  God  by  unfolding  the  mysterious 
relations  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  three 
great  works  of  creation,  providence  and  redemption. 

The  Bible  is  divided  into  two  great  departments,  usually,  but 
improperly  called  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The  former  of  these 
contains  the  inspired  writings  of  Moses,  the  first  of  historians  and' the 
greatest  of  lawgivers,  together  with  those  of  the  ancient  Prophets; 
while  the  latter  contains  those  of  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Regarded  as  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Scriptures, 
it  comprehends  sixty-six  distinct  and  independent  treatises.  Thirty- 
nine  of  these  constitute  the  Jewish,  and  twenty-seven  the  Christian 
records.  The  Christian  Scriptures  are  the  work  of  only  eight  persons, 
six  of  whom  were  Apostles,  and  two  of  them  Evangelists  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  companions  of  the  Apostles.  The  Jewish  Scriptures  were 
written  by  more  than  thirty  persons,  all  of  whom,  save  one,*  were 
Jews.  We  put  down  the  immediate  authors  or  writers  of  the  Bible 
at  not  less  than  forty,  as  th-?  lowest  number,  though  we  can  not  with 
absolute  certainty  name  them  all.  From  the  birth  of  Moses  till  the 
death  of  John  the  Apostle,  is  a  period  of  full  sixteen  hundred  and 
sixty  years.  These  volumes  were,  therefore,  in  progress  of  comple- 
tion not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  years,  and  grasp  in  their  historic 
outlines  a  period  of  forty-one  centuries.  A  volume  of  such  Immense 
compass,  exhibiting  details  of  persons,  places  and  events,  so  numer- 
ous and  various,  and  of  such  transcendent  interest  to  mankind,  seems 


'Job,  II  i.s  presumed,  was  iin  Iiluinenii  or  nil  Anibinii  snjri 


140  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

to  possess  claims  upon  the  attention  and  consideration  of  every  human 
being  capable  of  appreciating  its  history,  its  biography,  its  prophecy, 
its  doctrine,  or  even  its  general  literature,  above  those  of  any  other 
volume  in  the  world. 

The  Jewish  Scriptures  comprehend  history,  law,  and  prophecy. 
The  Jews  were  wont  to  distribute  them  into  "the  Law,  the  Prophets 
and  the  Psalms."  The  Christian  Scriptures  pre-eminently  consist  of 
historical  and  epistolary  compositions.  Of  all  the  Jewish  writers, 
Moses,  and  of  all  the  Christian  writers,  Paul,  is  the  largest  and  most 
conspicuous.  Both  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures  begin  with 
history  and  end  with  prophecy.  Facts  or  events,  past  and  future,  are, 
therefore,  the  main  subjects  on  which  inspired  writers  dwell.  The 
historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are,  in  all,  seventeen.  The 
prophetic  books  are  also  seventeen;  while  the  properly  didactic  and 
devotional  are  but  five.  The  first  five  books  of  the  New  Testament 
are  also  historical,  the  last  prophetical,  and  the  rest  epistolary.  These 
last  are  miscellaneous  in  their  character,  containing  sometimes  his- 
tory, doctrine,  precepts  and  exhortations.  The  whole  volume,  indeed, 
in  its  spirit  and  tendency,  is  devotional.  Whatever  God  has  said  in 
the  form  of  declaration,  precepts,  promise,  or  threatening,  is  designed 
to  make  the  man  of  God  pure  and  perfect,  and  thoroughly  accomplished 
for  every  good  word  and  work. 

The  plan  of  the  Bible,  as  an  instrument  or  means  of  salvation,  is 
admirably  adapted  to  the  human  constitution  and  to  the  circumstances 
which  surround  man.  The  end  to  be  obtained  is  happiness,  but  that 
end  can  not  be  accomplished  without  sanctification  or  personal  devo- 
tion to  God.  It  is,  indeed,  as  impossible  for  God  to  make  any  man 
happy,  without  making  him  holy,  as  it  is  for  him  to  lie.  Now  the 
Bible  is  all  arranged  with  a  supreme  reference  to  this  fact.  And  as 
piety  or  holiness  consists  in  a  course  of  action  correspondent  with 
the  divine  will  and  character,  and  is  not  natural  to  man  as  he  now  is, 
it  must  be  preceded  by  a  change  of  heart.  But  this  change  of  the 
affections  being  the  result  of  faith  or  a  belief  of  the  testimony  of 
God,  that  testimony  for  such  a  change  must  necessarily  furnish 
motives.  But  these  motives  presuppose  gracious  acts  of  kindness  on 
the  part  of  God.  Sacred  history,  then,  records  these  facts — whether 
in  the  form  of  things  said  or  done,  commanded  or  promised  by  God. 
Faith  apprehends  and  receives  this  testimony  concerning  these  facts. 
These  facts,  when  believed,  produce  corresponding  feelings  or  states 
of  mind,  sometimes  called  repentance  or  a  new  heart;  and  this  new 
heart  leads  to  those  good  actions  denominated  piety  and  humanity, 
or  holiness  and  righteousness.  The  links  in  this  divine  chain  of 
moral  and  spiritual  instrumentality  are,  therefore,  five — facts,  testi- 
mony,   faith,    feeling,   action: — the   end   of   which    is   salvation.     The 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  141 

whole  revelation  of  God  is  arranged  upon  this  theory  or  view  of 
man's  constitution.  Thus  God  acts,  the  Holy  Spirit  testifies,  man 
believes,  feels,  and  then  acts  according  to  the  divine  will.  Thus 
becomes  he  a  new  creature.  This  view  of  man's  constitution  explains 
why  the  Bible  is  a  volume  of  facts  historical  and  prophetical— why  it 
begins  with  history  and  ends  with  prophecy — why,  in  one  sentence, 
God  works,  then  commands,  then  promises. 

To  illustrate  this  by  Uie  gospel,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  the 
order  of  things  narrated  in  the  apostolic  writings:—!.  Jesus  died  for 
our  sins.  2.  The  Apostles  announced  this,  and  it  is  proved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  subsequent  operar 
tions.  3.  Jews  and  Gentiles  believe  these  annunciations  as  reported 
to  them  by  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists.  4.  They  immediately  repent 
of  their  sins,  and  inquire  what  to  do.  Their  hearts  are  changed.  5. 
They  then  become  obedient  to  the  faith.     They  are  saved. 

The  plan  of  the  Bible  can  only  be  clearly  understood  when  man's 
condition  and  constitution  are  clearly  and  fully  apprehended.  For, 
in  truth,  the  Bible  is  a  glorious  system  of  grace — an  absolutely  com- 
plete and  perfect  adaptation  of  spiritual  means  to  a  great  and  glorious 
end.  This,  however,  is  not  the  only  grand  comprehensive  view  of  the 
volume  of  God's  inspiration  which  we  desire  to  lay  before  the  reader. 
We  wish  to  look  into  the  mechajiism  of  this  sublime  instrument  of 
renovation  and  salvation. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  centre  of  the  whole  evangelical  system.  He  is 
"the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David" — "the  Sun  of  Righteousness" — 
"the  bright  and  the  Morning  Star" — "the  Alpha  and  the  Omega"  of 
the  volume.  "The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit"  of  all  sacred  his- 
tory and  of  all  divine  prophecy.  Now  the  history  of  the  Bible  is 
very  rationally  or  philosophically  arranged  both  in  its  prospective 
and  retrospective  character,  with  a  single  and  sublime  reference  to 
Jesus  Christ.    Let  us  analyze  it. 

The  first  promise  to  fallen  man  respects  a  Messiah — in  these  words: 
"I  will  put  enmity  between  thee,"  O  Serpent,  "and  the  woman,  and 
between  thy  seed  and  her  seed.  He  sii.vll  biuise  thy  iii:ai».  ami  tiku' 
SHALT  BuuiSE  HIS  HEEL."  The  whole  Bible  but  demonstrates,  illus- 
trates, and  applies  this  grand  promise.  Eve's  son  of  blessings  is 
now  to  be  elicited  out  of  the  human  race;  and  just  so  much  of  the 
history  of  the  human  race  as  is  necessary  to  his  identification,  devel- 
opment and  (jlorification  is  given,  and  no  more.  Let  the  reader  take 
this  lamp  in  his  hand,  read  all  the  historical  books  of  both  Testa- 
ments, note  every  fact,  incident,  and  document  therein  found,  and 
see  if  they  do  not  arrange  themselves  in  a  proper  position,  either  to 
identify,  develop,  or  glorify  this  benefactor  of  our  race.  We  shall 
glance  at  Genesis  for  an  illustration. 


142  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  single  book  of  Genesis  contains  the  only  information  we  have 
of  the  human  race  for  the  long  period  of  two  thousand  three  hundred 
sixty  and  eight  years.  It  begins  with  creation  and  ends  with  the 
death  of  the  patriarch  Joseph.  The  other  books  of  Moses  bring  us 
down  to  the  year  of  the  world  2553.  All  this  history  antedates  any 
authentic  records  of  the  human  race  now  extant  in  any  nation  or 
language. 

But  the  portions  of  Genesis  assigned  to  the  different  epochs  of 
human  history,  are  most  singularly  and  significantly  disproportionate. 
Why  is  it  that  eight-filtieths,  or  eight  chapters  of  fifty,  are  devoted 
to  the  history  of  creation  and  of  the  flood,  and  to  the  religious  and 
political  conditions  of  the  human  family,  for  the  long  period  of  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  years;  while  the  single  history  of 
one  Abraham  occupies  thirteen-fiftieths,  and  that  of  his  descendants 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  twenty-four  fiftieths! — ?  Indeed,  the  for- 
tunes of  this  Joseph  occupy  a  larger  space  than  that  assigned  to  the 
first  two  thousand  years  of  the  world.  This  great  disproportion  in 
the  details  of  things  can  be  satisfactorily  explained  only  in  one  way. 
That  apprehended,  and  the  plan  and  structure  of  the  inspired  writings 
can  be  properly  understood  and  appreciated. 

"The  testimony  of  Jesus,"  says  a  divine  oracle,  "is  the  spirit  of 
prophecy."  It  is,  I  presume,  as  truly  the  spirit  of  sacred  history. 
Jesus  is  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  the  Bible,  because  the  Bible  is 
the  history  of  redemption.  Everything  takes  precedence,  occupies 
space,  and  engages  attention  in  the  direct  ratio  of  its  bearings  upon 
the  development  and  consummation  of  human  redemption.  Take,  for 
example,  the  antediluvian  age:  from  the  moment  the  gracious  intima- 
tion that  the  woman's  offspring  would  one  day  "bruise  the  serpent's 
head"  is  given,  its  development  becomes  the  all-engrossing  theme  both 
of  history  and  of  prophecy.  Persons,  places,  and  events  occupy  a 
prominence  and  conspicuity  as  they  happen  to  be  connected  with  that 
grand  central  idea  of  the  whole  Bible.  The  altar,  the  victim,  and  the 
priest,  appear  in  the  history  of  Cain  and  Abel;  while  blood  and  faith 
triumph  in  his  martyrdom.  Cain's  history,  so  far  as  it  is  given,  is 
but  the  shade  in  the  picture,  and  a  few  samples  of  his  descendants 
illustrate  the  whole  history  of  men  in  the  flesh.  From  Enoch  descended 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  men.  Polygamy  was  the  consummation  of 
his  principles  in  the  fifth  generation.  His  offspring  were  brass  and 
iron  manufacturers,  and  the  first  that  invented  portable  houses. 
Instruments  of  music,  and  that  handled  the  harp  and  the  organ.  Tu- 
balcain,  or  Vulcan,  and  his  sister  Naamah,  inventor  of  the  distaff  and 
the  spindle,  are  amongst  his  renowned  issue.  Not  one  saint  is  named 
in  the  whole  posterity  of  Cain,  the  first  born  of  woman  and  the  pro- 
totype of  religious  persecutors. 


THE    MILLi:\yiAL    HARIUSGKR    A  It  RIDGED.  143 

The  history  ot  Cain  and  Abel  being  given,  because  of  its  connection 
with  the  altar  and  the  sacrifice,  the  historian,  prompted  by  the  spirit 
of  revelation,  opens  the  illustrious  lineage  of  the  promised  seed  of 
woman;  and  that  becomes,  from  this  moment,  the  backbone  of  the 
whole  Bible — the  grand  meridian  line  of  all  divine  history  and  proph- 
ecy. 8eth  is  born  to  fill  the  place  of  Abel,  and  his  progeny  is  counted, 
one  by  one,  down  to  Jesus  of  Bethlehem  and  of  Nazareth.  Thus  the 
patriarchal  chain  of  Messiah's  ancestors  down  to  the  Flood,  are  Adam, 
Seth,  Enos,  Cainan,  Mahalaleel,  Jared,  Enoch,  Methuselah,  Lamech, 
Noah.  From  the  Fall  of  Man  to  the  Flood,  all  that  is  transmitted 
to  us  of  human  affairs  or  of  divine  providence  connects  itself  with 
these  ten  patriarchs.  After  the  Flood  Noah's  three  sons  engross  our 
attention.  Their  connection  with  all  the  ancient  nations  of  the  earth 
is  briefly  but  most  interestingly  sketched.  But  so  soon  as  reasons 
are  given  in  the  history  of  Shem,  of  Ham,  and  Japheth,  for  a  special 
providence  in  dispersing  them  over  the  whole  earth,  and  in  selecting 
the  younger  of  these  three  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  postdiluvian 
line  of  the  child  of  promise,  the  historian  confines  himself  to  the 
royal  and  sacerdotal  line  of  the  Messiah.  He  next  counts  off  ten  other 
progenitors  of  our  Lord.  These  are  Shem,  Arphaxad,  Salah,  Eber, 
Peleg,  Reu,  Serug,  Nahor,  Terah,  Abraham.  The  promise  given  to 
Eve  and  repeated  to  Shem,  is  still  farther  developed  and  committed 
to  Abraham.  To  the  end  of  Genesis  we  have  five  other  noble  links  in 
this  patriarchal  chain.  These  are  Isaac,  Jacob,  Judah,  Phares,  and 
Ezrom.  Genesis  then  gives  us  in  all  five  and  twenty  of  our  Lord's 
ancestors,  and  just  so  much  of  human  affairs  as  is  necessary  to  their 
favorable  introduction  to  our  notice.  Joseph's  history,  so  pre-emi- 
nently connected  with  the  whole  drama  of  man's  redemption,  and  ter- 
minating in  the  migration  and  settlement  of  the  symbolic  nation  in 
Egypt,  is  more  minutely  and  particularly  detailed  than  any  one  indi- 
vidual history  in  the  five  books  of  Moses.  His  other  books,  occu- 
pying but  forty  years'  incidents,  adds  no  new  names  to  the  illustrious 
line.  After  the  books  of  Joshua  and  Judges,  the  book  of  Ruth 
is  inserted  to  connect  Judah  and  the  promise  made  to  him  with 
David  through  Boaz,  Obed,  and  Jesse — making  the  line  from  Ezrom 
to  succeed  thus:  Aram,  Aminadad,  Naashon,  Salmon,  Boaz,  Obod, 
Jesse,    David. 

The  beautiful  story  of  Ruth,  the  Moabitish  saint,  inserted  for  the 
express  purpose  of  connecting  David  with  Judah,  Abraham  and  Seth, 
and  of  completing  through  him  the  illustrious  line  down  to  the  Vir- 
gin's Son,  is  itself  a  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  our  assumption, 
viz.:  that  the  plan  of  the  Bible  is  to  reveal  God  to  man  and  man 
to  himself,  by  placing  one  family  under  a  special  providence,  and  in 
making   all    its   fortunes   first  the   subject   of  prophecy,  and   then   of 


144  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

history,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world.*  God  meant  more 
than  any  man  has  yet  comprehended  when  he  said,  "I  am  the  God 
of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  This  is  my 
name  forever  and  my  memorial  to  all  generations."  The  history  of 
that  family  is,  then,  a  documentary  revelation  of  the  attributes  of 
God,  and  especially  of  his  truthfulness  and  covenant-keeping  char- 
acter, while  all  other  histories  of  all  other  families  serve  as  night 
to  day  in  the  contrast,  to  present  his  people  in  all  the  most  favorable 
attitudes  before  us,  and  to  induce  all  men  to  place  themselves  under 
the  wings  of  his  almighty  protection. 

Soon  as  David  ascends  the  throne  and  his  family  obtains  the 
sceptre  of  the  twelve  tribes,  the  royal  lineage  is  in  safe  keeping.  The 
books  of  Samuel,  the  Kings,  and  the  Chronicles,  down  to  the  end  of 
Old  Testament  history,  not  only  faithfully  preserve  the  records  of  the 
nation,  but  afford  a  thousand  developments  of  human  nature  and  of 
divine  providence,  full  of  instruction  to  all  mankind  in  all  ages  of 
the  world. 

Matthew  and  Luke  open  the  New  Testament  history  by  giving 
from  the  archives  of  the  nation  and  the  rolls  of  lineage  the  ancestry 
of  Jesus  up  to  Adam;  the  former,  by  his  legal  father,  Joseph;  the 
latter,  by  his  natural  mother,  Mary.  By  the  legal  paternal  line  he  is 
the  sixtieth  in  descent  from  Adam;  while  by  the  maternal  line  he  is 
the  seventy-sixth.  The  apostolic  writings  give  the  history  of  the 
Jews  down  to  the  crucifixion  of  their  promised  Deliverer,  the  repudia- 
tion of  them  as  the  nation  and  people  of  God,  and  the  adoption  of 
believing  Jews  and  Gentiles  as  one  in  the  Lord  Jesus  in  their  stead; 
while  the  prophecies  of  the  New  Testament  indicate  the  destiny  of 
Israel  according  to  the  flesh,  as  well  as  Israel  according  to  the  spirit, 
till  the  final  consummation.  Such  is  the  plan  of  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  Scriptures. 

From  the  plan  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  from  its  philosophy,  its 
claims  upon  the  faith  and  admiration  of  mankind  may  be  strongly 
argued.  Its  philosophy  is,  that  without  piety  no  man  can  be  happy; 
and  that  with  it  any  man  in  any  outward  circumstances  may  be  happy 
to  the  full  extent  of  his  capacity  for  human  enjoyment.  But  human 
enjoyment  is  neither  animal  nor  angelic  enjoyment.  Animal  or  sen- 
sitive enjoyments  are  supreme  and  exclusive  in  the  brutal  creation, 
but  subordinate  in  man.  Intellectual  pleasures  are  necessarily  depen- 
dent upon  the  ministry  which  the  intellect  performs.  If  the  intellect 
is  made  subordinate  to  the  animal  instincts,  passions  or  propensities; 
or  if  the  intellect  is  subordinate  to  moral  and  spiritual  enjoyments, 
its  pleasures  are  essentially  different.     In  the  former  case  they  are 


*  See  Ruth,  cliaiJtci'  iv.  18- 


Tin:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  145 

but  refined  animalism;  in  the  latter  case  they  are  spiritual  and  divine. 
In  this  view  all  human  enjoyments  are  reduced  to  two  classes:  the 
one  is  spiritual,  and  the  other  carnal;  the  one  is  moral,  social,  and 
refined;  the  other  is  selfish,  exclusive,  and  gross;  the  one  rises,  the 
other  sinks  to  all  eternity. 

The  philosophy  of  the  Bible  is,  therefore,  the  philosophy  of  human 
happiness,  and  the  only  philosophy  which  commends  itself  to  the 
cultivated  understanding  of  man.  No  mere  rationalist,  philosopher, 
or  sage,  ever  proposed  such  a  view  of  happiness  to  man.  It  is  peculiar 
to  the  Bible.  It  is  an  original  and  divine  conception,  and  proves  the 
divine  authorship  of  the  book.  From  the  object  and  character  of  the 
book  of  revelation,  its  divine  authority  can  be  most  triumphantly 
argued.  It  is  a  book  equally  worthy  of  God  to  bestow  and  of  man  to 
receive.  Dictated  by  infinite  benevolence,  characterized  by  supreme 
intelligence,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  genius  of  human  nature,  it 
is  worthy  of  universal  reception  and  of  the  most  profound  and  grate- 
ful homage. 

Its  plan  is  superhuman  and  divine.  No  one  class  of  men  of  any 
one  age  could  have  formed  such  a  plan  as  that  of  writing  the  history 
of  one  family  for  seven  thousand  years,  and  of  incorporating  with 
that  history  a  scheme  of  eternal  redemption  from  sin.  And  yet  it  is 
as  clear  as  the  sun  in  a  cloudless  sky,  that  Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel. 
Ezra,  Nehemiah — with  all  the  Jewish  historians,  prophets  and  poets, 
during  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred  years,  were,  without  concert,  con- 
ference, or  voluntary  co-operation,  prosecuting  just  such  an  object 
•without  seeming  to  comprehend  it.  And  not  they  only,  but  all  the 
patriarchs  before  Moses,  all  the  renowned  fathers  of  mankind  from 
Adam  to  Moses,  were  orally  transmitting  such  information  to  their 
descendants;  and  all  the  scribes  of  the  Jews,  from  :\Ialachi  to  Mat- 
thew, were  in  their  chronicles  of  Jewish  times  recording  such  incidents 
and  events  as  make  out  the  entire  history  of  the  family  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  Adam  to  Joseph,  his  legal  father,  and  to  Mary,  his 
natural  mother.  This  was  done  but  once  in  all  time,  and  for  a  pur- 
pose just  as  peculiar  and  singular  as  the  Bible  itself. 

A  sceptic  or  an  infidel  might  as  well  argue  that  king  Hiram's 
thirty  thousand  woodsmen  and  builders,  and  king  Solomon's  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  hewers,  stone-cutters,  and  carriers  of 
burdens,  with  his  three  thousand  three  hundred  supervisors  and 
directors,  were  severally  and  individually  working  each  one  after  a 
plan  of  his  own;  and  that  without  concert  or  prearrangement,  all 
their  materials  were  fitted  up  into  a  temple  the  most  splendid  and 
magnificent  that  ever  stood  upon  this  earth — the  wonder  of  the  world 
and  the  glory  of  the  architecture — as  that  shepherds,  husbandmen, 
fisliernion,   artizans,    historians,    lawgivers,    kings,    living    in    different 


146  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

countries,  in  ages  very  remote,  speaking  diverse  languages,  and  ot 
every  peculiarity  of  character,  could  have,  either  by  accident  or  design, 
got  up  such  a  volume  as  the  Bible,  marked  in  every  page  by  a  pecu- 
liar originality  of  character,  a  most  striking  unity  of  design,  pervad- 
ing an  almost  infinite  variety  of  circumstantial  details,  and  in  a  style 
the  most  simple,  artless,  and  sublime.  The  fortuitous  concourse  of 
atoms  into  a  universe  indicative  of  designs  and  adaptations  as  innu- 
merable as  the  stars,  as  countless  as  the  sands  o,f  the  sea,  would  be  a 
rational  hypothesis,  a  plausible  and  credible  theory,  compared  with 
such  an  assumption. 

The  divine  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is,  indeed,  fully 
proved  by  the  divine  wisdom  and  knowledge  contained  in  the  record 
itself.  The  author  is  known  in  his  works.  God's  book  is  full  of 
divinity.  It  reveals  what  human  wisdom  can  not  fathom,  but  what 
human  wisdom  must  believe  and  approve.  God  has  not  only  affixed 
his  sign  manual  to  the  mission  of  Apostles  and  Prophets  in  the  mir- 
acles which  they  wrought,  and  in  the  prophecies  which  they  uttered; 
but  he  has  stamped  upon  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge 
which  it  contains,  and  incorporated  with  all  its  gracious  and  sublime 
developments,  its  holy  doctrine,  its  heavenly  spirit,  and  its  divine  pre- 
cepts, the  indubitable  indications  of  its  superhuman,  supernatural, 
and  divine  origin.  But  we  shall,  for  the  present,  only  attempt  to 
prove  its  divine  origin  by  the  indirect  method  of  reducing  to  an 
absurdity  a  contrary  hypothesis  Paul  is  my  example  and  my  author- 
ity for  an  occasional  assault  upon  the  fortress  of  error  by  showing 
what  will  result  from  its  admission  to  be  truth,  or,  which  is  the  same 
thing  in  other  words,  by  assuming  the  truth  to  be  a  lie.  He  says, 
"If  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  then  is  not  Christ  raised. 
If  Christ  be  not  raised,  then  all  men  are  in  their  sins — preaching  is 
useless,  faith  is  vain;  we  Apostles  are  all  liars,  and  all  that  have  died 
in  attestation  of  it  have  voluntarily  destroyed  themselves."  So  let 
us  reason  In  this  case  as  few  words  as  those  found  in  that  admirable 
argument  in  proof  of  the  resurrection.  We  assume  that  the  gospel 
is  true  or  not  true.  If  it  is  true,  it  ought  to  be  obeyed;  if  it  is  not 
true,  it  ought  to  be  disproved  and  repudiated.  All  the  world  so  far 
agrees  with  our  postulata.  Well,  now,  say  it  is  not  true;  in  other 
words,  it  is  a  falsehood — a  lie.    What  then? 

1st.  There  is  not  a  credible  history  in  the  world;  because  no  hiS' 
tory  possesses  so  great  a  number  or  variety  of  the  attributes  of  truth 
or  reasons  of  faith  as  the  gospel  history.  The  original  witnesses  were 
plain,  common-sense,  ordinary,  matter-of-fact  men.  They  were  eye- 
witnesses and  ear-witnesses  of  the  facts  which  they  attest.  Their 
occupations  of  life  were  favorable  to  having  good  eyes  and  good  ears. 
They  were  chiefly  fishermen.     The  facts  which  they  relate,  and  which 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  147 

constitute  the  gospel,  wore  scnsibk'  facts — subjected  not  to  one  sense, 
but  to  several  senses.  So  speaks  one  of  them: — "That  which  we  have 
heard,  which  we  have  seen  tcith  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon, 
and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the  word  of  life,  declare  we  unto  you."* 
They  have  nothing  to  gain,  but  everything  temporal  and  fleshly  to 
lose  by  the  proclamation  of  these  facts.  They  made  themselves  "of 
all  men  the  most  miserable."  Their  life,  if  their  doctrine  be  not  true, 
is  more  marvelous  than  their  doctrine:  no  men  ever  gave  stronger 
evidence  of  truthfulness  than  they.  If  they  can  not  be  believed,  no 
historian  can.     There  is,  then,  no  credible  history  in  the  world. 

2d.  in  the  second  place,  there  is  no  sincerity  in  martyrdom.  It 
is  an  indisputable  fact  that  the  Messiah  and  most  of  the  Apostles 
were  martyrs.  They  died  for  what  they  said,  and  not  for  what 
they  did.  Mankind  in  all  ages  concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  strong- 
est proof  of  any  man's  honesty  or  sincerity  is  his  dying  voluntarily 
in  attestation  of  the  truth  of  what  he  affirms.  We  allege  that  mar- 
tyrdom does  not  prove  the  truth  of  a  man's  opinions,  but  only  that 
he  sincerely  believes  them.  Sincerity  is  no  test  of  truth  in  any  matter 
of  theory  or  speculation.  But  in  all  matters  of  sensible  facts  tested 
by  the  senses,  seen  or  heard  by  many  persons  and  on  many  occasions, 
sincerity  in  the  avowal  of  them  is  proof  of  the  certainty  of  them. 
Now  as  martyrdom  proves  sincerity,  and  sincerity  on  the  part  of 
witnesses  of  sensible  facts  proves  the  facts — the  gospel,  being  founded 
on  sensible  facts,  seen  often,  and  seen  by  many,  is  true  or  there  is  no 
sincerity  in  martyrdom. 

3d.  If  the  gospel  facts  are  false,  then  learning  and  talent  are  of 
no  value.  The  value  of  talent  and  learning  consists  in  the  power 
they  impart  to  their  possessor  to  acquire  and  communicate  truth. 
Now  it  needs  not  to  be  proved  that  innumerable  multitudes  of  the 
most  talented  and  learned  men  in  all  the  ages  of  Christianity  from 
its  first  promulgation  till  now,  have  been  enrolled  amongst  the  friends 
and  advocates  of  the  Bible.  Nay,  indeed,  in  all  ages  the  literature 
and  science  of  Christendom  have  been  on  the  side  of  the  Bible,  and 
mainly  employed  in  its  service.  If,  then,  the  Bible  be  not  true, 
learning  and  talent  neither  protect  us  from  error,  nor  assist  us  in  the 
acquisition   of  truth! 

4th.  But,  again  on  the  admission  that  the  gospel  is  not  true,  there 
is  no  connection  between  goodness  and  truth — no  excellency  in  truth. 
The  best  men  in  the  world  have  always  been  those  that  believed  in 
the  Bible.  The  most  humane,  benevolent,  public-spirited,  philan- 
thropic, and  virtuous  men  that  have  ever  lived,  whose  virtuous  exam- 
ples have  been  an  honor  to  human  nature,  have  been  believers  in  the 

•I.  .John  i.  1. 


148  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

truth  of  the  Bible.  Now  if  the  Bible  be  a  cunningly  devised  fable, 
then  there  is  no  necessary  connection  between  truth  and  moral  excel- 
lence, any  more  than  between  error  and  virtue.  There  is,  then,  no 
excellency  in  truth. 

5th.  Still  farther,  if  the  Bible  be  not  true,  falsehood,  imj)OSture,  and 
error  are  better  than  truth.  The  reason  is  obvious — the  Bible  is 
either  true  or  false.  If  false,  those  who  believe  it  believe  a  lie.  But 
that  lie  has  done  more  to  civilize,  refine,  purify  and  adorn  human 
nature,  than  all  the  atheism,  infidelity  and  philosophy  of  Egypt,  Chal- 
dea,  Greece  and  Rome.  Surely,  then,  the  Christian  lie  is  better  than 
all  the  philosophic  truth  of  all  ages  and  all  nations.  Hence  we  infer 
that  if  the  Bible  be  false,  error  and  fraud  work  better  for  mankind 
than  honesty  and  truth. 

6th.  But,  again — If  the  Bible  be  false,  as  all  who  reject  it  affirm, 
then  there  is  no  reason  in  the  universe;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
creation  is  a  maze  without  a  plan,  and  nature  works  in  vain.  We 
must  judge  of  the  unknown  by  the  known.  Now  the  fortunes  of  our 
planet  are  our  data  for  the  fortunes  of  all  other  planets.  The  fortunes 
of  its  inhabitants  are,  so  far  as  nature  or  reason  is  our  guide,  the 
fortunes  of  the  inhabitants  of  all  other  planets.  Amongst  earth's 
inhabitants  there  is  one  class  of  beings  for  whose  creation  and  com- 
fort all  others  do  exist.  Man  is  the  name  of  that  class  of  beings.  He 
is  the  end  of  this  terrestrial  creation.  If  he  be  lost — forever  lost,  all 
is  lost.  Crops  of  vegetables  annually  spring  out  of  the  earth,  and 
return  to  it  again.  Races  of  animals  feed  upon  them,  and  die.  They, 
like  their  food,  but  enrich  the  earth.  Day  and  night  succeed  each 
other.  Years  revolve.  The  earth  turns  upon  its  axis,  wheels  around 
its  orbit,  feeds  and  buries  all  its  tenantry.  Man  himself  and  his  food 
alike  perish  forever. 

Now  what  is  gained  by  the  whole  operation?  If  man  lives  not 
again — if  the  Bible  be  not  true;  nature  labors  in  vain:  and  if  there 
be  a  Creator,  he  works  without  a  plan,  and  toils  for  no  purpose. 
Nature  is  an  abortion,  and  the  whole  machinery  of  the  universe  a 
splendid  failure.  There  is  no  reason  for  creation — for  nature;  and 
there  is  no  reason  in  either.  If,  then,  the  Bible  be  not  true — if  the 
history  it  gives  of  man,  his  creation,  his  fall,  his  recovery,  be  not 
true — in  one  word,  if  the  gospel  be  a  lie  and  the  Bible  false,  no  living 
man  can  give  one  good  reason  for  the  existence  of  our  planet,  or  that 
of  any  sun  or  system  in  that  collation  of  worlds  and  systems  which 
compose  this  mysterious  and  sublime  universe. 

But  if  the  Bible  be  not  true,  it  is  not  enough  to  say — 1st.  That 
there  is  not  a  credible  history  in  the  world.  2d.  That  there  is  no 
sincerity  in  martyrdom.  3d.  That  human  learning  and  talent  are  of 
no  value.     4th.  That  there  is  no  excellency  in  truth.     5th.  That  false- 


THE    MILLKXXIAL    IIARBIXUER    AlilUDdi:!).  Ub 

hood,  imposition,  and  error,  are  better  than  truth.  And  6th.  That 
there  is  no  reason  in  the  universe;  but  we  must  also  add.  that  TiiEnE 
i.s  No  G<»i)I 

Nature  ends  in  ruin — the  world  is  full  of  sin  and  misery — there  is 
no  reason  for  anything — man  lives  for  no  purpose — no  kind  intimar 
tion  has  been  given  him  of  any  great  and  good  first  cause;  which  is 
but  equivalent  to  saying  there  is  no  good  being  above  man — no  one 
of  almighty  power,  who  could  speak  to  him,  enlighten  him,  or  com- 
fort him,  touching  his  origin,  his  nature,  his  relations,  his  obligations, 
or  his  destiny;  and  that  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  there  is  no 
supremely  Good  One,  no  Creator  or  Proprietor  of  man.  For  who  can 
imagine  a  supreme  intelligence,  of  almighty  power  and  of  infinite 
benevolence — who  made  man  and  inspired  him  with  such  desires 
after  the  knowledge  of  himself — with  such  longings  after  happiness 
perfect  and  complete — and  who  has  himself  the  faculty  of  speech,  the 
power  of  communicating  the  knowledge  of  himself  to  man;  and  yet 
has  never  spoken  to  him,  never  enlightened  him  on  the  only  point 
vital  to  all  his  interests,  his  eternal  destiny;  and  compared  with 
which  all  other  enjoyments  possible  to  man  as  he  now  is,  are  not 
in  the  proportion  of  an  atom  to  a  universe,  or  a  moment  to  a  bound- 
less eternity!  Such  an  hypothesis  is  at  war  with  every  oracle  of 
reason,  with  every  decision  of  common  sense,  and  with  all  the  analo- 
gies of  the  universe.  It  can  not  be:  it  is  impossible.  There  is  a  God — 
there  is  a  Book  of  God — there  is  truth  in  history — there  is  sincerity 
in  martyrdom — there  is  value  in  talent  and  learning — there  is  an 
excellency  in  truth — truth  is  better  than  error,  falsehood  and  impos- 
ture— and  there  is  reason  in  the  universe,  and  a  glorious  destiny 
for  man. 

The  Bible  has  been  proved  to  be  a  divine  revelation  as  many  mil- 
lions of  times  as  there  are  individuals  who  have  believed  it  to  the 
salvation  of  their  souls.  But  it  never  has  been  proved  to  be  false  to 
a  single  individual  of  the  human  race.  Nor  can  it  ever  be  so  proved. 
No  man  who  understands  what  he  says,  can  in  truth  affirm  that  he 
believes  it  to  be  false.  Who  can  believe  anything  to  be  false  without 
oral  or  written  testimony?  But  no  living  man  has  either  oral  or 
written  testimony  contradicting  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  ani 
Prophets:  therefore,  in  the  absence  of  such  testimony,  he  can  no  more 
believe  it  to  be  false  than  a  blind  man  can  see  the  sun.  A  man  may 
doubt  whether  it  be  true;  but  to  believe  it  to  be  false,  or  to  be  assured 
that  it  is  not  true,  is  altogether  impossible. 

Some  persons  object  to  the  Bible — because,  as  they  say,  its  divine 
inspiration  is  yet  a  subject  of  debate.  Such  thinkers  and  reasoners 
are  grossly  defective  in  reason  and  education.  Did  ever  anyone 
hear  of  anything  that  has  boon  proved   by  all  tho  world?     Is  there  a 


150  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

single  historic  fact  that  is  believed  by  every  human  being?  If  there 
be  not  one,  then  every  historic  fact  is  yet  in  debate.  But  shall  we 
say  that  no  proposition  is  proved,  because  it  is  not  proved  to  the 
whole  world!  The  gospel  will  never  be  out  of  debate  while  there 
is  one  infidel  or  sceptic  in  the  world.  This  is,  however,  no  more  a 
disparagement  of  its  truth,  or  its  claims  upon  all  mankind,  than  it  is 
an  argument  against  any  proposition,  fact,  or  testimony,  that  all  the 
world  has  not  yet  acquiesced  in  its  truth. 

We  can  not  believe  by  proxy,  as  nations,  as  empires,  or  as  worlds. 
We  must  each  one  believe  for  himself.  Hence  the  evidence  must 
be  considered,  understood,  and  appreciated  by  every  individual  for 
himself.  But  the  fact  that  millions  of  all  orders  of  mind,  the  greatest 
and  most  gifted  of  our  race,  have  believed  it  to  be  true — multitudes 
of  them  even  to  martyrdom  for  its  sake;  and  that  not  one  individual 
can  believe  it  to  be  false,  is  a  consideration  that  ought  to  silence 
every  modest  inquirer,  and,  were  it  possible,  cover  with  shame  those 
reckless  and  senseless  dogmatists  who  declaim  against  a  book  of 
whose  contents  and  whose  history  they  truly  comprehend  nothing, 
because  it  is  yet  in  debate.  On  their  showing,  there  is  nothing  cred- 
ible or  worthy  of  universal  acceptance,  because  there  is  nothing  that 
is  not  a  matter  of  doubt  or  disbelief  with  some  person.  But  we  argue 
not  the  question  of  the  Bible's  truth  with  such  opponents.  We  have 
not  given  a  tithe  of  the  topics  from  which  its  truth  is  irrefragably 
argued.  Enough,  it  is  presumed,  to  convince  the  candid  whose  minds 
can  discern  the  force  of  argument,  is  contained  in  the  preceding  hints 
and  reflections. 

Christianity  has  stood  erect  in  the  midst  of  all  sorts  of  adversaries 
— Jews,  Pagans,  Turks,  infidels,  etc.;  and,  like  the  pillars  of  Hercules, 
the  rock  of  Gibraltar,  or  the  everlasting  mountains,  bids  defiance  to 
all  the  billows  of  the  ocean,  and  to  all  the  tempests  of  Satan,  to  shake 
it  from  its  immovable  basis.  To  those  who  desire  to  understand  it  for 
their  salvation,  we  intend  in  another  tract  to  make  a  few  suggestions 
on  the  best  method  of  reading  the  Bible  for  edification  and  comfort. 

A.    c. 
INSPIRATION    OF    THE    SCRIPTURES. 

On  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  "R.  R."  says,  1836,  page  345: 
The  proofs  for  the  divine  origin  of  our  sacred  writings,  or,  more 
correctly,  for  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  have  usually  been 
drawn  from  two  sources — the  Bible  itself,  and  those  displays  of  super- 
natural power  by  which  revelation  has  been  accompanied  and  con- 
firmed. The  latter,  which  are  termed  the  external  evidences,  are 
well  calculated  to  arrest  the  attention  and  compel  the  assent  of  the 
infidel;  while  the  internal  evidences,  furnished  by  the  Bible  itself, 
deepen  the  convictions  and  increase  the  faith  of  the  Christian.     These 


THE    AIILLEXMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  151 

divisions  are  no  doubt  sufficiently  convenient,  though  some  of  the  more 
important  proofs  would  seem  to  be  of  a  mixed  nature — as  prophecy, 
which  requires  a  prediction  within  the  Bible,  as  much  as  the  testi- 
mony of  fact  or  history  without.  Ihe  mutual  confirmation  furnished 
by  the  Bible  and  the  visible  universe  is  of  the  same  character;  lor 
though  the  former  bears  a  separate  testimony  that  God  has  created 
all  things,  yet  it  is  from  the  correspondencies  and  analogies  which  are 
observed  in  both,  and  the  congruity  which  exists  between  them,  that 
there  is  derived  a  most  interesting  and  conclusive  evidence  that  both 
have  proceeded  from  the  same  Author. 

Among  those  evidences  which  are  properly  called  internal,  there 
are  some  points  which  1  have  not  seen  much  noticed,  and  which, 
nevertheless,  in  my  opinion,  carry  no  little  weight  with  them.  One 
of  these,  to  which  we  will  at  present  confine  our  attention,  is  the 
omission  in  the  Bible  of  everything  which  tends  merely  to  gratify 
curiosity. 

The  passion  of  curiosity,  which  may  be  called  the  desire  of  knowl- 
edge, is  one  of  the  most  active  and  powerful  which  we  possess.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  indeed,  that  the  Divine  Being  has  implanted  in 
us  the  most  anxious  longings  for  those  things  which  are  really  the 
most  necessary  to  our  existence,  or  most  conducive  to  our  happiness. 
Thus  a  natural  inclination  leads  every  one  to  partake  of  these  neces- 
sary things,  and  the  support  of  life  as  well  as  the  pursuit  of  every- 
thing requisite  to  our  well-being,  instead  of  being  unwelcome  tasks 
imperfectly  performed  and  often  neglected,  become  the  most  urgent 
desires,  and  the  most  agreeable  employments.  As,  therefore,  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  is  most  necessary  to  fit  man  for  the  high 
purposes  of  his  creation,  he  has  been  endowed  with  an  almost  unlim- 
ited capacity  and  desire  for  knowledge.  This  is  a  desire  which  noth- 
ing can  abate,  and  which  extends  itself  to  everything  real  or  unreal, 
fact  or  fiction.  Who  has  not  witnessed  in  the  child  the  eager  passion 
for  the  tales  of  the  nursery?  Or,  when  the  narrator  has  stopped  in 
the  midst  of  a  marvelous  story,  who  has  not  observed  in  the  infant 
listener,  the  agony  of  ungratified  desire?  And  who  is  there,  indeed, 
old  or  young,  who  has  not  experienced  the  delight  derived  from  the 
acquisition  ot  knowledge,  or  felt  the  tortures  of  disappointed  curiosity? 

"  Witnoss  the  spriglitly  joy  wIh-ii    niif;lit  unkiidwii 
Slrikos  tlio  quick  sfii-c,  uiul  wakes  encli  notivo  powor 
To  bri->ki'r  in<'iisiiro>;  wiiiuws  tlic  ncglfct 
Of  all  funiiliiir  nlijcct-*,  tlioiiKli  Ix'licM 
Witli  trail-port  onoe— tlir  fond  alti'iUive  ga^o 
Of  young  a<toni»lini(Mit,  tlio  sober  zeal 
Of  ago  coiniiu'iitiiig  on  prodigiou-*  things. 
For  such  the  bounteous  providence  of  Heaven; 
In  every  breast  iniphtnlin).'  tliis  desire 
Of  object--  new  and  strange,     to  urge  us  on 


152  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

With  unicmitted  labor  to  pursue 
Those  sacred  stores,  that  wait  the  ripening  soul, 
In  Truth's  exhaustless  bosom. -What  need  words 
To  paint  its  powerV-lTor  this  the  daring  youth 
BrcaliS  from  his  weeping  mother's  anxious  arms 
In  foreign  climes  to  rove,-  the  pensive  sage, 
Heedless  of  sleep,  or  midnight's  harmful  damp. 

Hangs  o'er  the  sickly   taper 

Hence  by  night 

The  village  matron,  round  the  blazing  hearth, 

Suspends  the  infant  audience  with  her  talcs, 

Breathing  astonishment,— of  witching  rhymes 

And  evil  spirits,— of  the  deatli-bed  call, 

To  him  who  robb'd  the  witlow,  and  devour'd 

The  orphan's  portion,— of  unquiet  souls 

Bis'n  from  the  grave,  to  ease  the  heavy  guilt 

Of  deeds  in  life  conceal'd— of  shapes  that  walk 

At  dead  of  night,  and  clank  their  chains,  and  wave 

The  torch  of  hell  around  the  murderer's  bed. 

At  every  solemn  pause,  the  crowd  recoil. 

Gazing  each  other  speechless,  and  congeal'd 

With  shivering  sighs,— till,  eager  for  the  event, 

Around  the  beldame,  all  erect,  they  hang. 

Each  trembling  heart  with  grateful  terrors  quell'd." 

The  passion  of  curiosity,  like  every  other  strong  desire,  is  liable  to 
transcend  its  legitimate  boundaries  and  become  excessive.  An  insati- 
able appetite  for  the  marvelous  is  an  exemplification  of  this,  and  also 
the  desire  to  accumulate  vast  stores  of  knowledge  and  indulge  in 
remote  speculations  which  oppress  and  bewilder  the  mind,  and  can 
never  be  turned  to  any  useful  end.  Utility,  indeed,  is  the  purpose  for 
which  all  the  passions  and  faculties  are  given;  and  to  indulge  them 
further  than  this,  or  employ  them  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasure 
which  their  exercise  affords,  is  to  abuse  and  misapply  them.  This 
makes  the  distinction  between  virtue  and  vice;  and  it  is  such  an 
inordinate  or  unlawful  indulgence,  and  consequent  misuse  of  the 
powers  and  faculties  of  human  nature,  which  forms  a  striking  char- 
acteristic of  the  bulk  of  the  human  family.  Every  passion  too  which 
is  thus  indulged  is  thereby  increased  in  strength,  and  usurps  the 
place  and  the  powers  of  others,  as  the  cultivated  plant  widely  extends 
its  luxuriant  leaves,  and  monopolizes  the  nutritious  qualities  of  the 
soil.  Hence  such  passions,  like  the  miser's  love  of  gold,  become  as 
importunate  as  they  are  violent  and  insatiable. 

The  means  now  by  which  imposters  have  always  succeeded  in 
deceiving  men,  has  been  by  ministering  to  these  extravagant  desires, 
and  holding  out  a  bait  to  some  morbid  appetite,  until  the  bit  was 
in  their  mouth  and  the  saddle  upon  their  back.  And  amongst  all  the 
desires,  that  of  knowledge  has  been  particularly  regarded,  and  more 
especially  by  religious  imposters.  Like  the  tempter  of  Eve,  they  have 
proffered  godlike  knowledge,  in  exchange  for  obedience,  knowing  that 


THE    M1LIJ:.\.\JAL    llARBl'SOER    AliJUDGED.  153 

there  are  few  who  will  not,  like  our  first  parents,  forsake  the  path  of 
duty  for  the  gratifuation  of  curiosity. 

Thus  the  Mormonites,  in  our  own  day.  while  they  sought  to  min- 
ister to  this  passion  by  the  old  wives'  fables  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
niid  a  pretended  revelation  of  the  fortunes  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel, 
the  origin  of  the  Indian  nations,  Free-masonry,  etc.,  have  labored 
assiduously  to  keep  up  the  delusion  by  claims  of  miraculous  power, 
and  mysterious  visions,  and  the  novelty  of  a  splendid  decorated  and 
gorgeous  temple. 

Thus  too  the  arch  imposter  Mahomet,  while  he  permitted  to  his 
votaries  an  inordinate  indulgence  of  those  passions  to  which  the 
eastern  nations  are  peculiarly  addicted,  declares  expressly,  "We  have 
sent  thee  the  Alcoran  to  clear  to  men  the  doubts  touching  religion, 
and  to  guide  true  believers  into  the  right  way."  and  accordingly  pro- 
ceeds to  reveal  the  secret  cause  of  Satan's  expulsion  from  heaven. 
Reader,  would  you  like  to  know  it?— I  shall  not  tell  it  you— such 
knowledge  might  be  of  use  to  devils,  but  it  can  not  profit  man.  He 
also  gives  a  particular  account  of  the  Aaraf  or  Prisons,  a  place 
between  Hell  and  Paradise,  and  the  condition  of  the  persons  in  it; 
details  some  of  Noah's  conversation  with  the  antediluvians;  relates 
the  story  of  the  seven  sleepers,  and  furnishes  an  account  not  only  of 
the  particular  torments  of  the  wicked,  but  the  joys  of  the  righteous— 
the  gardens  "beautified  with  date  trees  and  vines,  and  rivers  flowing 
in  the  midst"— and  the  seven  heavens  with  all  their  glories;  not  to 
speak  of  his  journey  from  Mecca  to  Jerusalem  in  a  single  night— his 
supposed  visit  to  heaven  in  company  with  the  angel  Gabriel,  and 
mounted  on  a  white  Burac.  during  which  he  saw  all  the  prophets  that 
preceded  him,  and  the  wonders  of  Paradise— from  a  revelation  of  all 
which,  the  courteous  reader,  however  curious,  will  excuse  me.  Nor 
is  it  necessary  to  speak  of  the  visions  of  Baron  Swedenborg,  or  the 
peculiarities  of  the  many  deceivers  who  have  sought  to  gain  their 
purposes  by  consecrating  sensual  indulgence,  or  catering  novelties 
and  prodigies  for  the  eagerness  of  curiosity.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to 
know  that  such  traits  are  characteristic  of  them  all. 

But  it  is  not  so  with  the  Bible.  And  it  is  with  me  a  consideration 
of  no  little  weight  as  it  regards  the  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
sacred  volume,  that  it  is  the  only  professed  revelation  of  spiritual 
and  eternal  things  which  is  free  from  evekytiiing  cALcri-ATEu  to 
OHATiFY  MEUELY  A  vAix  ciKiosrrY.  In  it  there  is  nothing  whatever 
impertinent— nothing  unnecessary.  It  gives  us  no  useless  history  of 
devils  or  of  angels— the  secret  counsels  of  eternity  remain  undisclosed 
—the  peculiar  condition  of  departed  spirits  is  not  detailed— nor  are 
the  inhabitants  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  described.  It  is  intended 
for  man  during  his  abode  upon  this  earth.     It  begins  therefore  with 


154  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  creation  of  the  world  and  ends  with  its  destruction.  It  is  designed 
to  elevate  and  perfect  the  character  of  man.  It  presents  therefore  the 
Divine  Being,  as  manifested  in  his  works  of  creation  and  the  history 
of  the  human  family,  as  the  standard  of  perfection,  and  the  object 
of  supreme  regard.  Nothing  whatever  is  introduced  which  has  no 
tendency  to  inspire  confidence,  fortitude,  and  hope,  or  lead  to  personal 
purity  and  practical  benevolence.  It  neither  exposes  the  folly  of  the 
researches  of  antiquarians  and  philosophers,  nor  confirms  their  truth; 
and  the  history  of  future  events  is  concealed  in  symbols  and  enigmas 
which  are  only  to  be  understood  when  these  events  are  accomplished. 
And  finally,  even  the  glories  of  heaven,  the  nature,  laws,  inhabitants, 
and  enjoyments  of  that  eternal  world  which  it  presents  as  the  object 
of  hope,  are  dimly  sketched,  or  veiled  in  mysterious  and  allusive 
pictures. 

The  reason  of  his  reserve  is  obvious — that  man  should  neither  be 
diverted  from  the  acquisition  of  that  practical  knowledge  necessary 
to  his  condition,  through  the  indulgence  of  idle  curiosity  and  vain 
speculation;  nor  be  induced  to  neglect  his  duties  by  such  a  develop- 
ment of  the  future  as  would  wholly  engross  his  mind  and  his  affec- 
tions. Enough  is  revealed  to  enforce  duty,  and  to  excite  hope  without 
the  frenzy  of  enthusiasm. 

While  then  we  can  perceive  in  the  omission  of  everything  merely 
tending  to  gratify  curiosity,  indubitable  evidence  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures,  we  can  see  in  the  vain  attempt  to  be  wise  above 
what  is  written  and  to  intrude  into  things  which  they  have  not  seen, 
a  striking  manifestation  of  the  pride,  the  folly,  and  the  ignorance 
of  men. 

In  conclusion  I  may  be  permitted  to  illustrate  the  wisdom  of  this 
omission  on  the  part  of  Heaven  in  the  eloquent  language  of  St.  Pierre: 
"I  remember  that,  on  my  return  to  France  in  a  vessel  which  had 
been  on  a  voyage  to  India,  as  soon  as  the  sailors  had  perfectly  dis- 
tinguished the  land  of  their  native  country,  they  became,  in  a  great 
measure,  incapable  of  attending  to  the  duties  of  the  ship.  Some 
looked  at  it  wishfully,  without  the  power  of  minding  anything  else; 
others  dressed  themselves  in  their  best  clothes,  as  if  they  were 
going  that  moment  to  disembark;  some  talked  to  themselves,  and 
others  wept. 

"As  we  approached,  the  disorder  of  their  minds  increased.  As 
they  had  been  absent  several  years,  there  was  no  end  to  their  admira- 
tion of  the  hills,  the  foliage  of  the  trees,  and  even  the  rocks  which 
skirted  the  shore,  covered  with  weeds  and  mosses.  The  church  spires 
of  the  village  where  they  were  born,  which  they  distinguished  at  a 
distance  up  the  country,  and  which  they  named  one  after  another, 
filled  them  with  transports  of  delight. 


THE    MILLLSMAL    llAinUSGER    AlilUDillW.  1&5 

"But  when  the  vessel  entered  the  port,  and  when  they  saw  on  the 
quays  their  fathers,  their  mothers,  their  wives,  their  children,  and  their 
friends,  stretching  out  their  arms  with  tears  of  joy.  and  calling  them  Dy 
their  names,  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  retain  a  man  on  board;  they 
all  sprung  on  shore,  and  it  became  necessary,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  port,  to  employ  another  set  of  mariners  to  bring  the  vessel  to 
her  mooring. 

"What  then  would  be  the  case,  were  we  indulged  with  a  sensible 
display  of  that  heavenly  country,  inhabited  by  those  who  are  dearest 
to  us,  and  who  are  worthy  of  our  most  sublime  affections?  The  labo- 
rious and  vain  career  of  this  life  would  from  that  moment  come  to  an 
end.  Its  duties  would  be  forsaken,  and  all  our  powers  and  feelings 
would  be  lost  in  perpetual  rapture.  It  is  wisdom,  therefore,  that  a 
veil  is  spread  over  the  glories  of  futurity.  Let  us  enjoy  the  hope  that 
the  happy  land  awaits  us,  and  in  the  meantime  let  us  fulfill  with  cheer- 
fulness and  patience  what  belongs  to  our  present  condition." 

PRINCIPLES    OF    INTERPRETATION. 

On  Principles  of  Interpretation  he  writes: 

The  whole  Christian  religion,  in  its  facts,  its  precepts,  its  prom- 
ises, its  doctrine,  its  institutions,  is  presented  to  the  world  in  a 
written  record.  The  tcritings  of  Prophets  and  Apostles  contain  all  the 
divine  and  supernatural  knowledge  in  the  world.  Now,  unless  these 
sacred  writings  can  be  certainly  interpreted,  the  Christian  religion 
never  can  be  certainly  understood.  Every  argument  that  demonstrates 
the  necessity  of  such  a  written  document  as  the  Bible,  equally  dem 
onstrates  the  necessity  of  fixed  and  certain  principles  or  rules  of 
interpretation:  for  without  the  latter,  the  former  is  of  no  value  what- 
ever to  the  world. 

All  the  differences  in  religious  faith,  opinion  and  sentiment, 
amongst  those  who  acknowledge  the  Bible,  are  occasioned  by  false 
principles  of  interpretation,  or  by  a  misapplication  of  the  true  prin- 
ciples. There  is  no  law,  nor  standard — literary,  moral,  or  religious — 
that  can  coerce  human  thought  or  action,  by  only  promulging  or 
acknowledging  it.  If  a  law  can  effect  anything,  our  actions  must  be 
conformed  to  it.  Were  all  students  of  the  Bible  taught  to  apply  the 
same  rules  of  interpretation  to  its  pages,  there  would  be  a  greater 
uniformity  in  opinion  and  sentiment  than  ever  resulted  from  the 
simple  adoption  of  any  written  creed. 

Great  unanimity  has  obtained  in  most  of  the  sciences  in  conse- 
quence of  the  adoption  of  certain  rules  of  analysis  and  synthesis:  for 
all  who  work  by  the  same  rules,  come  to  the  same  conclusions.  And 
may  it  not  be  possible,  that  in  this  divine  science  of  religion,  there 
may  yet  be  a  very  great  degree  of  unanimity  of  sentiment  and  uni- 


156  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

formity  of  practice  amongst  all  who  acknowledge  its  divine  authority? 
Is  the  school  of  Christ  the  only  school  in  which  there  can  be  no 
unanimity — no  proficiency  in  knowledge?  Is  the  Book  of  God  the  only 
volume  which  can  never  be  understood  alike  by  those  who  read  and 
study  it?  It  can  not  be  supposed,  but  by  dishonoring  God:  for  as 
all  the  children  of  God  are  taught  by  God,  if  they  are  necessarily  unin- 
telligent in  his  oracles  and  discordant  in  their  views,  the  deficiencies 
must  rather  be  imputed  to  the  teacher  than  to  the  taught;  for  the 
pupils  in  this  school  can  be  taught  other  sciences  in  other  schools, 
with  such  uniformity  and  harmony  of  views,  as  to  make  it  manifest 
to  all  that  they  are  the  disciples  of  one  teacher. 

God's  Book  is,  however,  put  into  the  hands  of  men  as  it  was  first 
spoken  to  men;  but  they  have,  in  some  cases,  been  taught  not  to 
receive  it  from  God,  but  from  men.  They  do  not  consider  that  the 
written  book  as  well  as  the  spoken  word,  is  tendered  to  us  under  the 
stipulations  of  human  language — according  to  the  contract  between 
man  and  man,  touching  the  value  or  meaning  of  the  currency  of 
thought — that  every  word  and  sentence  is  to  be  weighed  and  tested  by 
the  constitutional  laws  and  standards  of  the  currency  of  ideas. 

When  one  person  addresses  another,  he  supposes  the  person 
addressed  competent  to  interpret  his  words;  and,  therefore,  all  wise 
and  benevolent  men  select  such  words  and  phrases  as,  in  their  judg- 
ment, can  be  interpreted  by  those  addressed.  Every  speaker  proceeds, 
in  all  hia  communications,  upon  the  principle  that  his  hearer  is  an 
interpreter — that  he  has  not  first  to  be  taught  the  science  of  interpre- 
tation; and  that  he  is  bound  so  to  express  himself,  that  his  hearer 
may  interpret  and  understand  his  words  by  an  art  which  is  supposed 
to  be  native — which  is  indeed  universal — common  to  all  nations,  bar- 
barous aa  well  as  civilized. 

Now,  as  God  is  infinitely  wise  and  benevolent  in  all  his  oral  com- 
munications to  men,  he  proceeded  upon  the  principle  that  they  were, 
by  this  native  art,  competent  interpreters  of  his  expressions;  for  other- 
wise, his  addresses  could  be  of  no  value.  He  could  not  even  begin 
to  teach  them  a  new  art  of  interpretation,  as  respected  his  communi- 
cations, but  by  using  their  own  words  in  the  stipulated  sense,  unless 
we  imagine  a  miracle  in  every  case,  and  suppose  that  all  his  words 
were  to  be  understood  by  a  miraculous  interposition.  And  this  idea, 
if  carried  out,  would  make  a  rerbal  revelation  of  no  value  whatever 
to  the  children  of  men. 

If  human  language  had  never  been  confounded — if  a  multitude  of 
different  dialects  had  not  been  introduced — no  occasion  for  translating 
language,  as  a  matter  of  course,  would  ever  have  existed.  Again,  if 
words  and  phrases,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  mankind,  were 
unchangeably  fixed,  or  universally  the  same  at  all  times  and  in  all 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  Vol 

countries,  the  art  of  interpreting  would  have  been  still  more  simple 
than  it  is;  for  so  far  as  it  is  artificial,  it  is  owing  to  different  dia- 
lects, idioms,  manners,  customs,  and  all  the  varieties  which  the  ever- 
changing  conditions  of  society  have  originated  and  are  still  originating. 

At  present,  however,  we  would  only  impress  upon  the  mind  of  the 
reader,  that  the  very  fact  that  we  have  a  written  revelation — that 
this  revelation  was  first  spoken,  then  written — supposes  that  there  is 
somewhere  a  native  or  an  acquired  art  of  interpretation;  that  the 
persons  addressed  were  already  in  possession  of  that  art:  for  with- 
out such  an  understanding,  there  would  have  been  neither  wisdom 
nor  benevolence  in  giving  to  mankind  any  verbal  communication 
from  God. 

In  the  present  essay  we  shall  offer  a  very  few  remarks  upon,  first, 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible;  second,  the  language  of  the  Bible;  third, 
the  distribution  of  the  Bible  into  chapters  and  verses;  fourth,  the 
different  dispensations  of  redemption;  and  fifth,  offer  seven  cardinal 
rules  of  interpretation: — 

Revelation  and  inspiration,  properly  so  called,  have  to  do  only  with 
such  subjects  as  are  supernatural,  or  beyond  the  reach  of  human  intel- 
lect, in  its  most  cultivated  and  elevated  state.  In  this  sense  "holy  men 
of  God  spoke  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  But  besides 
this  inspiration  of  original  and  supernatural  ideas,  there  was  another 
species  of  supernatural  aid  afforded  the  saints  who  wrote  the  historical 
parts  of  the  sacred  scripture.  There  was  a  revival  in  their  minds  of 
what  they  themselves  had  seen  and  heard;  and  in  reference  to  tradi- 
tions handed  down,  such  a  superintendency  of  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge  as  excluded  the  possibility  of  mistake  in  the  matters 
of  fact  which  they  recorded.  The  promise  of  "leading  into  all  truth,* 
and  the  promise  of  "bringing  all  things  before  known  to  remem- 
brance," by  the  Holy  Spirit,  include  all  that  we  understand  by  inspira- 
tion in  its  primary  and  secondary  import. 

But  while  this  inspiration  precluded  the  selection  of  incorrect  or 
unsuitable  words  and  sentences,  the  inspired  men  delivered  super- 
natural communications  in  their  own  peculiar  modes  of  expressing 
themselves.  To  illustrate  my  meaning  by  another  reference  to  the 
gift  of  tongue,  the  subjects  of  that  splendid  gift  in  a  moment  under- 
stood those  foreign  languages  as  well  at  least  as  they  knew  their 
own;  and  in  expressing  themselves  selected  such  terms  as,  in  their 
judgment,  most  fitly  and  intelligibly  communicated  their  ideas.  In 
other  words,  their  own  judgment  or  taste  in  the  sele<'tion  of  terms 
was  not  suspended  by  the  new  language.  They  used  the  terms  of  the 
new  dialect,  as  they  used  the  terms  of  their  native  tongue — chose 
such  as.  in  their  judgment,  would  most  clearly  and  forcibly  reveal 
the  mind  of  the  Spirit  to  their  hearers. 


158  THi:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

We  regard  the  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  as  gifted  with  a  full  and 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  Christian  institution;  which  entitled  them, 
without  the  possibility  of  error,  to  open  to  mankind  the  whole  will 
of  their  Master,  whether  in  the  form  of  fact,  precept,  promise,  or 
threatening;  and  as  furnished  with  such  a  knowledge  of  the  signs  of 
those  ideas  in  human  language  as  to  express  this  knowledge  clearly, 
accurately  and  infallibly  to  mankind.  But  from  what  they  have 
spoken  and  written,  we  are  authorized  to  think  that  they  were  as 
free  in  the  selection  of  words  and  phrases  as  I  am  in  endeavoring  to 
communicate  my  views  of  their  inspiration. 

My  reasons  for  this  opinion  are,  that  neither  the  Prophets  nor  the 
Apostles  exhibit  any  sort  of  solicitude  in  always  expressing  them- 
selves in  the  same  words  upon  the  same  subject.  Nor  does  any  one 
of  them  seem  at  all  concerned  to  be  consistent  with  himself  on  all 
occasions,  in  using  the  same  words;  either  in  delivering  precepts, 
uttering  promises,  or  in  giving  a  narrative  of  any  of  the  incidents 
of  his  own  life  or  those  of  his  companions.  We  have  no  less  than 
three  accounts  of  Paul's  conversion  and  mission  to  the  Gentiles — 
one  from  Luke,  and  two  from  himself;  one  delivered  to  the  Jews 
in  Jerusalem,  and  one  before  Agrippa;  yet  no  two  of  them  agree  in 
word,  though  in  sense  they  are  uniformly  the  same.*  We  have  two 
accounts  of  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles — one  by  Luke,  and  one 
by  Peter  ;t  and  these  are  as  diverse  in  words,  though  as  accordant 
in  sense,  as  the  narratives  of  Paul's  conversion.  We  have  four  memoirs 
of  Jesus  Christ,  brief  records  of  his  sayings  and  doings;  and  yet  no 
two  of  them  agree  in  words,  in  narrating  a  single  speech,  or  in 
describing  a  single  incident  in  his  life;  though  there  is,  as  far  as 
they  severally  relate,  a  most  perfect  harmony  in  sense. 

Peter's  allusion  to  the  epistles  of  Paul  fully  expresses  all  that  wo 
desire  to  teach  on  this  subject.  "Paul  wrote,"  says  he,  '"according  to 
the  ivisdom  given  him."  Paul's  epistles  are,  then,  the  development  and 
application  of  that  wisdom  given  to  him,  expressed  in  his  own  style. 
It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that,  guided  by  wisdom,  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  select,  on  any  occasion,  words  or  phrases  inaccurate,  or  not 
clearly  and  fully  expressive  of  the  ideas  suggested;  so  that  as  Paul 
himself  says,  he  explained  spiritual  things  in  spiritual  words,  or  in 
words  taught  by  the  Spirit.  We  must,  therefore,  regard  these  words 
as  the  words  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  God's  Spirit  speaking  to  them, 
through  such  words  as  were  natural  to  them  from  education  and 
habit.  According  to  these  views,  the  English,  or  German,  or  French 
New  Testament,  is  as  much  the  word  of  the  Spirit  as  the  Greek 
original,   if   that  original   is  faithfully  translated;    but  in  any   other 


*Acts  IX.,  xxu.,  xxiv.  +Actsx.,  xi. 


77//;    MILLENNIAL    HAUIilNGElt    AURWaED.  159 

view  of  inspiration,  we  liuve  not  the  word  of  God,  nor  tlie  teachings 
of  the  Spirit,  only  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals  of  the  two 
covenants. 

Before  we  dismisa  this  subject  it  may  be  observed  that  we  find 
many  things  in  tliese  writings  which  are  quite  natural  and  common, 
for  which  inspiration  is  neither  claimed  nor  pretended;  many  speci- 
mens of  which  will  occur  to  the  reader,  when  one  is  fairly  exam- 
ined. "Make  haste  to  come  to  me  soon;  for  Demas  having  loved  the 
present  world  has  forsaken  me,  and  is  gone  into  Thessalonica,  Cres- 
cens  into  Galatia,  and  Titus  into  Dalmatia.  Only  Luke  is  with  me. 
Take  Mark  and  bring  him  with  you,  for  he  is  very  useful  to  me  in 
the  ministry.  But  I'ychycus  I  have  sent  to  Ephesus.  The  cloak 
which  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus  bring  with  you,  and  the  books,  but 
especially  the  parchments."* 

The  Apostles,  acting  under  the  high  authority  and  commission  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  inspired  with  all  divine  and  supernatural  knowl- 
edge, exhibited  in  doctrine,  in  precepts,  ordinances,  promises,  threat- 
enings,  and  developments  of  things  spiritual,  celestial,  eternal,  are,  ia 
consequence  of  these  endowments  and  authority,  worthy  of  all  respect 
and  regard,  even  when  writing  upon  the  most  common  matters;  and 
these  apparently  uninteresting  things  are  to  the  student  of  the  Liv- 
ing Oracles,  of  great  value  and  of  indispensable  importance  in  giving 
a  full  development  of  the  religion  of  Christianity,  in  all  its  con- 
descensions and  adaptations  to  the  most  minute  and  common  concerns 
and  business  of  this  life. 

God  has  spoken  by  men,  to  men,  for  men.  The  language  of  the 
Bible  is,  then,  human  language.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be  examined  by 
the  same  rules  which  are  applicable  to  the  language  of  any  other 
book,  and  to  be  understood  according  to  the  true  and  proper  mean- 
ing of  the  words,  in  their  current  acceptation,  at  the  times  and  in 
the  places  in  which  they  were  originally  written  or  translated. 

If  we  have  a  revelation  from  God  in  human  language,  the  words 
of  that  volume  must  be  intelligible  by  the  common  usage  of  language; 
they  must  be  precise  and  determinate  in  signification,  and  that  sig- 
nification must  be  philologically  ascertained — that  is,  as  the  words 
and  sentences  of  other  books  are  ascertained,  by  the  use  of  the  dic- 
tionary and  grammar.  Were  it  otherwise,  and  did  men  require  a 
new  dictionary  and  grammar  to  understand  the  Book  of  God — then, 
without  that  divine  dictionary  and  grammar,  we  could  have  no  rev- 
elation from  God;  for  a  revelation  that  needs  to  be  revealed  ia  no 
revelation  at  all. 

Again,  if  any  special  rules  are  to  be  sought  for  the  interpretation 
of   the   sacred    writings,    unless   these   rules   have   been   given    in   thy 

•II.  Tim.  iv.H-VI. 


160  THU    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

volume,  as  a  part  of  tlie  revelation,  and  are  of  divine  authority — • 
without  such  rules,  the  Book  is  sealed;  and  I  know  of  no  greater 
abuse  of  language  than  to  call  a  sealed  book  a  Revelation. 

But  the  fact  that  God  has  clothed  his  communications  in  human 
language,  and  that  he  has  spoken  by  men,  to  men,  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, is  decisive  evidence  that  he  is  to  be  understood  as  one  man 
conversing  with  another.  Righteousness,  or  what  we  sometimes  call 
honesty,  requires  this;  for  unless  he  first  made  a  special  stipulation 
when  he  began  to  speak,  his  words  were,  in  all  candor,  to  be  taken 
at  the  current  value;  for  he  that  would  contract  with  a  man  for  any- 
thing, stipulating  his  contract  in  the  currency  of  the  country,  without 
any  explanation,  and  should  afterwards  intimate  that  a  Dollar  with 
him  meant  only  tJiree  Franks,  would  be  regarded  as  a  dishonest  and 
unjust  man.  And  shall  we  impute  to  the  God  of  truth  and  justice 
what  would  blast  the  reputation  of  a  fellow-citizen  at  the  tribunal  of 
political  justice  and  public  opinion! 

As,  then,  there  is  no  divine  dictionary,  grammar,  or  special  rules 
of  interpretation  for  the  Bible,  then  that  Book,  to  be  understood, 
must  be  submitted  to  the  common  dictionary,  grammar,  and  rules  of 
the  language  in  which  it  was  written;  and  as  a  living  language  is 
constantly  fluctuating,  the  true  and  proper  meaning  of  the  words 
and  sentences  of  the  Bible  must  be  learned  from  the  acceptation  of 
those  words  and  phrases  in  the  times  and  countries  in  which  it  was 
written.  In  all  this  there  is  nothing  special;  for  Diodorus,  Herodo- 
tus, Josephus,  Philo,  Tacitus,  Sallust,  etc.,  and  all  the  writers  of  all 
languages,  ages  and  nations,  are  translated  and  understood  in  the 
same  manner. 

Enthusiasts  and  fanatics  of  all  ages  determine  the  meaning  of 
words  from  that  knowledge  of  things  which  they  imagine  them- 
selves to  possess,  rather  than  from  the  words  of  the  author:  "they 
decide  by  what  they  suppose  he  ought  to  mean,  rather  than  by 
what  he  says." 

To  adopt  any  other  course,  or  to  apply  any  other  rules,  would 
necessarily  divest  the  sacred  writings  of  every  attribute  that  belongs 
to  the  idea  of  revelation.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  in  perusing 
the  Bible,  that  in  the  structure  of  sentences,  in  the  figures  of  speech, 
in  the  arrangement  and  use  of  words,  it  differs  not  at  all  from 
other  writings;  and  must,  therefore,  be  understood  and  interpreted 
as  they  are. 

How,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  its  words  to  be  acquired?  Every 
word  in  the  Scripture  has  some  idea  attached  to  it,  which  we  call 
its  sense,  or  meaning.  But  this  meaning  is  not  natural,  but  conven- 
tional. It  is  agreement,  usage,  or  custom,  that  has  constituted  a 
connection   between   words  and   the   ideas   represented  by   them,    and 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    AJiRlUOED.  Itil 

this  connection  between  words  and  ideas  has  becuinc  necessary  by 
usage. 

How  this  originated  is  not  the  question  bciuru  us;  ihc  ia<  i  is  ail 
that  now  interests  us.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to  afBx  what  meaning 
we  please  to  words,  nor  to  use  them  arbitrarily;  inasmuch  as  custom 
has  affixed,   by   common  consent,  a  meaning  to  them. 

The  meaning  ol'  words  is,  therefore,  now  to  be  ascertained  by 
tcslimony ;  and  that  testimony  we  have  collected  in  those  books  called 
dictionaries,  which,  by  the  consent  of  those  who  spoke  that  language 
faithl'ully,  represent  the  meaning  attached  to  those  terms,  or  the  ideas 
of  which  those  words  were  the  signs.  "The  fact,"  says  Professor 
Stuart,  "that  usage  has  attached  any  particular  meaning  to  a  word, 
like  any  other  historical  fact,  is  to  be  proved  by  adequate  testimony. 
That  testimony  may  be  drawn  from  books  in  which  the  word  is 
employed,  or  from  daily  use  in  conversation.  But  the  fact  of  a  par- 
ticular meaning  being  attached  to  a  word  when  once  established,  can 
no  more  be  changed  or  denied  than  any  historical  event  whatever.  Of 
course,  an  arbilrary  sense  can  never  with  propriety  be  substituted 
for  a  real  one.  All  men  in  their  daily  conversation  and  writings 
attach  but  one  sense  to  a  word  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
passage,  unless  they  design  to  speak  in  enigmas.  Of  course,  it  would 
be  in  opposition  to  the  universal  custom  of  language,  if  more  than  one 
meaning  should  be  attached  to  any  word  in  Scripture,  in  such  a  case" 
— that  is,  in  the  same  passage,  and  at  the  same  time. 

But,  although  a  word  has  but  one  meaning  at  the  same  time  and 
in  the  same  passage,  it  may,  at  another  time  and  in  another  passage 
have  a  different  meaning:  for  many  words  have,  by  common  consent, 
more  meanings  than  one.  This  is  what  has  caused  so  much  ambigu 
ity  in  language,  and  so  much  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  meaning 
of  some  sentences  and  passages  in  all  authors,  and  in  the  sacred 
writings. 

Every  word,  indeed,  had  but  one  meaning  at  first;  but  to  prevent 
the  multiplication  of  words  to  an  indefinite  extent,  and  to  obviate 
the  difficulties  that  would  thence  arise  in  the  acquisition  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  a  language,  words,  in  process  of  time,  were  used  to  represent 
different  meanings.  A  question  then  arises,  IIoiv  shall  ice  o/ira.v? 
ascertain  the  meaning  of  any  particular  uordf  If  it  have  but  one 
meaning,  testimony  or  the  dictionary  decides  it  at  once;  but  if  it  have 
more  meanings  than  one,  the  proximate  words  used  in  construction 
with  it,  usually  called  the  context,  together  with  the  design  of  the 
speaker  or  writer,  must  decide  its  meaning.  Usage  and  the  context 
will  generally  decide.  If  these  fail,  the  design  of  the  speaker  and 
the  parallel  passages  must  be  summoned.  These  are  the  aids  which 
the  canons  of  interpretation   authorize  in   such  cases. 


162  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

That  there  is,  generally,  perfect  certainty  in  the  proper  interpre- 
tation of  a  word — that  is,  in  ascertaining  or  communicating  its  mean- 
ing (for  this  is  what  is  properly  called  the  act  of  interpretation),  is 
felt  and  acknowledged  on  all  hands.  But  the  foundation,  or  reason 
of  this  certainty,  is  a  matter  which  should  be  evident  to  all. 

Now,  unless  we  are  compelled  by  necessity,  arising  from  the  laws 
of  language,  to  any  particular  meaning,  there  can  be  no  certainty. 
Therefore,  this  compulsion  is  the  very  cause  of  certainty.  Philologi- 
cal necessity,  or  that  necessity  which  the  common  usage  of  a  word, 
the  context,  the  design  of  the  writer  create,  in  giving  a  particular 
meaning  to  a  word  in  a  sentence,  is  the  ground  of  that  complete 
certainty,  which,  whether  it  can  or  can  not  explain,  everyone  feels 
in  the  meaning  of  the  language.  And  as  a  very  eminent  critic  has 
said,  "If  any  one  should  deny  that  the  above  precepts  lead  to  cer- 
tainty, when  strictly  observed,  he  would  deny  the  possibility  of  find- 
ing the  meaning  of  language  with  certainty."  These  remarks  would 
be  sufficient  to  guide  us  in  acquiring  the  meaning  of  words,  if  they 
had  any  one  class  of  meanings.  But  there  is  the  literal  and  the 
topical  or  figurative  meaning  of  words,  which  must  be  distinguished 
before  we  can  feel  ourselves  competent  to  decide,  with  perfect  cer- 
tainty, the  true  and  proper  meaning  of  any  composition. 

And,  first,  of  the  literal  meaning  of  tcords.  As  has  been  observed, 
every  word  originally  had  but  one  meaning;  and  this,  of  course,  which 
was  first,  was  the  natural,  or  the  literal  meaning.  Some  of  our 
most  approved  philologists  and  grammarians  define  the  literal  sense 
of  words  to  be,  "The  sense  which  is  so  connected  with  them,  that  it 
is  first  in  order,  and  is  spontaneously  presented  to  the  mind,  as  soon 
as  the  sound  of  the  word  is  heard."  "The  literal  sense  does  not 
differ,"  says  the  celebrated  Ernesti,  "among  the  older  and  valuable 
writers,  from  the  sense  of  the  letter."  But  better  defined  by  Professor 
Stuart,  of  Andover:  "The  literal  sense  is  the  same  as  the  inimitive 
or  original  sense;  or,  at  least,  it  is  equivalent  to  that  sense  which 
has  usurped  the  place  of  the  original  one:  for  example,  the  original 
sense  of  the  word  tragedy  has  long  ceased  to  be  current;  and  the 
literal  sense  of  this  word,  now,  is  that  which  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  original  one."  Popular  writers,  in  speaking  of  the  sense  of  words, 
are  wont  to  substitute  grammatical  for  literal,  as  equivalent;  because 
literal,  in  its  Latin  extraction,  and  grammatical,  in  its  Greek  extrac- 
tion, exactly  represent  the  same  thing.  But  in  a  shade  differing  from 
these  they  use  the  word  historical  in  reference  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  Scriptures.  "Since,"  says  T.  H.  Home,  in  his  Introduction, 
"it  is  not  sufficient  to  know  grammatically  the  different  expressions 
employed  by  writers  to  interpret  ancient  works,  so  it  is  necessary 
that  we  add  historical  interpretation  to   our  grammatical   or   literal 


THE    MILLLSMAL    IJAliBlXUKli    ABRIDGED.  103 

kuowledge.  By  historical  interpretatiou,  we  are  to  understand  that 
we  give  to  the  words  of  the  sacred  author  the  sense  which  they  bore 
in  the  age  when  he  lived,  and  which  is  agreeable  to  the  degree  of 
knowledge  which  he  possessed,  as  well  as  conformable  to  the  religion 
professed  by  him,  and  to  the  sacred  and  civil  rights  or  customs  that 
obtained  when  he  flourished." 

When,  however,  we  speak  of  the  literal  or  grammatical  sense  of  a 
word,  we  mean  no  more  than  its  primitive  meaning.  And  when  we 
speak  of  the  histurUal  meaning  of  a  word,  we  mean  its  meaning  at 
any  given  time.  The  figurative  meaning  of  words  belongs  to 
another  chapter. 

In  no  book  in  the  world  is  the  literal  sense  of  words  the  only 
sense;  and  still  less  in  the  Bible.  But  no  book  in  the  world,  either 
among  the  ancients  or  the  moderns,  has  been  interpreted,  quoted,  and 
applied  so  licentiously  as  the  Bible.  Learned  and  unlearned  have 
quoted  and  applied  its  words,  as  if  its  authors  were  outlaws  and  rebels 
in  the  commonwealth  of  letters.  Some  of  the  ancient  Jews  said  that 
every  letter  in  a  word  in  the  Old  Testament  had  a  special  meaning, 
and  the  very  openings  of  the  mouth  to  pronounce  them  was  signifi- 
cant of  something  sacred.  The  rabbinic  maxim  used  to  be,  and  per- 
haps still  is,  "On  every  point  of  the  Scriptures  hang  suspended  moun- 
tains of  sense."  The  Talmud  says,  "God  so  gave  the  law  to  Moses, 
that  a  thing  can  be  shown  to  be  clean  and  unclean  forty-nine  differ- 
ent ways."  Little  more  than  a  century  ago,  Cocceius,  of  Leyden, 
maintained  that  "all  the  possible  meanings  of  a  word  are  to  be 
united."     He  raised  a  considerable  party  upon  this  principle. 

But  an  opposite  extreme,  and  quite  as  dangerous,  into  which  some 
have  run,  is,  that  "some  passages  of  the  Scriptures  have  no  literal 
meaning  at  all."  If  by  this  it  were  understood  that  some  passages 
have  only  a  tropical  or  figurative  meaning,  it  might  be  admitted 
without  detriment  to  our  knowledge  of  the  will  of  Heaven;  but  as 
it  is  understood  by  many,  a  license  is  taken  to  allegorize,  not  only 
the  historical  part  of  both  Testaments,  but  also  the  miracles  of  Moses, 
of  Christ,  and  of  the  Apostles — the  paradisaical  state,  the  flood,  and 
even  the  precepts  and  promises  of  the  gospel  institution;  so  that  the 
whole  revelation  of  God  is  thrown  into  the  laboratory  of  every  man's 
imagination,  and  the  key  of  knowledge  forever  taken  from  the  people. 
That  the  words  of  the  sacred  writings  are  taken  both  literally  and 
figuratively,  as  the  words  of  all  other  books,  is  now  almost  universally 
concedetl;  and  that  the  true  sense  of  the  words  is  the  true  doctrine 
of  the  Bible,  is  daily  gaining  ground  amongst  the  most  learned  and 
skillful  interpreters:  in  one  word,  that  the  Bible  is  not  to  be  Inter- 
preted arbitrarily,  is  the  most  valuable  discovery  or  concession  of 
this  generation.    This,  indeed,  was  confessed  by  our  most  distingiiished 


164  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

reformers.  Melancthon  said,  "The  Scripture  can  not  be  understood 
theologically  until  it  is  understood  grammatically.''  And  Luther 
affirmed  that  "a  certain  knowledge  of  Scripture  depends  only  upon  a 
knowledge  of  its  words." 

The  various  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  sacred  Scriptures 
into  chapters,  verses,  and  members  of  sentences,  are  of  human  author- 
ity, and  to  be  regulated  as  such.  Anciently  all  the  books  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures  were  written  in  one  continuous  manner — without  a  break, 
a  chapter,  or  a  verse.  The  division  into  chapters  that  now  universally 
obtains  in  Europe,  derived  its  origin  from  Cardinal  Cairo,  who  lived 
in  the  twelfth  century.  The  subdivision  into  verses  is  of  no  older 
date  than  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  was  the  invention 
of  Robert  Stevens.  Whatever  advantage  these  divisions  may  have 
been  in  the  way  of  facilitating  references,  they  have  so  dislocated  and 
broken  to  pieces  the  connection,  as  not  only  to  have  given  to  the 
Scriptures  the  appearance  of  a  book  of  proverbs,  but  have  thrown 
great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  an  easy  intelligence  of  them.  The 
punctuation,  too,  being  necessarily  dependent  on  these  divisions,  is  far 
from  accurate;  and,  taken  altogether,  it  affords  a  demonstration  that 
there  is  no  more  divinity  in  the  chapters,  verses,  commas,  semicolons, 
colons  and  periods  of  the  inspired  writings  than  there  is  in  the  paper 
on  which  they  are  inscribed,  or  in  the  ink  by  which  they  are  depicted 
to  our  view. 

From  all  of  which,  facts,  the  following  rule  is  of  essential  import- 
ance:— 

In  reading  the  historical  and  epistolary  parts  of  the  sacred  writ- 
ings, begin  at  the  beginning  and  follow  the  writer  in  the  train  of  his 
own  thoughts  and  reasonings  to  the  end  of  the  subject  on  which  he 
writes,  irrespective  of  chapters  and  verses. 

This  rule  must  be  observed  in  all  cases  when  we  read  for  the  saka 
of  understanding  any  of  the  sacred  books  or  letters. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  by  him  who  would  be  a  scribe, 
well  instructed  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  that  the  whole  Bible  com- 
prehends three  distinct  dispensations  of  religion,  or  three  different 
administrations  of  mercy  to  the  human  race.  These  are  the  Patri- 
archal, Jewish  and  Christian  ages  of  the  world. 

There  are  three  high  priesthoods,  viz.:  that  of  Melchizedek,  that 
of  Aaron,  and  that  of  Jesus  the  Messiah;  and  under  each  of  these 
there  will  be  found  a  different  economy  of  things.  A  knowledge  of 
the  leading  peculiarities  of  each  is  essential  to  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  any  of  them  and  the  right  interpretation  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  a  standing  maxim  in  religion,  that,  the  priesthood  being 
changed,  there  is  of  necessity  a  change  of  the  law  pertaining  to 
acceptable  worship. 


TH£    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  165 

After  the  close  of  one  dispensation,  and  the  commencement  of 
a  new  one,  no  man  could  be  accepted  in  his  approaches  to  God  by  the 
preceding  economy.  Moses,  nor  Aaron,  nor  the  people  of  the  Jews, 
after  they  had  departed  from  Sinai,  dare  approach  God  by  sacrifice — 
as  Abraham,   Isaac,   and   Jacob  were  wont  to  do. 

The  sovereignty  and  wisdom  of  God  is  most  conspicuous  in  these 
arrangements.  But  it  is  our  present  duty  only  to  say,  that  before  we 
can  feel  any  confidence  in  our  interpretations  of  any  law,  command- 
ment, or  Institution  of  religion,  a  previous  question  must  always  be 
decided — viz.:    To  uhat  dispensation  did  it  belong.' 

We  shall  now  conclude  this  summary  view  of  the  principles  of 
interpretation,  by  stating  in  order  seven  general  rules  of  inter- 
pretation of  primary  importance,  deduced  from  the  preceding 
reflections: 

Rule  I.  On  opening  any  book  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  consider 
first  the  historical  circumstances  of  the  book.  These  are  the  order, 
the  title,  the  author,  the  date,  the  place,  and  the  occasion  of  it. 

II.  In  examining  the  contents  of  any  book,  as  respects  precepts, 
promises,  exhortations,  etc.,  observe  who  it  is  that  speaks,  and  under 
what  dispensation  he  officiates.  Is  he  a  Patriarch,  a  Jew,  or  a  Chris- 
tian? Consider  also  the  persons  addressed — their  prejudices,  char- 
acters, and  religious  relations.  Are  they  Jews  or  Christians — 
believers  or  unbelievers — approved  or  disapproved?  This  rule  is 
essential  to  the  proper  application  of  every  command,  promise,  threat- 
ening, admonition,  or  exhortation,  in  Old  Testament  or  New. 

III.  To  understand  the  meaning  of  what  is  commanded,  promised, 
taught,  etc.,  the  same  philological  principles,  deduced  from  the  nature 
of  language,  or  the  same  laws  of  interpretation  which  are  applied  to 
the  language  of  other  books,  are  to  be  applied  to  the  language  of  the 
Bible. 

IV.  Common  usage,  which  can  only  be  ascertained  by  testimony, 
must  always  decide  the  meaning  of  any  word  which  has  but  one  sig- 
nification; but  when  words  have  according  to  testimony — (i.  e..  the 
Dictionary) — more  meanings  than  one,  whether  literal  or  figurative, 
the  scope,  the  context,  or  parallel  passages  must  decide  the  meaning; 
for  if  common  usage,  the  design  of  the  writer,  the  context,  and  par- 
allel passages  fail,  there  can  be  no  certainty  in  the  interpretation  of 
language. 

V.  In  all  tropical  language  ascertain  the  point  or  resemblance,  and 
judge  of  the  nature  of  the  trope,  and  its  kind,  from  the  point  of 
resemblance. 

VI.  In  the  interpretation  of  symbols,  types,  allegories,  and  par- 
ables, this  rule  is  supreme.  Ascertain  the  point  to  be  illustrated; 
for  comparison   i.s  never  to  be  extended  beyond  that  point — to  all  the 


166  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

attributes,  qualities,  or  circumstances  of  the  symbol,  type,  allegory, 
or   parable. 

VII.  For  the  salutary  and  sanctifying  intelligence  of  the  oracles 
of  God,  the  following  rule  is  indispensable:  Y/e  must  come  within 
the  understanding  distance. 

There  is  a  distance  which  is  properly  called  the  speaking  distance, 
or  the  hearing  distance,  beyond  which  the  voice  reaches  not,  and  the 
ear  hears  not.  To  hear  another,  we  must  come  within  that  circle 
which  the  voice  audibly  fills. 

Now  we  may  with  propriety  say,  that  as  it  respects  God,  there  is 
an  understanding  distance.  All  beyond  that  distance  can  not  under- 
stand God;  all  within  it  can  easily  understand  him  in  all  matters  of 
piety  and  morality.  God  himself  is  the  center  of  that  circle,  and 
humility  is  its  circumference. 

The  wisdom  of  God  is  as  evident  in  adapting  the  light  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  to  our  spiritual  vision,  as  in  adjusting  the  light  of 
day  to  our  eyes.  The  light  reaches  us  without  an  effort  of  our  own; 
but  we  musi  open  our  eyes;  and  if  our  eyes  be  sound,  we  enjoy  the 
natural  light  of  heaven.  There  is  a  sound  eye  in  reference  to  spirit- 
ual, as  well  as  in  reference  to  material  light.  Now,  while  the  philo- 
logical principles  and  rules  of  interpretation  enable  many  men  to 
be  skillful  in  biblical  criticism,  and  in  the  interpretation  of  words 
and  sentences,  who  neither  perceive  nor  admire  the  things  repre- 
sented by  those  words,  the  sound  eye  contemplates  the  things  them- 
selves, and  is  ravished  with  the  spiritual  and  divine  scenes  which  the 
Bible  unfolds. 

The  moral  soundness  of  vision  consists  in  having  the  eyes  of  the 
understanding  fixed  solely  on  God  himself,  his  approbation,  and 
complacent  affection  for  us.  It  is  sometimes  called  a  single  eye, 
because  it  looks  for  one  thing  supremely.  Every  one,  then,  who 
opens  the  book  of  God  with  one  aim,  with  one  ardent  desire,  intent 
only  to  know  the  will  of  God — to  such  a  person  the  knowledge  of 
God  is  easy;  for  the  Bible  is  framed  to  illuminate  such,  and  only 
such,  with  the  salutary  knowledge  of  things  spiritual   and   divine. 

Humility  of  mind,  or  what  is  in  effect  the  same,  contempt  for  all 
earth-born  pre-eminence,  prepares  the  mind  for  the  reception  of  this 
light,  or,  what  is  virtually  the  same,  opens  the  ears  to  hear  the  voico 
of  God.  Amidst  the  din  of  all  the  arguments  of  the  flesh,  the  world, 
and  Satan,  a  person  is  so  deaf  that  he  can  not  hear  the  still,  small 
voice  of  God's  philanthropy.  But  receding  from  pride,  covetousness, 
and  false  ambition — from  the  love  of  the  world — and  in  coming 
within  that  circle,  the  circumference  of  which  is  unfeigned  humility, 
and  the  center  of  which  is  God  himself — the  voice  of  God  is  dis- 
tinctly  heard   and   clearly   understood.     All    within    this    circle    are 


THE    MILLENXIAL    UAIiBINOER    ABRIDGED.  167 

taught  by  God — all  without  it  are  under  the  influence  of  the  wickea 
one.    "God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  he  giveth  grace  \o  the  humble'' 

He,  then,  that  would  interpret  the  oracles  of  God  to  the  salvatioa 
of  his  soul,  must  approach  this  volume  with  the  humility  and  docil- 
ity of  a  child,  and  meditate  upon  it  day  and  night.  Like  Mary,  h-i 
must  sit  at  the  Master's  ieet,  and  listen  to  the  words  which  fall  from 
his  lips.  To  such  a  one  there  is  an  assurance  of  understanding,  a 
certainty  of  knowledge,  to  which  the  man  of  letters  alone  nevf>r  at- 
tained, and  which  the  mere  critic  never  felt.  a.  c,  1846,  p.  13. 

THE    DOUBLE    SENSE    OF    SCRIPTURE. 

The  darkness  of  mysticism  is  fast  passing  away.  The  double  sense, 
or  the  triple  and  quadruple  sense  of  Scripture,  once  so  fashionable, 
so  sacred,  amongst  the  great  mass  of  Protestant  and  Catholic  com- 
mentators and  sermonizers,  is  falling  much  into  disrepute  amongst 
the  most  learned  and  pious  of  this  generation.  Ine  textuary  mode 
of  interpreting,  which  grew  out  of  the  equivocal  sense  of  Scripture, 
will  soon  be  confined  to  the  more  enthusiastic  and  weak  minds  of  the 
sectaries.  Enlightened  men  of  all  denominations  are  fast  abandon- 
ing the  double  sense.     1830,  page  38. 

In  1831  Mr.  Campbell  wrote,  "On  the  Laws  of  Interpretation." 
A  more  essential  service,  in  our  judgment,  no  man  can  render 
the  present  generation,  than  to  call  the  attention  of  the  readers  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures  to  the  standard  rules  of  interpretation.  We 
are  daily  more  deeply  convinced  that  the  confusion,  ignorance,  enthu- 
siasm and  superstition  of  this  generation  are  attributable  more  to 
false  principles,  or,  perhaps,  to  the  lack  of  all  principles  of  inter- 
pretation, than  to  all  other  causes  combined.  It  is  the  teachers  that 
cause  the  people  to  err  more  in  this  respect  than  in  any  other.  One 
says  the  Bible  means  what  it  says;  another  says  it  means  not  what 
it  says.  One  denounces  the  literal,  another  the  spiritual  meaning  of 
the  book.  One  is  all  for  the  spirit,  another  all  for  the  letter;  and 
some  are  always  in  quest  of  the  recondite  and  hidden  meaning.  Thus 
the  people  know  not  by  what  star  to  steer  their  course,  and  are  in 
worse  circumstances  than  if  they  acknowledged  no  other  guide,  over 
seer,  or  ruler,  than  plain,  honest,  common  sense. 

SIX    RILES    FOK    SCRIPTURE    INTERPRETATION. 

The  following  excellent  rules  for  Scripture  interpretation,  are 
extracted  from  "A  Discourse  on  the  Nature  and  Subjects  of  Chris- 
tian Baptism.  By  Moses  Hemmenway,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  a  church  in 
Wells."  Published  in  Philadelphia,  in  1788.  and  written  by  a  Paido- 
baptist,  in  defense  of  infant  spritikling.  Had  he  pursued  his  own 
rules,  they  must  have  inevitably  brought  him  to  different  conclusions 


168  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  inferences  than  those  at  which  he  has  arrived,  and  which  he  has 
deduced;  but,  like  too  many  others  who  are  fine  projectors,  h3 
has  laid  down  excellent  rules  which  in  practice  he  has  abandoned. 
This  was  the  fault  of  the  great  philosopher  Bacon.  "Lord  Bacon 
pointed  out  the  method  of  true  philosophizing;  yet,  in  practice,  he. 
abandoned  it,  and  his  own  physical  investigations  may  be  ranked 
among  the  most  effectual  specimens  of  that  rash  and  unfounded 
theorism,  which  his  own  principles  have  banished  from  the  schools 
of  philosophy."     For  the  sake  of  illustration,  I  quote  the  author's  text. 

Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20:  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  [or  disciple] 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you.  And,  lo,  I  am  with  you  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.     Amen. 

1.  The  Scriptures  are  always  to  be  understood  in  that  sense  of  the 
words,  which,  taken  in  their  connection,  is  most  natural,  plain, 
obvious  and  familiar  to  us,  and  those  for  whose  instruction  they  were 
primarily  designed.  The  literal  sense  is  alioays  to  be  preferred  to  a 
figurative  one,  unless  there  appear  plain  and  good  reasons  to  the 
contrary.  For  instance,  though  the  word  baptize  in  our  text  is  some- 
times taken  in  a  figurative  sense,  for  the  giving  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
yet  as  it  literally  and  primarily  signifies  a  washing  in  water,  and 
this  sense  was  most  obvious  and  familiar  to  the  Apostles,  and  is  so 
to  us,  and  the  word  commonly  bears  this  sense  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  there  appears  no  incongruity  with  the  context,  or  inconsistency 
with  other  parts  of  the  Scripture,  in  understanding  it  thus  in  this 
place;  we  therefore  conclude,  that  it  is  a  literal  and  water  baptism, 
that  is  here  intended.  On  the  contrary,  when  Christ  tells  his  Apos- 
tles, "I  am  with  you  to  the  end  of  the  world,"  we  can  not  understand 
the  words  literally  of  his  bodily  presence.  For,  as  the  Apostles  were 
to  disperse  into  different  and  remote  parts  of  the  world,  it  was  impos- 
sible that  Christ  should  be  always  with  them  bodily.  And  besides, 
he  was  immediately  to  ascend  to,  and  remain  in  heaven,  till  the 
end  of  the  world.  This  must  therefore  be  understood  figuratively, 
ol  those  gracious  assistances  which  he  would  afford  to  them. 

2  The  Scripture  is  the  best  and  sxirest  interpreter  of  Scripture, 
and  if  the  meaning  of  any  word  or  phrase  seems  doubtful,  vje  must 
compare  it  with  other  places,  where  a  like  expression  is  used,  or 
where  the  same  subject  is  treated  of  perhaps  in  plainer  language,  and 
that  interpretation  is  to  be  adhered  to,  which  is  most  consonant  to  the 
general  language  and  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  themselves.  Thus 
the  word  baptize,  in  our  text,  may  be  compared  with,  and  explained 
by  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  in  which  he  says,  "That  the  church  is 
sanctified  by  the  washing  of  water  with  the  word;"  whence  we  are 


'//;/;    MILLEXMAL    JIAHDIXGEIi    AURJDGED.  16D 

to  conclude  that  water  baptism  is  a  gospel  ordinance;   and  that  bap- 
tism signifies  a  washing. 

3.  The  Scriptures  are  to  he  u'nderstood  as  containing  not  only 
those  truths  which  are  expressly  asserted,  but  also  those  which  are 
plainly  implied.  For  example,  it  is  not  expressly  asserted  in  our 
text,  that  baptism  is  to  be  a  standing  ordinance  in  the  church  to  tha 
end  of  the  world.  But,  then,  as  Christ  has  promised  to  be  with  his 
ministers  in  the  execution  of  their  commission  to  the  end  of  the 
world;  and  as  they  were  in  this  their  commission  instructed  to  bap- 
tize, as  well  as  teach;  it  is  a  fair  consequence,  that  the  duties,  as 
well  as  the  encouragements  contained  in  their  commission,  were  to 
continue  to  the  end  of  t'me;  and  so  baptism  is  a  standing  ordinance. 
And   that  this  is  the  true  meaning,  implied,  though  not  expressed. 

4.  That  is  the  true  sense  of  Scripture  which  best  agrees  with  the 
original  text.  Though  the  Scriptures  were  written  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek,  by  divine  inspiration,  yet  they  were  not  translated  by  divine 
inspiration.  Some  words  are  not  exactly  translated;  and  are  to  be 
corrected  by  the  original.  Our  text,  I  think,  is  an  example.  This 
clause,  "Go  teach  all  nations,"  ought  rather  to  be  understood,  "Go 
make  all  nations  disciples;"  for  so  the  Greek  word  properly  signi- 
fies. To  teach  or  indoctrinate  is  expressed  by  another  word  which 
we  have  in  the  latter  verse  of  our  text:  "Teaching  them  to  observe 
ail  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded." 

5.  That  interpretation  of  Scripture  is  to  be  adhered  to,  which 
gives  the  best,  apt  est  and  most  instructive  sense  to  the  icords:  unless 
it  should  appear  that  a  different  sense  uas  intended.  Thus,  for  exam- 
ple, I  think  it  makes  better  sense  to  read  our  text  according  to  the 
amendment  proposed:  "Go  make  all  nations  disciples;  baptizing  and 
teaching   them,"   etc.;    tlian    to    read    it  according   to   our   translation, 

"Go  teach  all  nations;   baptizing  them teaching  them;"  where  the 

repetition  of  the  word   "teach"   seems  needless  and  uninstructive. 

6.  The  practice  of  the  primitive  church,  so  far  as  it  is  known,  is 
to  be  attended  to,  in  case  doubts  should  arise  concerning  the  mean- 
ing and  proper  administration  of  gospel  ordinances.  The  meaning 
of  precept,  is  sometimes  cleared  and  ascertained  by  authentic  pr  •• 
cedents.  And  we  have  no  precedents  which  are  so  much  to  be 
regarded  by  us,  as  the  practice  of  the  church  in  its  earliest  and 
purest  state;  especially  in  the  apostolic  age.  For  example:  in  our 
text,  baptism  with  water  is  not  expressly  mentioned;  but  we  know 
that  in  the  apostolic  and  primitive  church,  baptism  with  water  was 
practiced:  which  seems  to  put  the  matter  out  of  all  reasonable  doubt, 
that  It  is  a  water  baptism  that  is  here  intended.  r.  ii. 

"It  IS  said,  that  if  the  English  language  be  divided  into  one  hun- 
dred parts,  sixty  parts  would  be  Saxon:   thirty  would  he  I  at  in,  includ- 


170  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ing  French;    five  would   be  Greek,  and  the   remaining  five  from  the 
other  languages  of  the  world." 

We  presume  to  think  and  to  say,  that  if  the  ecclesiastico-heretical 
terminology,  or  nomenclature,  of  modern  Christendom,  were  evan- 
gelically analyzed,  or  repudiated  in  wholesale,  and  the  apostolic  dic- 
tion, suggested  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  consecrated  by  the  prime 
ministers,  or  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  substituted  for  it,  more 
would  be  achieved  to  the  cause  of  Christianity;  to  the  union,  har- 
mony and  co-operation  of  Christians,  and  to  the  progress  of  the  Reign 
of  the  Lord  Messiah  throughout  the  earth,  than  has  been  effected 
since  the  Lutheran  Reformation,  by  all  the  schisms  and  schismatical 
leaders  that  have  figured  on  the  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history  during 
the  last  three  centuries. 

In  our  feeble  attempts  to  achieve  something  in  this  direction,  we 
have  been  harassed  on  every  side,  by  all  the  inflated  partizans  of 
every  school  in  modern  Christendom.  Still,  we  have  not  labored  in 
vain.  Much  has  been  achieved,  despite  of  all  opposition,  and  despite 
of  the  failures  and  frailties  of  those  who  have  espoused  and  advocated 
the  principles  underlying  such  an  enterprise.  The  influence  of  our 
views  and  pleadings  has  not  been  conflned  to  our  own  brotherhood 
that  have  come  out  of  existing  sects,  but  is  more  or  less  felt,  mani- 
fested, and  practically  approbated,  in  some  of  the  Protestant  denomi- 
nations around  us,  as  has  been  acknowledged  by  not  a  few  of  those 
occupying  public  and  responsible  positions  on  the  walls  of  their 
respective  Zions.  Indeed,  the  prayers  of  myriads  daily  arise  to  heaven 
in  behalf  of  union,  harmony,  and  co-operation  amongst  all  the  citi- 
zens of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  they  are  being,  and  will  be,  fully 
answered.  Despite  of  partizan  pride  and  self-ycleped  orthodoxy,  the 
very  terminology  of  the  cause  we  plead  is  occasionally  heard  an 
approved,  even  amongst  those  who  are  too  vain,  or  too  proud,  . 
acknowledge  any  progress. 

We  are,  on  all  the  premises,  greatly  encouraged  to  hold  on  our 
way,  assured  that  a  good  harvest  will  be  gathered  in  at  last,  as  the  first- 
fruits  fully  warrant.  We  would  say  nothing  boastfully  on  these  prem- 
ises, but  humbly  and  gratefully  acknowledge  the  Divine  favor  and 
mercy  displayed  to  us;  for  of  ourselves  we  have  nothing  to  boast-- 
our  sufficiency  and  our  success  are  alike  from  God,  to  whom  be  all 
the  glory! 

We  conclude,  on  all  our  premises,  that  much  good  might  accrue, 
and  much  controversy  and  ill-feeling  be  suppressed  or  prevented,  by 
a  few  definitions  of  terms  and  phrases,  that  have  occasioned  mucli 
debate  and  aberration  in  the  greenest  fields  of  modern  partyism.  We 
fha'l.  therefore,  attempt  something  in  this  way,  not  in  the  best  order. 
but  with  the  best  intentions.     We  hope,  in  this  effort,  to  correct  and 


Till-:    MILLh'XMAL    n.ih'iUXGIJIt    ABRIDGED.  171 

neutralize  much  slander  and  defamation,  and  to  afford  to  candid  and 
Inquiring  minds  the  means  of  appreciating  and  understanding  our 
views,  our  aims,  and  our  terminologj*.  We  shall  follow  up  this  sub- 
ject in  a  series  of  papers,  on  all  the  great  elements,  facts  and  docu- 
ments in  the  true  Christology,  and  under  the  true  Christocracy  of  the 
Messianic  dispensation. 

The  doctrine  of  the  "Trinity,"  as  it  is  called,  though  really  of 
Grecian  or  Roman  origin,  is  regarded  as  number  one  of  the  true  ortho- 
doxy of  polemic  theology.  On  this  account  alone  we  give  it  prece- 
dence. It  is  neither  historically  nor  philosophically,  neither  philo- 
logically  nor  Christologically,  the  first  in  order.  But  polemically 
and  ecclesiastically  it  is  of  primordial  conspicuity,  and  has  been  so 
for  ages. 

The  Hebrew  Cabolists.  or  Tradilionists  of  the  Jews,  with  their 
cabala,  or  traditions,  of  which  they  were  veritable  doctors  or  teachers, 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  most  ancient  heresies.  The  Essenes  alle- 
gorized the  Mosaic  law  and  institutions  into  a  species  of  spiritualism, 
resembling  not  a  little  the  Shaking  Quakers  of  modern  date.  They 
v.cre  still  more  harmless  than  the  more  orthodox  Pharisees,  or  the 
more  latitudinarian   Sadducees. 

By  reprobating  this  speculative  theology,  we  save  the  labor  of  many 
volumes,  and,  in  the  meantime,  the  careful  reading  of  the  Holy  and 
Divine  Oracles  furnishes  us  with  a  full  and  satisfactory  statement  of 
Jkhovaii — a  compound,  according  to  Rabbinical  literature,  of  Jaii,  the 
essence,  and  Havaii.  existing — "The  Always  Existing."  This  name 
is  older  than  all  human  literature.  Josephus  calls  it  the  Tetragram- 
maton — the  four-lettered  name.  Sanchoniathon,  the  oldest  Pagan 
writer  known  to  the  literary  world,  names  it,  or  writes  it.  Jkiu;.  or 
Jkv(.. 

Diodorus,  of  Sicily,  .Jerome.  Origen,  of  the  2d  century,  and  Clemens 
Alexandrinus,  exhibit  it  in  three  letters,  JAO.  Hence  the  Jusjiater 
of  the  Greeks,  in  tlie  genitive,  is  Jovis,  Jovk.  an  abbreviation  of 
Ji-.iiovAii.  It  antedates  all  written  language.  It  is  the  one  only 
incomviunicablc  name  in  all  the  dialects  of  earth.  Hence,  Joshua, 
the  hero  man.  son  of  Nun,  is  Hosea.  or  Oshea,  and  with  the  prefix 
Jk.  indicates  a  Divine  Saviour.  Joshua  preceded  his  antitype,  Jesus, 
the  son  of  David,  1.4.51  years.  Salvation  temporal,  spiritual  and  eternal, 
is  all  of  God,  or  of  Jehovah. 

We  have  five  adjuncts  or  epithets  added  to  Jehovah  in  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets.  Each  of  these  enhance  his  glory.  JehovaJi  Jinh 
— the  Lord  tvill  appear,  or  the  Lord  tcill  provide.  (Gen.  xxii.  8.) 
Jehovah  yissi — Jehovah  nn/  banner.  (Exod.  xvii.  15.)  Jehovah  Shal- 
low, or  Jehovah  of  Peace.  (Judg.  vi.  4.)  Jehovah  Shammah — "Jeho- 
hovah    is    there."    he     resides     there.       (Ezek.    xlviii.    3,5.)       Jehovah 


172  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Tzidekenu — Jehovah  our  righteousness.  (Jer.  xxiii.  16,  and  xxxiii. 
16.)     These  are  approbated  and  recognized  by  Calmet. 

Now,  in  the  Christian  development  of  the  long  promised,  foretold, 
and  typified  salvation,  Jehovah  is  manifested  in  three  distinct  person- 
alities in  reference  to  human  redemption.  In  creation,  providence, 
or  moral  government,  there  was  no  need  for  any  other  development 
of  God  than  those  given  in  these  declarations  or  manifestations. 

But  in  the  emergency  of  man's  redemption,  there  was  a  necessity 
for  a  new  revelation  of  Jehovah,  Elohim,  as  our  Jehovah  in  distinct 
personalities.  Of  these  there  are  three  now  named — The  Father,  the 
Word,  the  Spirit.  The  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  in  our  human- 
ity. The  Spirit  became  the  Holy  Guest,  or  Ghost,  and  ever  dwells 
in  the  true  church — the  mystical  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  send  his  Son,"  possessing  the  Holy 
Spirit  without  measure  or  limit.  He  became  Incarnate,  and  dwelt  on 
earth.  He  formed  and  educated  a  school  of  apostles.  On  the  eve  of 
his  ascension,  he  promised,  on  his  return  to  his  native  heaven,  to 
send  to  them  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  their  Guest,  their  teacher,  and 
their  help,  in  erecting  his  kingdom  or  church. 

During  his  personal  ministry  he  occasionally  gave  them  the  Spirit 
in  some  of  his  gifts.  But  he  reserved  his  full  dispensation  till  after 
he  had  vanquished  death  and  the  grave,  and  ascended  to  his  native 
heaven.  He  went  to  receive  a  kingdom,  and  to  be  constituted,  in  our 
humanity,  both  Lord  and  Sovereign  of  the  entire  realms  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  was  formally  inaugurated  as  Lord  of  all,  in  the  capacity 
of  the  Son  of  man  and  the  Son 'of  God.  He  received  the  empire  or 
creation.  He  then  sent,  as  his  ambassador,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  com- 
menced his  kingdom  in  the  city  in  which  he,  fifty  days  before,  had 
been  crucified. 

These  were  the  facts  to  be  announced  by  the  apostles;  and  that  all 
who  died  to  sin,  on  confession  of  their  guilt,  were  to  be  "born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  and  thus  become  citizens  of  his  kingdom, 
as  now  dispensed. 

Such  was  the  Divine  and  Christian  economy,  or  dispensation  of 
Divine  grace,  under  the  immediate  influence  and  direction  of  his  Holy 
Spirit.  The  church  then  became  "the  temple  of  God,"  with  Jesus 
Christ  for    its  head  and  the  Holy  Spirit  for  its  heart. 

The  commission  given  to  the  apostles,  directed  them  first  to  the 
city  in  which  he  had  been  crucified,  and  there  they  were  to  commence 
a  spiritual  temple,  to  be  animated  and  adorned  with  the  graces,  the 
beauty,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  HolV  Spirit — to  be  "the  light  of  the 
world,"  and  "for  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

What,  then,  was  their  mission?  They  were  to  announce  or  pro- 
claim Jesus  as  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  173 

tho  Sovereign  Lord  of  heaven  and  of  earth.     This  was  the  sum  and 
the  substante  of  their    Divine   commission. 

They  prorlaimed  Jesus  as  the  Messiah;  and  faith,  repentance  and 
baptism,  "for  the  remission,"  or  "the  tcashing  away  of  their  sins. ' 
These  were  never  to  be  separated.  Their  commission  was  not  to 
preach  faith  alone,  nor  repentance  alone,  nor  baptism  alone;  bur. 
each  of  them  in  its  own  proper  place,  or  significance.  To  as  many 
as  received  their  testimony,  they  commanded  submission  to  Jesus  the 
Messiah  in  all  things,  as  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  all.  So  it  came  t.i 
pass,  that  when  any  one  believed  their  testimony,  confessed  his  sins, 
and  was  immersed  in  the  name,  or  by  the  authority  of  the  Lord,  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Sun,  and  the  Holy  Sijirit,  in  this  act  there 
was,  to  him,  a  Divine  declaration  of  the  remission  of  all  his  antece- 
dent sins,  and  the  possession,  in  his  heart,  of  that  Holy  Spirit  as  his 
guest :  by  whose  testimony,  or  demonstrations  of  the  claims  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  he  had  already  submitted  to  the  new  dispensation,  or  the 
reign  in  him  of  that  same  Spirit  that  had  already  attested  Jesus;  and 
had  clothed  his  apostles  with  plenary  power  to  give  testimony  and 
proof  of  his  Divine  personality  and  official  fullness. 

For  this  paragraph  we,  as  a  people,  have  been  doomed  to  some 
thirty  years'  persecution  or  defamation.  We  thank  the  Lord  for  it; 
but  we  can  not  remit  the  sin  of  those  who  have  perverted  and  misrep- 
sented  it  and  those  who  proclaim  it. 

Contextual  interpretation,  claimed  by  all  denominations,  was  denied 
to  us.  Hence,  by  every  form  of  ingenious  verbal  torture,  we  have 
been  published,  from  Dan  to  Beersheba.  as  teaching  "water  salva- 
tion," "baptismal  regeneration,"  denying  "Spiritual  influence,"  "the 
person  and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  and  I  know  not  what  other 
forms  of  "neology"  and  of  "heresy." 

But  still  more  to  be  reprobated:  Those  guilty  of  these  most  false 
and  fabulous  tales,  are  self-convicted  of  this  disingenuous  and  unchris- 
tian attitude  and  course.  This  we  learn  from  every  point  of  the 
compass,  and,  not  infrequently,  even  in  our  person  and  experience. 
Men  are  heard  In  every  quarter  of  our  country,  where  the  cause  we 
plead  has  obtained  a  footing,  and  sometimes  even  when  railing 
against  a  fictitious  "Campbellism."  (as  they  are  pleased  to  term  it) 
they  give  full  evidence,  to  evor>'  discriminating  ear,  of  their  own  pro- 
ficiency in  that  which  they  so  fabulously  and  impiously  call  "Camp- 
bellism." 

They  preach  it  in  part,  and  disclaim  it  in  tnfo.  We  thank  God 
a-^d  take  courage,  that  many,  while  hypocritically  denouncing  "Camp- 
belli.'sm,"  preach  it  in  very  prominent  item.  The  true  clergy  of  this 
generation  have  nothing  to  learn.  They  are  warranted  and  endorsed 
orthodox   "divines."     And   they   can   preach   any  theology   or  Chrlstol- 


174  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ogy,  without  suspicion  and  without  shame.  But,  before  many  moons, 
they  will  have  to  become  still  more  tinctured  with  this  horrific  heresy. 
They  will  have  to  immerse  men  into  Christ,  and  not  in  Christ;  or  in 
other  words,  they  will  have  to  immerse  men  into  the  name,  and  not 
in  the  name,  of  Jesus  the  Christ;  or  "i^ito  the  name  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit."  Instead  of  the  Papal  Roman  formula — 
"In  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost."  And  they  will  have 
to  immerse  men  into,  or  for  remission  of  sins.  And  everybody  knows 
that  for  thirty  years'  past  we  have  been  doomed — 1  was  about  to  say 
damned — for  this  unholy  innovation. 

"Remissfon  of  sins,"  or  "the  washing  away  of  sins,"  as  some  way 
connected  with  baptism,  will  have  to  be  assented  to  by  the  persons, 
or  their  sons,  who  have  been  honoring  us,  for  years,  with  their  rep- 
robation, for  quoting  or  using  the  words  of  Peter  and  of  Paul,  speak- 
ing by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  preaching  or  teaching 
the   Christian   institutions. 

They  will  yet  have  courage  to  say  to  a  believing  querist,  when 
asking  what  he  should  do,  as  a  poor,  self-condemned  sinner,  to  have 
a  full  remission  of  his  sins,  what  Peter  said  to  the  Jews  on  the  first 
Pentecost — "Repent,"  or  "Reform,"  and  be  immersed  every  one  of 
you,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  the  remission  of  your  sins, 
and  you  shall  receive  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Guest  in  your  hearts: 
or  as  Christ's  messenger,  Ananias,  said  to  Saul,  they  will  say  to  a 
self-condemned  sinner,  awakened  to  know  his  condition — "Arise  and 
be  immersed,  and  wash  away  your  sins,  invoking  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  This  will  some  of  them  do,  that  have  accused  us  of  error 
and  heresy  of  the  first  degree.  They  can  not  prevent  the  fulfillment 
of  this — prediction,  shall  I  call  it?  Nor  will  they  then  see  any  dif- 
ficulty in  defending  this  practice  from  the  charge  of  heterodoxy  or 
heresy.  They  will  argue  the  questions  raised  against  this  practice, 
as  we  have  been  doing  for  many  years,  demonstrating  that  there  is 
no  incompatibility  in  such  a  practice  with  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
merits  of  Christ's  blood,  and  faith,  antecedent  to  baptism.  Thousands, 
tens  of  thousands,  that  once  withstood  these  views  as  incompatible 
with  their  former  theories  of  faith,  repentance,  and  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  in  type  and  prophecy, 
will  see  no  incongruity,  no  contradiction,  no  difficulty  whatever,  in 
reconciling  and  in  justifying  this  apostolic  practice,  than  did  Luther 
in  maintaining  his  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  against  all  the 
assumptions  and  presumptions  of  his  orthodox  opponents. 

They  will  then  see  no  irreconcilable  difficulty  between  being  bom 
both  of  the  Spirit  and  of  water  simultaneously.  They  will  then  see 
that  a  man  may  be  begotten  and  born  when  he  is  old — that  he  may  be 
first   quickened  by  the  Spirit,   or  begotten   through   the  belief  of  the 


THE    MILLEXMAL    JIARBISGER    ABRIDGED.  175 

truth,  and  then  washed;  or  that  "the  washing  of  regeneration"  does 
not  necessarily  precede,  in  the  Divine  economy,  regeneration  itself, 
or  the  renewal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  its  full  acceptation. 

They  will  then  discover  that  the  Holy  Spirit  works  in  faith,  in 
repentance,  and  in  baptism,  in  renewing,  cleansing,  and  sanctifying 
the  awakened  sinner.  This  will  be  read  and  weighed  when  1  shall 
have  passed  the  bourne  of  time,  and  when  my  contemporaries,  too, 
shall  have  crossed  the  Jordan  and  entered  into  the  realities  of  the 
spirit  world.  Assured  that  we  stand  on  the  foundation  of  prophets 
and  apostles,  we  have  nothing  to  fear,  but  every  good  thing  to  hope. 
"The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  forever. "  And  this  is  the  word  of 
the  Lord  on  which  we  build,  and  not  on  the  doctrines  and  traditions 
of  men.  "He  that  believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  and  he 
that  believes  not,"  though  immersd  a  thousand  times,  is  now,  and 
shall  hereafter  be,  condemned. 

We  can  fully  sympathize  with  Luther  in  maintaining  the  doctrin.^ 
of  faith  as  the  grand  element  of  justification.  And  as  he  fully  recon- 
ciled Paul  and  James  on  the  question  of  justification  by  faith,  without 
the  deeds  of  the  law,  and  justification  by  works,  too,  in  the  examples 
given  by  James,  so  can  we,  and  do  we,  reconcile  the  grace  of  God 
with   faith,   repentance,  baptism  and  justification   by   faith. 

Every  Christian  institution  of  which  we  participate  is  but  a  mean 
and  not  an  end.  a.  c,  1856,  page  123. 

BIBLE   READING. 

Nothing  is  more  talked  about,  amongst  professors,  and  less  prac- 
ticed or  less  understood,  in  proportion  to  its  acknowledged  importance 
than  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  indeed  statedly  read  in  many 
churches  and  families,  but  it  is  not  read  rationally  nor  religiously 
and  therefore  for  the  most  part  fails  in  being  relished  and  conse- 
quently in  reaching  the  heart,  and  in  being  practically  believed  and 
understood. 

To  be  read  advantageously,  the  Bible  must  be  read  in  the  order  of 
its  books,  at  regular  intervals,  and  with  a  solemn  and  religious  refer- 
ence to  the  most  exact  and  full  conformity  in  heart,  in  word,  in 
action,  to  all  its  pure,  and  hbly.  and  heavenly  lessons  and  precepts. 
But  even  this  is  too  vague  and  indefinite  for  the  exigencies  of  the 
times.  Permit  me,  then,  to  explain:  It  was  not  the  design  of  the 
Author  of  the  Bible  that  men  should  have  a  synopsis  or  summary 
of  its  doctrine,  either  before  their  eyes  in  writing,  or  committed  to 
memory.  Had  such  been  his  design,  he  would  have  given  us,  by  the 
hand  of  some  inspired  person,  just  such  a  summary  as  would  have 
been  complete  and  infallible.  But  he  has  not  done  it:  and.  therefore 
such  a  document  would  be,  to  say  the  least,  inoxpoiliont  and  unprofit- 


176  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

able.  It  would  have  been  a  substitute  for  the  constant  reading  and 
studying  of  the  Book.  Now  this  is  the  very  thing  that  the  Author 
of  the  Bible  does  not  desire.  His  will  is  that  we  be  constant  readers; 
that  by  the  constant  attrition  or  wearing  of  the  truth  upon  our  moral 
nature,  our  minds  may  be  exactly  conformed  to  the  image  of  Him 
who  breathes  into  us  the  Spirit  of  our  God.  It  is  impossible  to  keep 
any  company  long  and  constantly  without  catching  its  spirit  and 
becoming  assimilated.  Equally  impossible  is  it  to  be  frequently  in 
company  with  Moses  and  David,  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  Jesus  and  his 
Apostles,  without  catching  their  spirit.  This  is  what  God  designs 
and  desires  in  giving  us  the  Bible  to  read.  He  would  that  we  catch 
the  spirit,  rather  than  learn  the  doctrine,  of  this  Holy  Book.  Now 
this  is  the  philosophy  of  the  fact,  that  there  is  no  substitute  for  con- 
stant reading:  for  although  all  the  precepts  and  promises,  or  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  Bible  could  be  learned  or  committed  to  memory, 
and  faithfully  retained,  it  could  not  serve  that  special  and  supreme 
intention  of  the  Author  of  this  Book,  in  giving  it  to  us  as  the  means 
of  sanctification  and  of  our  being  imbued  and  inspired  with  the  Spirit 
of  our  God. 

Fortunes,  it  is  now  well  established,  are  generally  the  ruin  of  their 
inheritors.  The  exceptions  are  just  enough  to  make  it  a  general  rule 
that  riches  are  laid  up  for  children  to  their  hurt.  It  is  cruel  in  fathers 
to  make  fortunes  for  children:  for,  in  so  doing,  they  deprive  them  of 
the  pleasure  of  employing  their  talents  as  they  have  done,  and  thus 
throw  them,  in  great  measure,  idle  upon  society.  They  also  prevent 
them  of  the  pleasure  of  doing,  and  ultimately  enjoying  good;  for  we 
are  so  constituted  that  our  powers  of  acquiring  pleasure  must  ever  be 
proportioned  to  our  efforts  in  communicating  it  to  others.  And  this 
i?  a  work  for  which  they  are  pre-eminently  disqualified  who  are  taught 
to  live  on  energies  not  their  own. 

Hereditary  orthodoxy,  or  fortunes  of  sound  doctrine,  made  and 
bequeathed  by  our  fathers,  are  still  more  fatal  to  their  heirs  than 
large  inheritances  of  earthly  goods  and  chattels.  If  sons  are  generally 
ruined  in  this  world  by  large  inheritances  from  their  parents,  they  are, 
perhaps,  as  often  ruined  in  the  next  world  by  large  inheritances  of 
orthodox  sentiments  and  opinions,  of  which  they  are  possessed  by  the 
wills  of  their  ancestors,  without  the  trouble  of  reading  and  thinking 
for  themselves.  There  are  not  more  helpless  cases  on  earth  than  the 
heirs  of  orthodoxy;  for  they  are  infallibly  right  without  evidence, 
without  examination,  without  any  concern  of  their  own.  These  per- 
sons are  wholly  unapproachable.  They  are  right  by  necessity, 
by  prescription,  by  inheritance,  because  they  are  right;  and 
you  are  wrong  because  you  are  wrong,  or  because  you  dis- 
sent from  them. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  177 

It  is  not  intended  by  Him  that  rules  in  heaven,  that  we  should 
possess  either  faith,  knowledge,  or  grace  by  inheritance  from  our 
earthly  or  ecclesiastic  progenitors.  He  intends  that  every  man  should 
dig  in  the  mines  of  faith  and  knowledge  for  his  own  fortune — that  every 
man  should  live  and  be  rich  by  his  own  efforts.  He  thus  calls  forth 
and  enu)loys  all  our  faculties,  and  affords  us  the  pleasure  of  profiting 
by  our  own  exertions.  "If,"  says  Solomon,  "thou  criest  after  knowl- 
edge, and  liftest  up  thy  voice  for  understanding;  if  thou  seekest  her 
as  silver,  and  searchest  for  her  as  for  hid  treasures;  then  thou  shalt 
understand  the  fear  of  the  Lord  [true  religion],  and  find  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,"  which  is  eternal  ife. 

Bible  reading  is,  therefore,  as  much  an  essential  part  of  Heaven  s 
scheme  of  human  sanctification,  as  the  giving  of  the  Bible  is  essential 
tp  the  communication  of  the  light  which  it  contains.  There  is  no  sub- 
stitute for  it.  Sermons,  prayers,  conversations,  catechisms,  tracts,  and 
each  and  every  religious  exercise  superadded,  can  never  compensate 
the  neglect  of  Bible  reading.  It  has  a  place,  a  power,  and  an  influ- 
ence peculiar  to  itself.  There  is  a  communion  with  the  Father,  and 
■with  his  Son,  our  Saviour,  attainable  by  means  of  this  sacred  read- 
ing, which  is  not  vouchsafed  to  mortals  in  any  other  way. 

But  there  is  a  critical  reading  of  the  Bible — a  polemic  reading— a 
sectarian  reading — and  a  penance  reading — which,  however  frequent 
and  sincere,  reach  not  within  the  circles  of  grace  and  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment. The  Bible  is  a  sort  of  world  in  itself;  and  as  mankind  pursuo 
and  find  many  different  objects  in  this  wide  world  of  nature  and 
society,  so  Bible  readers  of  all  classes  will  find  in  it  the  respective 
objects  of  their  pursuit.  The  politician,  the  jurisconsult,  the  orator, 
the  rhetorical  florist,  the  chronologist,  the  antiquary,  the  poet,  tho 
historian,  the  philosopher,  the  man  of  science,  the  artist,  etc.,  etc., 
may  all  read  the  Bible  with  advantage  to  themselves  and  their  pro- 
fessions; and,  indeed,  every  class  will  find  that  in  it  congenial  wit'x 
its  aims  and  designs  in  reading. 

But  a  devotional  and  sanctifying  reading  of  that  sacred  Book,  is 
essentially  different  from  the  readings  of  the  theologian,  the  moralist, 
the  sectary,  and  the  virtuoso  of  every  caste  and  school.  The  man  of 
God  reads  the  Book  of  God  to  commune  with  God,  "to  feel  after  him. 
and  find  him,"  to  feel  his  power  and  his  divinity  stirring  within  him; 
tc  have  his  soul  fired,  quickened,  animated  by  the  spirit  of  grace  and 
truth.  He  reads  the  Bible  to  enjoy  the  God  of  the  Bible;  that  the 
majesty,  purity,  excellency,  and  glory  of  its  Author  may  overshadow 
him,  inspire  him,  transform  him,  and  new-create  him  in  the  image  of 
God.  Such  a  reader  finds  what  he  seeks  in  the  Bible  as  every  other 
person  finds  in  it  what  he  searches  for.  The  words  of  Jesus  to  such 
a  one  are  Kpirlt  and  life;  they  are  light  and  joy;   they  are  truth  and 


178  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

peace.  Such  a  one  converses  with  God  as  one  who  speaks  by  signs. 
His  readings  are  lieavenly  musings.  God  speaks:  he  listens.  Occa- 
sionally, and  almost  unconsciously,  at  intervals  he  forgets  that  he 
reads,  he  speaks  to  Cod,  and  his  reading  thus  often  terminates  in  a 
devotional  conversation  with  God.  The  Lord  says,  "Seek  you  my 
face;"  he  responds,  "Thy  lace  will  I  seek."  The  Spirit  saith,  "The 
law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul;"  the  Christian  reader 
replies,  "Open  thou  my  eyes  that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out 
of  thy  law."  Thy  Spirit  saith,  "Blessed  are  they  that  keep  his  tes- 
timonies, and  that  seek  him  with  the  whole  heart;"  and  the  devout 
reader  answers,  "With  my  whole  heart  have  I  sought  thee.  0  let  me 
not  wander  from  thy  commandments."  The  Bible  reading  of  all 
enlightened  Christians  generally  terminates  in  a  sacred  dialogue 
between  the  Author  and  the  reader. 

There  is  a  peculiarity  attendant  on  this  reading  which  I  beg  leavo 
to  remark  with  emphasis.  The  Author  of  the  Bible  is  always  present 
with  his  Book.  This  is  not  true  of  any  other  book  in  the  world.  Most 
authors  are  dead;  and  we  sometimes  regret  that  we  can  not  speak  to 
them.  But  this  author  for  ever  lives,  and  is  for  ever  present;  and, 
therefore,  while  we  read  his  written  word,  it  is  as  natural  as  life 
sometimes  to  speak  to  him  on  certain  subjects  as  they  occur.  "Truly, 
then,  our  communion  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son,  Jes'js 
Christ,  our  Lord." 

Christians,  do  you  read  the  Bible  in  your  families  every  day?  Do 
you  read  it  in  your  closet  every  day?  And  do  you  read  it  not  to  quiet 
your  conscience  as  a  work  of  penance;  but  do  you  read  it  as  a  pleasure 
anxiously  to  be  sought  after?  If  you  do,  I  need  not  tell  you  what 
utility,  pleasure,  and  happiness  is  in  the  blessed  enjoyment.  But  if 
you  do  not,  you  may  rest  assured  there  is  something  greatly  wrong, 
which,  if  it  is  not  abandoned,  subdued,  or  vanquished  soon,  will  cause 
you  sorrows,  if  not  agonies,  when  you  will  be  less  able  to  conflict  with 
them  than  at  present.  Resolve  this  moment,  I  pray  you,  that  you  will 
begin  to-day  to  read  the  Bible,  to  enjoy  God  and  Christ  and  the  hope  of 
immortality.  "Let  not  mercy  and  truth  forsake  thee,  bind  them  about 
thy  neck,  write  them  upon  the  table  of  thine  heart;  so  shalt  thou  find 
favor  and  good  understanding  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man."  Then 
will  you  say  with  Solomon,  "Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom 
and  the  man  that  getteth  understanding:  for  the  merchandize  of  it  is 
better  than  the  merchandize  of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than  fine 
gold.  She  is  more  precious  fhan  rubies,  and  all  the  things  thou  canst 
desire  are  not^  to  be  compared  with  her.  Length  of  days  is  in  her 
right  hand,  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honor:  her  ways  are  A/ays 
of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace."  "Begin  to-day:  'ti3 
madness  to  defer."     The  religious  world — I  mean  the  great  majority 


THE    MILLENMAL    IIARBIKGER    ABRIDGED.  179 

ot  all  professors — are  Bible  ueglectors.  Their  ignorance,  prejudice,  ai:J 
error  show  it.  I  beseech  you,  daily,  habitually,  constantly,  prayer- 
fully read  the  Bible  in  its  proper  connections,  and  you  will  grow  m 
grace  as  you  grow  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.  The  Lord  will  bless  you,  as  he  has  said,  in  this  deed.  Reai 
Jas.  i.  22-25,  and  may  you  prove  it  true!  a.  c,  1839,  p,  35. 

THE  BIBLE  CAUSE. 

During  that  fearful  gloom,  justly  called  "The  Reign  of  Terror," 
which  was,  in  truth,  the  reigii  of  Atheism,  when  in  France — that 
broad  street  of  the  Apostate  City — the  Bible,  like  a  condemned  crimi- 
nal, was  dragged  through  the  mire  of  its  public  highways  by  the  min- 
ister of  death — the  cause  of  Protestant  Christianity,  the  cause  of  trua 
religion,  the  cause  of  humanity,  was  at  its  lowest  ebb.  The  bodies  of 
the  Two  Witnesses — the  Prophets  and  the  Apostles — the  Law  and  the 
Gospel — the  Old  Covenant  and  the  New,  lay  dead  and  unburied  for 
three  symbolic  days  and  one  half — from  the  midst  of  A.  D.  1794  to 
the  end  of  A.  D.  1797.  Then  the  Spirit  of  Life  reanimated  them. 
They  stood  upon  their  feet.  They  began  to  rise,  and  in  A.  D.  1800 
they  were  taken  up  into  heaven,  when,  in  the  English  metropolis,  the 
friends  of  God  and  man  agreed  to  enter  into  a  public  covenant  not 
merely  to  stand  up  for  the  Bible,  but,  through  bad  report  as  well  as 
through  good  report,  to  honor  it,  and  to  send  it  on  the  wings  of  every 
wind  to  every  nation  under  heaven.  This  covenant  was  called  the 
British  Foreign  Bible  Society.  This  covenant  was  not  entered  into 
between  ecclesiastic  parties  for  any  secular  or  partizan  purpose.  Gool 
men,  of  all  parties,  who  felt  their  indebtedness  to  the  Bible — who 
realized  its  untold  treasures  of  wisdom  and  salvation — who  were  made 
partakers  of  its  spirit  of  benevolence — bound  themselves  to  make  one 
grand  effort — one  strong  co-operative  and  persevering  effort,  to  send 
the  message  of  mercy  and  hope  to  all  the  world. 

The  Bible,  "witiioit  note  ou  coxl.ment,"  from  that  moment  began 
to  be  plead  as  the  sovereign  remedy  for  Paganism,  Infidelity,  and 
Sectarianism.  The  cause  was  of  God.  The  best  men  in  the  world 
not  only  prayed  for  its  success,  but  took  hold  of  it.  They  gave  il 
Loth  their  heart  and  their  hand.  The  spirit  of  the  enterprise  went 
abroad  in  the  Protestant  world.  It  crossed  the  English  Channel.  It 
crossed  many  a  river  and  many  a  mountain  in  Europe.  It  crossed 
the  Atlantic.  It  visited  the  New  World.  It  entered  into  the  Protest- 
ant brotherhoods.  An  Americax  Bible  Society  was  conceived.  It 
soon  came  to  maturity,  and  was  developed.  It  began  to  send  the  Bib!^ 
over  the  New  World.  It  thought  of  Asia,  and  of  Africa,  too.  as  did 
the  Briti.sh  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  It  desired  to  send  back  to 
Palestine,  to  Jerusalem,  and  to  the  lands  beyond  these,  the  "light  of 


180  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

life,"  which  once  had  irradiated  them  and  radiated  from  them.  But 
this  called  for  translation,  and  for  co-operation  in  translating.  Dif- 
ferences arose  in  translating  the  apostolic  commission.  It  was  a 
serious  matter.  Conscience  lifted  up  its  voice,  asserting  its  own 
rights  and  the  rights  of  the  Messiah.  An  "American  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society"  was  the  result.  But  it  was  not  the  field  of  labor  so 
much  as  the  true  version  of  untranslated  words,  that  possessed  th(? 
hearts  and  constrained  the  efforts  of  the  authors  and  founders  of  this 
new  institution. 

It  just  meets  our  views  and  uses  the  arguments  which  we  have 
always  used  for  a  new  version.  It  has  selected  nearly  all  the  impor- 
tant words  we  have  selected,  and  given  to  them  the  same  preference 
that  we  have  given  to  them,  and  for  the  same  reasons.  They  have 
done  much  abroad,  and  are  now  doing  much  at  home,  in  this  great 
work.  They  have  raised  up  men,  some  eminent  men — men  of  eminent 
attainments,  of  eminent  sacrifices,  of  eminent  piety,  of  eminent  labors, 
of  eminent  success.  Why  not,  then,  add  more  contributions  to  their 
capital,  and  reap  a  share  of  their  harvest  at  home  and  abroad?  Why 
spend  thousands  in  getting  up  new  foundations,  new  agencies,  and 
new  ofRcers? 

But  we  are  told  that  these  Baptist  brethren  have  not  dealt  kindly 
by  us;  nay,  that  they  have  been  cruel  to  us  and  proscriptive  in  tlie 
highest  degree.  For  this  reason,  say  some  of  our  impulsive  and  uncal- 
culating  brethren,  we  ought  not  to  pay  them  for  abusing  us! 

But  are  we  paying  them?  and  if  we  are  to  repay  them,  ought  we, 
as  Christians,  to  repay  them  with  blessings  or  with  curses,  or  with 
silent  disdain?  My  New  Testament  says,  "Overcome  evil  with  good." 
I  believe  it  is  the  one  only  way  of  overcoming  it. 

The  Baptists  have  greatly  improved  in  many  respects,  while  in 
some  others  they  have  retrograded  to  pedorantistic  ceremonies.  Their 
public  worship  is,  in  many  places,  fast  degenerating  into  a  few  fash- 
ionable stale  ceremonies.  Still  they  have  in  their  system  recuperative 
and  regenerating  elefnents.  They  and  we  are  one  in  all  the  grand 
distinctive  principles  ot  the  Christian  Institution.  They  teach  the 
great  truths — that  "Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;"  that  every 
man  must  be  enlightened,  convinced,  and  converted  for  himself.  They 
repudiate  god-fathers,  spiritual  fathers,  and  all  proxies  in  religion. 
They  believe  and  teach  that  the  Christian  religion  Ts  a  personal  thing, 
both  subject  and  object.  And,  consequently,  their  and  our  views  of 
a  church,  with  its  officers,  duties,  and  obligations,  are  the  same,  etc. 

Let  us,  then,  not  be  such  partizans  as  to  differ  for  the  sake  of 
differing  from  them.  Let  us  cultivate  friendship,  brotherly  kindness 
and  forgiveness.  Thus  will  we  fraternize  with  all  that  is  good,  and 
triumph  over  all   that  is  evil,  among  them.     Surely  if  there  can   be 


THE    MILLEXSIAL    llARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  181 

an  cntipapistical  Evangelical  Alliance,  for  the  same  reasons,  and  for 
one  more,  there  may  be  an  Evangelical  Baptist  Alliarice,  without  an 
amalgamation  of  all  church  relations  and  usages.  We  do  not  opposi 
such  of  our  brethren  in  the  interior  as  choose  to  form  a  Christ iun 
Society  for  themselves,  for  one  state  or  for  several  states.  We  wouM 
much  rather  aid  than  injure  them  in  any  way.  Do  they  conscien- 
tiously feel  it  a  duty  to  set  up  for  themselves?  Then  let  them  please 
themselves.  We  will  not  only  offer  them  no  violence,  but  we  will  do 
them  good.  We  only  prefer  a  wider  field,  brighter  prospects  of  use- 
fulness, and  larger  hopes  of  a  great  reward,  in  giving  our  principal 
aid  to  that  Society  to  which  we  have,  for  some  years,  contributed 
our  mite.  I  do  not  pay  them  for  either  good  or  evil  done  to  me.  They 
have  done  me  no  favor,  and  they  can  do  me  no  harm.  But  it  is  not 
to  them  we  give.  We  do  not  repay  them  for  good  or  for  evil.  We 
give  to  the  Lord  and  to  the  human  race.  We  scatter  our  bread  upon 
larger  waters,  and  we  spread  our  net  in  broader  streams  than  they 
who  confine  themselves  to  home  distribution  and  to  one  version  in 
the  cities  of  the  West. 

Indeed,  I  am  tired  of  rival  establishments  in  everything  called 
Christianity.  There  is  too  much  flesh  and  too  little  spirit  in  thes*? 
antagonistic  establishments.  I  wonder  that  we  have  not  Baptist  and 
Tedobaptist  stores  and  shops,  ploughs  and  penknives,  as  well  as  news- 
papers,  Bible  Societies,  Schools  and  Colleges. 

Now,  as  a  Bible  is  a  Bible,  no  matter  who  prints  it,  sells  it,  buya 
It,  or  bestows  it,  there  is  nothing  connected  with  the  manufacture  of 
the  book,  or  with  the  flesh,  blood,  or  bones  of  the  colporteur  who  bears 
it  away  openly  or  incog.,  that  would  authorize  the  erection  of  a  new 
Bible  Society  for  every  community  in  the  land.  Bibles  are  not  party 
creeds,  nor  sectarian  shibboleths,  cast  in  a  new  or  in  an  antique 
mould,  deeply  embossed  with  the  ecclesiastic  armorial  of  a  party. 

We  have  something  called  a  catholic  faith  and  a  catholic  Bible. 
Let  us,  then,  have  a  catholic  spirit,  and  co-operate  with  those  who 
are   doing   all    they   can. 

In   1847,   page  511,   Mr.   Campbell   wrote: 

EFFECTS  OF  THE   SCRIPTURES. 

How  comes  it  that  this  little  volume,  composed  by  men  in  a  rude 
age,  when  art  and  science  were  but  in  their  childhood,  has  exerted 
more  influence  on  the  human  mind  and  on  the  social  system,  than 
all  other  books  put  together?  Whence  comes  it  that  this  book 
has  achieved  such  marvelous  changes  in  the  opinions  and  habits  of 
mankind — has  banished  idol  worship — has  abolished  infanticide — has 
put  down  polygamy  and  divorce — exalted  the  condition  of  woman-- 
raised    the    standard    of    public    morality — created    for    families    that 


182  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

blessed  thing,  a  Christian  home — and  crowned  its  other  triumphs,  by 
causing  benevolent  institutions  to  spring  up  as  with  the  wand  of 
enchantment!  What  sort  of  book  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and 
waves  of  human  prejudice  and  passion  obey  it?  What  other  engine 
of  social  improvement  has  operated  so  long,  and  yet  lost  none  of  its 
virtue?  Since  it  appeared,  many  boasted  plans  of  human  ameliora- 
tion have  been  tried,  and  failed;  many  codes  of  jurisprudence  have 
arisen,  and  run  their  course  and  expired.  Empire  after  empire  has 
been  launched  on  the  tide  of  time,  and  gone  down,  leaving  no  traco 
on  the  waters.  But  this  book  is  still  going  about  doing  good — leaven- 
ing society  with  its  holy  principles — cheering  the  sorrowful  with  its 
consolations — strengthening  the  tempted — encouraging  the  penitent — 
calming  the  troubled  spirit,  and  soothing  the  pillow  of  death.  Can 
such  a  book  be  the  offspring  of  human  genius?  Does  not  the  vastness 
of  its  effects  demonstrate  the  excellency  of  the  power  to  be  of  God? 

How  wonderful  that  volume,  which  is  at  once  the  oldest  and  th« 
newest  in  the  world — reaching  to  the  remotest  antiquity,  yet  forever 
widening  in  its  revelations  and  influences,  in  the  circle  of  human 
civilization  and  intelligence!  "Simple  as  the  language  of  a  child,'' 
says  an  esteemed  writer,  "it  charms  the  most  fastidious  taste;  mourn- 
ful as  the  voice  of  grief,  it  reaches  the  highest  pitch  of  exultation. 
Intelligible  to  the  unlearned  peasant,  it  supplies  the  critic  and  the 
sage  with  food  for  earnest  thought.  Silent  and  secret  as  the  reproofs 
of  conscience,  it  echoes  beneath  the  vaulted  dome  of  tiie  cathedral 
and  shakes  the  trembling  multitudes.  The  last  companion  of  the  dying 
and  destitute,  it  seals  the  bridal  vow,  and  crowns  the  majesty  of  kings. 
Closed  in  the  heedless  grasp  of  the  luxurious  and  the  slothful,  it 
unfolds  its  awful  record  over  the  yawning  grave.  Sweet  and  gentle 
and  consoling  to  the  pure  in  heart,  it  thunders  and  threatens  against 
the  unawakened  mind.  Bright  and  joyous  as  the  morning  star  to 
the  benighted  traveler,  it  rolls  like  the  waters  of  the  deluge  over  the 
path  of  him  who  wilfully  mistakes  his  way.  And,  finally,  adapting 
itself  to  every  shade  of  human  character,  and  to  every  grade  of  moral 
feeling,  it  instructs  the  ignorant,  woos  the  gentle,  consoles  the 
afflicted,  encourages  the  desponding,  rouses  the  negligent,  threatens 
the  rebellious,  strikes  home  the  reprobate,  and  condemns  the  guilty."' 

THE  BIBLE. 

In  1832  Mr.  Campbell  issued  an  extra,  of  which  the  following  on 
the  Bible  is  a  part: 

The  following  questions  and  answers  are  tendered  to  our  readers 
on  a  variety  of  subjects  which  have  been  discussed  in  our  periodicals. 
The  answers  here  given  are  the  only  answers  which,  in  accordance 
with   reason,   common   sense,   and   the  Holy   Scriptures,   can  be  given. 


THE    MILLESSIAL    llARBlSaEIt    AlililDGED.  183 

The  prool'  is  not,  however,  adduced,  nor  even  are  the  answers  fully 
illustrated;  because  we  presume  this  has  already  been  done  in  exftriso, 
in  our  previous  pages.  The  object  here  is  to  give  a  condensed  view 
of  much  that  has  been  said  and  written  on  these  subjects,  and  in  the 
more  striking  form  of  questions  and  answers.  It  will  also,  we  hope, 
be  the  means  of  not  only  reviving  the  recollections  of  our  constant 
readers,  on  all  these  topics;  but  will,  we  anticipate,  be  the  means  of 
giving  a  proper  direction  to  the  minus  of  those  who  have  not  exam- 
ined these  matters  with  much  attention. 

If  any  person  can  answer  any  question  in  this  collection  in  anv 
terms  not  in  accordance  with  the  meaning  of  the  answers  given,  we 
shall  thank  him  for  his  reasons.  But  as  at  present  advised,  we  rather 
think  it  to  be  out  ef  the  pale  of  any  communion  with  experience, 
observation,  and  the  inspired  writings,  to  furnish  other  answers  than 
those  given.  For  proof,  where  it  is  required,  we  refer  to  all  our 
former  writings  on  these  subjects. 

Question  1.  Is  there  any  natural  and  co7nmon  desire  discovered 
in  the  human  constitution,  for  the  gratification  of  which  there  is 
nothing  in  existence? 

A7isw€r,  There  can  not  be;  unless  we  become  atheists  and  say 
there  is  no  God,  or  deists,  and  say  there  is  no  divine  revelation. 

Q.  2.  But  are  there  any  common  or  natural  desires  in  the  human 
constitution? 

A.  The  animal  appetites  and  propensities  are  all  natural  and  uni- 
versal; so  is  the  desire  of  happiness,  or  the  full  gratification  of  all 
our  capacities. 

Q.  3.  Is  the  knowledge  of  our  origin  and  destiny  necessary  to  our 
happiness? 

A.  Yes;  and,  therefore,  it  is  the  most  common  and  natural  of  all 
rational   desires. 

Q.  4.  How  would  you  prove  that  the  desire  to  know  our  origin  and 
destiny  is  a  natural  and  universal  desire? 

A.  There  never  was  found  a  nation  without  some  traditionary  or 
fabulous  account  of  its  origin;  without  some  prophecy,  omen,  augury, 
or  sign,  by  which  the  future  was  to  be  known;  and  to  which  the  indi- 
viduals of  that  nation  have  had  recourse.  There  can  not  now  be  founl 
an  individual  who  desires  not  the  knowledge  of  his  origin  and  destiny. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  natural,  a  universal,  and,  we  may  add.  a  rational 
desire.  The  jirodnction  of  only  one  individual  in  the  enjoyment  of 
reason,  who  can  say  that  he  does  not  now.  and  nev-^r  did,  desire  to 
know  his  origin  and  his  destiny,  would  suffice  to  prove  that  the  desire 
is  neither  natural  nor  universal.  But  in  the  absence  of  such  an  indi- 
vidual, we  affirm  it  to  be  universal. 

Q.  5.  Is  man  the  author  of  this  desire? 


184  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

A.  No  more  than  he  is  the  author  of  himself. 

Q.  6.  Can  man  satisfy  tliis  desire? 

A.  No:  for  he  must  have  been  before  man,  who  can  show  him  his 
origin;  and  he  must  know  the  whole  future  of  existence,  who  can 
intimate  to  him  his  destiny.  The  Creator  or  Author  of  man  alone 
can  satisfy  this  desire. 

Q.  7.  Has  such  a  communication  ever  been  made  to  man? 

A.  Yes;  else  we  must  affirm  that  the  most  natural,  universal,  and 
rational  desire  in  our  constitution  is  the  only  one  for  which  the 
Creator  has  made  no  provision  whatever! 

Q.  8.  How  could  God  communicate  to  man  this  knowledge? 

A.  By  a  revelation  in  words. 

Q.  9.  Why  not  by  his  works? 

A.  Whatever  may  be  said  about  the  works  of  creation  attesting  the 
existence  and  perfections  of  God,  nothing  plausible  can  be  said  in 
behalf  of  a  discovery  of  man's  origin  and  destiny  from  the  works  of 
creation:  for  by  words  alone  can  the  knowledge  of  the  past  and  the 
future  be  communicated  to  man. 

Q.  10.  But  can  God  speak? 

A.  Most  certainly,  if  any  of  his  creatures  can  speak.  To  say  that 
God  could  not  speak  to  man,  or  that  he  never  did  speak  to  him,  is, 
of  all  propositions,  the  most  irreconcilable  to  all  the  principles  from 
which  we  reason  in  reference  to  our  rank  and  standing  in  the  uni- 
verse, and  the  character  of  the  moral  Governor  of  the  world. 

Q.  11.  Has  God   spoken  to  man? 

A.  That  he  has,  not  only  do  our  reasonings  from  his  perfections, 
from  man's  rank  in  creation,  from  all  analogies,  from  tradition,  from 
miracles,  abundantly  attest;  but  the  book,  the  record  itself,  the  thing 
communicated,  the  revelation,  irrefragably  asserts  and  vindicates  its 
authorship. 

Q.  12.  In  what  language  has  God  spoken? 

A.  In  the  language  of  man — not  in  the  language  of  angels. 

Q.  13.  Was  it  his  design  to  be  understood  in  our  language? 

A.  Most  assuredly  it  was  his  design  to  communicate  ideas  to  man: 
and  as  there  is  no  way  of  teaching  things  unknown  but  by  things 
known,  and  of  speaking  intelligibly  to  man  but  by  using  his  own 
words;  so  God,  in  speaking  to  man,  has  not  only  clothed  his  ideas 
in  human  speech,  but  has  used  our  words  in  the  common  acceptation 
of  them. 

Q.  14.  Could  anything  in  the  language  of  man  be  esteemed  a  reve- 
lation from  God,  if  the  words  chosen  by  God  were  not  used  by  their 
common  signification? 

A.  No:  for  if  God  annexed  to  our  words,  or  the  speech  which  he 
had   given  to  man,   a  secret  meaning,   a  private  and   peculiar   sense, 


THE   MILLENNIAL    HAltlilNOER    ABRIDGED.  185 

Buch  a  communication  would  rather  delude  and  confound,  than  illu- 
minate the  human  understanding. 

Q.  15.  If,  then,  God  speaks  in  human  language,  must  not  his  com- 
munications be  submitted  to  the  same  rules  of  interpretation  as  all 
other  verbal   communications? 

A.  Yes:  for  were  it  otherwise,  who  could  understand  them?  To 
what  other  laws  of  interpretation  could  they  be  submitted? 

Q.  Ir6.  If  an  occult  meaning,  or  a  cabalistic  sense,  is  to  be  sought 
for  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  by  what  rules,  or  means,  could  it  be 
ascertained? 

A.  By  none;  and,  therefore,  no  criminality  could  be  attached  to 
the  most  palpable  ignorance  of  God,  even  where  his  word  is  most 
accessible. 

Q.  17.  But  is  it  not  impossible  for  a  natural  man  to  understand 
spiritual  things,  in  whatever  style  they  may  be  expressed? 

A.  Yes:  if  the  word  is  not  communicated  to  him.  The  child  of 
pure  nature,  the  savage,  or  the  barbarian,  without  a  verbal  revelation, 
can  not  understand  the  things  supernatural,  any  more  than  a  man, 
having  eyes,  can  see  natural  objects  without  natural  light. 

Q.  18.  But  if  a  natural  man  can  not  understand  spiritual  thing.s 
when  communicated  to  him  in  plain  language,  is  it  not  impossible 
for  him  ever  to  become  a  spiritual  man? 

A.  Yes:  unless  we  can  suppose  a  man  to  be  spiritual  before  he  has 
a  knowledge  of  spiritual  things.  And  if  a  person  can  be  made  spir- 
itual without  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  things,  then  all  the  Scriptures 
are  addressed  to  spiritual  men:  for  how  absurd  would  it  be  to  address 
natural  men  on  spiritual  things,  when  it  is  utterly  impossible  for 
them  to  understand  them,  so  long  as  they  are  natural  men. 

Q.  19.  But  are  the  Scriptures  all  addressed  to  spiritual  men — or 
rather  to  converted  men? 

A.  No:  unless  "wicked  men,"  "stout  hearted  men  and  far  from 
righteousness,"  "unbelievers,  despisers,  and  all  ungodly  and  profane 
persons,"  are  amongst  spiritual  men,  for  all  these  are  directly 
addressed. 

Q.  20.  Can  you  instance  any  addresses  in  the  Old  Testament  or 
the  New  to  such  characters — to  natural  men,  to  unbelievers,  which 
Intimate  that  they  can  understand   them? 

A.  Very  many,  of  which   the  following  are  only  a  specimen: 

Old  Testament  Addresses. — "Look  to  me  all  yon  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  be  saved,  for  I  am  God.  and  there  is  none  else.  Let  the  wicked 
man  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  let 
him  return  to  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him.  and  to 
our  God.  for  ho  will  abundantly  pardon.  Hearken  to  me,  you  stout 
hearted  and   far  from   righteousness;    you   stiff  necked  and  uncircum- 


186  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

cised  In  iieart  and  ears.  I  will  bring  near  my  righteousness,  it  shall 
not  be  far  off,  and  my  salvation  shall  not  tarry;  and  I  will  place 
salvation  in  Zion,  for  Israel  my  glory.  How  long,  you  simple  ones, 
will  you  love  simplicity,  and  the  scorner  delight  in  his  scorning,  and 
fools  hate  knowledge;  turn  you  at  my  reproof:  behold  I  will  pour 
out  my  spirit  upon  you:  I  will  make  known  my  words  to  you."  To 
this  effect  a  thousand  passages  in  the  Old  Scriptures. 

New  Testament  Addresses. — In  the  Christian  Scriptures  we  have 
no  lack  of  such  addresses.  Thus  the  harbinger  of  Jesus  speaks — 
"Offspring  of  vipers — bring  forth  fruits  worthy  of  reformation — reason 
not  within  yourself — Abraham  is  ours — reform,  or  you  will  be 
immersed  in  fire — the  chaff  he  will  consume  in  unquenchable  flame.  ' 
The  Lord  addressed  Bethsaida,  Chorazin,  and  Jerusalem,  calling  upon 
them  to  reform.  He  addressed  the  reprobates  of  that  generation,  tell- 
ing them  that  the  men  of  Nineveh,  and  the  queen  of  Sheba,  should 
arise  to  confront  them  in  the  day  of  judgment.  He  commanded  them 
following  him  for  the  loaves  and  fishes,  to  labor  for  the  bread  which 
endures  to  everlasting  life.  Nay,  the  Apostles  preached  to  pagans, 
idolaters,  natural  men  of  every  shade  and  complexion  of  unbelief,  and 
commanded  all  men  everywhere  to  reform.  Yes,  and  more  still — • 
John  says,  the  testimonies  "were  written"  that  natural  men,  uncon- 
verted, infidel  men,  that  sinners  "might  believe"  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah,  and  have  life  through  his  name.  "As  though  God  did  beseech 
you  by  us,  we  pray  you,  irreconciled  sinners,  to  he  reconciled  to  God,'' 
etc.,  etc. 

Much  of  both  Testaments  is  addressed  specially  and  emphatically 
to  natural  men.  Now  if  they  can  not  understand  those  things  which 
are  intended  for  making  them  spiritual  men,  why  are  they  thus 
addressed?  Is  it  all  a  farce,  a  mockery,  a  delusion!  or  is  it  because 
God  can  speak  to  sinners  as  well  as  to  saints!  If  God  ever  spoke  to 
man  since  the  fall,  he  spoke  first  to  a  natural  unconverted  man — and 
addressed  him  as  such. 

Q.  21.  Might  we  not,  then,  say  that  the  portions  of  God's  communi- 
cations addressed  to  natural  men,  are  just  as  intelligible  to  them,  ar.d 
as  well  adapted  to  their  conversion,  as  those  parts  addressed  to  Chris- 
tians or  saints,  are  adapted  to  their  understanding,  edification,  and 
sanctification  to  God? 

A.  Most  rationally  and  Scripturally  we  may  say  so — else  Paul  had 
no  reason  nor  prudence  in  becoming  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he 
might  gain  some — in  addressing  the  Jew  as  a  Jew,  the  Gentile  as  a 
Gentile;  in  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth,  and  in  answering  every 
man  according  to  his  standing  with  God  and   men. 

Q.  22.  Can  you  mention  any  Scripture  which  commends  the  revela- 
tion to  all  men  as  intelligible,  and  able  to  make  them  wise  to  salvation? 


THE    AIILLJJXMAL    UARliiyGEIi    ABlilDGED.  187 

A.  1  ran.  Paul  says  to  Timothy,  '  From  a  child  you  have  known 
tho  holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  you  icisc  to  salvation, 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;  for  all  Scripture  give  by  inspiration  of 
God,  is  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
fitted  for  every  good  work." 

Q.  23.  Who  of  the  New  Testament  authors  writes  the  most  upon  the 
mysteries,  or  secrets  of  the  Christian  religion? 

A.  Paul. 

Q.  24.  Is  there  any  declaration  of  his  which  would  lead  any  of  his 
readers  to  think  that  he  could  understand  the  knowledge  which  Paul 
communicates  on  these  secrets  of  Christ? 

A.  Yes:  Paul  says  to  the  Ephesians  concerning  the  greatest  secrets 
communicated  to  him,  "By  revelation  God  made  known  to  me  the 
mystery,  as  I  wrote  to  you  in  few  words;  whereby,  ichen  you  read, 
Yor  MAY  iNDKH.sTAND  my  knowledge  in  the  mystery  of  Christ." 

Q.  2.5.  Might  it  not  be  said  that  the  natural  man  savors  not  spirit- 
ual things,  while  the  spiritual  man  savors  all  things? 

A.  Yes;  in  Paul's  sense  of  these  words.  The  natural  man  can  unaer- 
stand  the  things  addressed  to  him,  and  these  are  all  the  things  that 
should  be  addressed  to  him,  so  long  as  he  continues  out  of  the  king- 
dom of  Jesus — until  he  believes  and  obeys  the  gospel.  But  when  he  is 
naturalized  or  born  again,  then  may  be  communicated  to  him  the 
secrets  of  the  reign:  for  he  can  then  discover  the  things  of  the  Spirit. 
"The  secret  of  the  lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him."  The  things  of 
the  kingdom  are  veiled  from  those  at  a  distance  from  it.  They  are  too 
far  off  to  discern  them.  Therefore  they  should  be  addressed  as  unbe- 
lievers, exhorted  and  commanded  to  do  the  things  enjoined  upon  such; 
but  after  turning  to  the  Lord,  a  new  song  is  put  into  their  mouth:  and 
a  new  lesson  put  into  their  hands;  and  thus  the  book  of  God  adapts 
itself  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men. 

Q.  26.  How  comes  it  to  pass  that  a  book  from  such  an  author,  on 
such  a  subject,  and  addressed  to  all  mankind,  should  be  so  difficult 
to  understand? 

A.  There  are  (n  religion,  as  in  nature,  deep  and  unfathomable  things, 
which  overwhelm,  in  religious  awe,  all  the  powers  of  the  human  mind. 
These  are  the  "things  hard  to  be  understood,"  while  the  language 
which  suggests  them  is  as  plain  and  intelligible  as  any  other  language 
In  the  book. 

Q.  27.  But  is  not  the  gospel  one  of  the  plainest  things  in  all  the 
divine  communications,  and  are  not  all  the  Christian  institutions  as 
plain  as  language  can  make  them? 

A.  Most  unhesitatingly  we  must  answer  yes.  To  the  poor  and  the 
Ignorant  the  gospel  is  announced.     Therefore  it  must  he  plain. 


188  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Q.  28.  What  then  are  the  deep  and  unfathomable  things? 

A.  Some  of  the  principles  of  the  divine  government;  the  original 
and  ultimate  designs  of  creation,  providence  and  redemption;  to  which 
department  belong  all  the  pages  of  prophecy  yet  unfulfilled,  and  all 
the  prophecies  of  past  times.  In  reference  to  these  one  may  say,  with 
the  arch-treasurev  of  Ethiopia,  "How  can  I  understand  these  annun- 
ciations, unless  some  one  guide  me?"  But  while  prophecy  always  re- 
quired an  expositor,  and  while  there  are  developments  of  that  incom- 
prehensible mind,  which,  in  religion,  as  in  nature,  avouch  the  grandeur 
and  majesty  of  Him  who  modeled  the  temple  of  the  universe  after  the 
counsels  of  his  own  will;  the  word  of  life,  the  gospel  of  salvation, 
with  all  its  sanctifying  institutions,  is  so  perspicuously  and  familiarly.', 
expressed  that  no  honest  mind  can  possibly  mistake  the  path  of  life. 

Q.  29.  To  what,  then,  are  we  to  attribute  the  numerous  and  dis- 
cordant theories  of  faith  and  salvation  which  have  fractured  Christen- 
dom into  so  many  sects? 

A.  These  are  not  to  be  charged  to  the  obscurities  of  the  revelation, 
but  to  the  pride  of  the  human  mind.  Men  will  not  submit  to  the 
righteousness  of  God.  Mysticism,  and  philosophy  falsely  so  called, 
have  created  an  aristocracy  in  the  commonwealth  of  religion,  and  from 
the  times  of  the  Platonic  conversions  till  now,  men  have  prided  them- 
selves in  belonging  to  this  aristocracy,  in  taking  rank  according  to  the 
precedence  of  mysticism  and  speculative  science,  and  have  thus  become 
the  prey  of  an  empty  and  a  deceitful  philosophy.  Not  one  in  ten  thou- 
sand of  the  men  of  renown  in  the  kingdom  of  the  clergy,  have  ever 
stooped  to  the  simplicity  that  there  is  in  Christ.  They  have  been  soar- 
ing to  the  skies  in  their  speculations,  and  by  their  own  recondite 
abstractions,  have  sought  for  elevation  in  a  kingdom  which  regards 
not  humility  as  the  high  road  to  honor.  They  have  been  interred  in 
the  piles  of  rubbish  which  they  have  reared.    To  them  one  might  apply: 

"  O  sons  of  earth  !  attempt  you  still  to  rise, 
By  mountains  piled  on  mountains,  to  the  Bkies! 
Heaven  still  with  laughter  the  vain  toil  surveys, 
And  buries  madmen  in  the  heaps  they  raise." 

But  while  God  resists  the  proud,  he  gives  grace  to  the  humble.  Every 
one  who  will  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  will  know  that  the  knowledge  of 
salvation  is  easily  acquired;  and  that  the  simpleton,  or  he  that  becomes 
a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise,  will  attain  to  the  full  assurance  of  under- 
standing in  the  mystery  of  Christ. 

Q.  30.  What!   are  there  mysteries  in  Christianity? 

A.  Secrets  there  were  until  developed,  and  until  developed  to  every 
man,  there  are  mysteries  still.  But  the  greatest  of  all  secrets,  to  this 
age,  is,  that  Christianity  consists  in  simply  believing  what  God  has 
said,  and  in  doing  what  he  has  commanded. 


TUB    MILLENMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  183 

Q.  31.  Ale  lliere  not  many  honest  men  on  the  opposite  sides  of  all 
tlieologital  questions? 

A.  Honest  to  a  theory  and  to  the  prejudices  of  education,  they  are; 

.  hcuest,  also,  to  what  they  conscientiously  apprehend  to  be  the  will  of 

heaven;   honest,  as  was  Saul  of  Tarsus,  while  he  anathematized  the 

Messiah — but  honest  to  the  Bible  they  can  not  be,  who  mistake  the 

way  of  salvation. 

Q.  32.  But  how  can  a  man  be  honest  to  himself  and  not  honest  to 
the  Bible? 

A.  In  the  same  manner  that  many  persons  are  honest  to  the  rules 
of  commerce  and  to  the  approved  course  of  trade,  honest  according  to 
civil  law  and  the  principles  of  mercantile  education,  while  the  com- 
merce itself,  and  the  principles  of  tiaffic  approved  by  the  world,  are 
reprobated  at  the  bar  of  right  reason  and  the  Scriptures  of  truth. 

Q.  33.  How  can  a  man  be  honest  to  the  Bible? 

A.  By  coming  to  it  without  a  single  inclination  to  any  opinion, 
theory,  or  system,  whatever;  submitting  his  mind  to  it,  as  the  sealing 
wax  is  submitted  to  the  signet,  prepared  to  receive  from  it,  its  own 
impression.  The  mind  of  such  a  person,  like  a  mirror,  reflects  tha 
image  of  the  book. 

Q.  34.  Will  all  who  approach  it  thus,  receive  from  it  the  same 
impression? 

A.  Yes:  the  same  impression,  differing  only  as  the  substances  which 
are  impressed  by  the  same  seal,  according  to  their  respective  quali- 
ties. Thus  the  characters  engraved  by  the  same  type,  will  be  the  same 
in  all  the  grand  outlines;  although  on  paper  of  different  qualities,  and 
on  materials  of  a  different  fabrication,  there  may  be  a  considerable 
variety  as  respects  distinctness  and  beauty. 

Q.  35.  Are  there  not  many  who  approach  the  Bible  without  any 
bias,  who,  nevertheless,  arrive  at  very  different  conclusions,  or  receive 
very  different  impressions? 

A.  Not  on  the  matters  which  are  connected  with  salvation.  But  it 
13  to  be  suspected  that  the  number  who  thus  approach  the  Bible  ara 
fewer  than  any  sectary  can  think.  The  minds  of  almost  the  whole 
community  are  polluted  with  human  inventions,  from  the  first  dawn- 
Ings  of  reason,  even  before  reflection  has  dared  to  compare,  examine, 
or  decide.  From  the  constitution  of  the  human  family,  the  mind,  as 
Well  as  the  body,  of  one  generation  is  dependent  on  that  which  pre- 
ceded it;  and  this  greatly  contributes  to  the  difficulty  of  reading  the 
book  without  any  prejudice. 

Q.  36.  Why  are  many  good  people  so  much  divided  in  their  general 
views  of  the  Scripture? 

.4.  Because  they  belong  to  different  sects,  and  have  different 
Bystems,  and   they   rather  make  the  Bible  bow  to  their  own  system, 


190  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

received  by  tradition  t'lom  their  lathers,  than  make  their  system  bow 
to  the  Bible;  or,  in  other  words,  each  man,  too  generally,  views  the 
Bible  through  the  medium  of  his  system,  and  of  course  it  will  appear  to 
him  to  favor  it.  Just  as  if  A,  B  and  C  should  each  put  on  different 
colored  glasses;  A  puts  on  green  spectacles,  B  yellow,  and  C  blue:  each 
one  of  them  looks  through  his  own  glasses  at  a  piece  of  white  paper, 
and  each  concludes  he  is  right,  not  remembering  that  he  has  Ms  spec- 
tacles on.  Thus  to  A  it  appears  green,  to  B  yellow,  and  to  C  blue.  They 
begin  to  argue  on  the  subject,  and  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  of  them 
to  convince  another  that  he  is  wrong — each  one  feels  a  conviction  next 
to  absolute  certainty  that  his  opinion  is  right.  But  D,  who  has  no  spec- 
tacles on,  and  who  is  standing  looking  on  during  the  contest,  very  well 
knows  that  they  are  all  wrong;  he  sees  the  spectacles  on  each  man's 
nose  and  so  accounts  for  the  difference.  Thus  one  professor  reads  the 
Bible  with  John  Calvin  on  his  nose;  another  with  John  Wesley  on  his 
nose;  a  third  with  John  Gill,  or  some  of  the  good  old  lights  of  Scot- 
land. Thrice  happy  is  the  man  who  lifts  the  Bible  as  if  it  had 
dropped  from  heaven  into  his  hands  alone  and  whose  eyes  are  anointed 
that  he  may  see. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Campbell  wrote:  "In  attempting  to  restore  the  ancient 
order  of  things,  the  right  of  private  interpretation  is  of  the  highest 
importance.  It  is  the  exercise  of  this  right  which  has  elicited  and 
maintained  the  present  effort  at  Reformation  and  this  alone  which 
can  carry  it  forward  to  its  legitimate  results. 

PREREQUISITES  FOR  PROPER  INTERPRETATION. 

There  is  nothing  more  important  than  a  suitable  preparation  of 
mind  in  the  study  of  the  Holy  Oracles.  Much  depends,  it  is  true,  upon 
the  condition  in  which  these  oracles  are  presented  to  our  consideration. 
We  must  have  the  original,  or  a  correct  version,  in  which  the  true 
sense  is  given  and  in  which  there  is  not  the  slightest  leaning  to  sec- 
tarian tenets.  But,  taking  it  for  granted  for  the  present,  that  we 
have  such  a  version  before  us,  the  ideas  which  we  shall  derive  from  it, 
and  our  success  in  the  pursuit  of  divine  truth  will  depend  much  upon 
the  condition  of  our  own  minds. 

One  of  the  prerequisites  to  which  we  have  already  adverted,  is  the 
conviction  that  we  have  a  right  lo  search  and  interpret  the  Scriptures 
for  ourselves.  A  firm  conviction  that  we  possess  this  right  is  essential 
to  our  success.  If  we  doubt  our  authority  to  search  the  Scriptures, 
we  will  scarce  venture  to  consult  them;  or  if  we  do,  we  will  hardly 
trust  ourselves  to  the  conclusions  to  which  they  seem  to  lead 
us.  If  we  fear  that  we  are  invading  the  province,  and  transgressing 
upon  the  prerogative  of  the  clergy,  we  can  have  no  confidence  either  in 
the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  or  in  ourselves.     We  dare  not  believe 


riU-:    MILLE^}iIAL    IIARBIKGER    ABRIDGED.  191 

what  the  Scripture  seems  to  say,  lest  some  learned  theologian  should 
have  given  a  different  interpretation  to  the  passage;  and  we  can  scarce- 
ly rely  implicitly  upon  his  explanation,  lest  some  other  equally  learned 
commentator  should  have  supplied  a  different  one.  We  are  either 
without  any  fixed  convictions  upon  the  subject;  or,  if  we  receive  in 
any  case  the  assertions  of  some  favorite  teacher,  we  are  led  to  mistake 
credulity  for  faith.  Nor  is  it  difficult  for  men  to  slide  into  these  states 
of  mind  which  are  almost  equally  indolent  and  inactive.  It  requires 
little  exertion  of  thought,  and  less  examination  of  evidence,  to  make 
a  doubter;  and  the  easy  trust  of  the  credulous  layman  saves  him  the 
trouble  of  thinking  altogether.  Nay,  some  have  been  known  to  carry 
their  humility  and  reverential  awe  so  far,  as  not  merely  to  shudder  at 
the  thought  of  venturing  to  understand  the  Scriptures  for  themselves, 
but  to  regard  it  as  a  piece  of  presumption  even  to  attempt  to  under- 
sand  their  preacher. 

In  the  pursuit  of  divine  knowledge,  we  must  neither  doubt  nor 
tamely  surrender  our  right  to  examine  and  judge  for  ourselves.  On 
the  contrary,  we  must  fully  realize  our  true  position  in  respect  to  the 
divine  communications,  and  not  only  feel  perfectly  assured  of  our 
right  to  hear  and  consider  them,  but  regard  this  as  an  imperative 
duty  and  a  most  precious  privilege. 

There  is,  however,  another  requisite  to  a  proper  preparation  of 
mind,  to  which  we  shall  briefly  advert.  This  is  the  conviction  that 
tee  have  to  fear  no  delusion,  and  to  guard  against  no  sophism  or 
artifice  so  far  as  the  Bible  ilsclf  is  concerned;  and  that  we  have  to 
fear  our  own  want  of  perception  only,  and  to  guard  alone  against  the 
false  and  sophistical  reasonings  of  our  own  minds. 

When  we  are  addressed  by  men,  we  have  constantly  to  fear  decep- 
tion upon  their  part,  as  well  as  misconception  upon  our  own.  They 
desire  to  carry  a  point;  to  make  a  convert  to  their  views;  to  secure 
the  confidence  and  admiration  of  their  followers.  To  this  end  they 
employ  all  the  skill  and  ingenuity  of  the  advocate,  and  often  all  the 
cunning  and  artifice  of  the  sophist. 

When,  however,  we  take  up  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  are  spared 
this  labor,  except  as  it  respects  ourselves.  To  the  Took  of  God  there 
can  never  attach  aught  of  uncertainty  or  delusion.  Its  teachings  are 
above  all  suspicion.  Hence  there  are  no  false  facts;  no  sophisms;  no 
mere  rhetorical  devices.  Here  we  have  to  apprehend  no  entanglement 
in  logical  snares;  no  deceitful  declamation;  no  error  in  historical 
detail;  no  want  of  foresight  in  anticipation  of  the  future.  Nor  can  we 
dread  any  imperfection  in  wisdom  and  knowledge,  or  any  deficiency 
of  regard  for  those  addressed.  In  a  word,  we  are  enabled  to  commit 
ourselves  h^art  and  mind  to  the  word  of  Cod  as  to  an  infallible  guide; 
an  unerring  teacher;  and  an  ever  faithful  friend.     There  is  no  other 


192  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

book  in  the  world  which  can  occupy  tlie  same  position;  the  Natural 
World  alone  presents  a  just  analogy  and  bears  a  similar  relation  to 
its  Author  and  to  man. 

It  is  a  delightful  reflection  that  we  have  thus  no  fallacy  to  fear 
in  the  Book  of  God,  as  we  have  ever  in  the  books  of  men.  And  it 
is  important  that  we  should  constantly  remember  this,  and  approach 
the  sacred  volume  with  the  most  implicit  and  undoubting  confidence. 
It  is  an  evident  proof  of  a  perverted  mind  to  undervalue  this  quality 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  to  deny  its  existence  evinces  either  absolute 
infidelity,  or  bold  and  dangerous  heresy.  A  Hume  may  argue  against 
the  truth  of  revelation,  and  a  Priestly  may  trifie  with  its  authority 
and  even  style  the  Apostle  Paul  "an  inconclusive  reasoner;"  but  the 
real  student  of  the  Scriptures  is  troubled  neither  with  doubt  nor  dis- 
belief, and  can  be  neither  an  infidel  nor  a  heretic.  He  approaches  the 
subjects  of  the  Bible  just  as  the  naturalist  draws  near  to  the  objects 
of  the  material  world;  and  the  latter  would  as  soon  think  of  doubting 
or  disbelieving  the  existence  of  the  material  things  he  sees  and  handles, 
as  the  former  the  truthfulness  and  reality  of  the  spiritual  things  pre- 
sented to  his  consideration  in  the  Bible. 

Our  own  perceptions  may  be  at  fault.  We  may  fail  to  pay  a  proper 
degree  of  attention.  Our  minds  may  be  biassed  by  preconceived  opin- 
ions and  theories.  Our  reasoning  may  be  unsound,  and  our  deductions 
false.  It  is  just  so  with  the  observer  of  Nature.  He  may  take  a  par- 
tial and  imperfect  view  of  an  object.  He  may  decide  too  hastily  upon 
its  character  and  relation.  He  may  wrest  the  facts  of  the  material 
world  to  sustain  a  favorite  hypothesis,  and  reason  erroneously  from 
true  premises  so  as  to  reach  a  false  conclusion. 

There  is  required,  then,  in  the  student  of  the  Scriptures,  the  same 
condition  of  mind  necessary  to  the  successful  student  of  Nature.  Both 
must  have  a  just  reverence  for  the  common  Author,  and  an  unwaver- 
ing confidence  in  the  reality  and  genuineness  of  the  things  whether  of 
Nature  or  Religion.  Both  should  have  the  same  freedom  from  prej- 
udice and  prepossession,  and  both  exercise  the  same  care  in  observa- 
tion, and  observe  the  same  justness  and  accuracy  in  their  conclusions. 
With  such  prerequisites  there  could  be  no  fear  of  the  result.  Truth, 
thus  diligently  sought,  would  always  be  found;  and  new  discoveries 
would  constantly  reward  pursuit. 

DIFFERENT    THEORIES    OF   THE    SCRIPTURES. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  sentiment  among  men  in  regard  to 
the  clearness  or  perspicuity  of  the  Scriptures.  Some  believe  them 
so  obscure,  as  well  in  respect  to  subject  as  to  style,  that  their  meaning 
can  be  determined  with  certainty  by  no  ona  Accordingly,  they  make 
no  attempt  to  comprehend  them. 


THE    MILLEyXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  193 

We  have,  again,  a  numerous  class  of  religious  persons,  who,  while 
they  agree  In  general  with  the  views  of  those  mentioned  in  regard 
to  the  obscurity  of  the  Scriptures,  £o  that  they  do  net  pretend  to  be 
able  to  understand  them,  do  nevertheless  affirm  that  it  is  the  privilege 
of  a  iKirticular  class  of  men,  called  the  Clergy,  to  comprehend  and 
interpret  these  divine  communications,  which  are  thus  put  at  least 
upon  a  level  with  the  ancient  oracles  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

We  have  others,  however,  who  insist  that  the  Scriptures  are  plain 
•to  every  one,  and  that  "he  who  runs"  may  not  only  "read,"  but  under- 
stand them.  They  believe  that  the  whole  Bible  is,  in  the  most  evident 
sense,  a  revelation;  and  that  it  treats  of  no  subject  so  intricate,  and 
uses  no  language  so  ambiguous,  as  to  be  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
the  common  mind.  To  them  there  is  nothing  in  its  pages  hidden, 
either  past,  present,  or  to  come.  They  can  speak  with  so  much  confi- 
dence, in  unlicensed  prose,  of  all  the  arrangements  in  the  garden  of 
Eden,  that  one  would  almost  suppose  them  to  have  been  there;  and, 
as  to  the  future,  they  feel  themselves  elevated  upon  the  shoulders  of 
both  the  lesser  and  the  greater  Prophets;  and  seeing,  therefore,  afar 
off,  can  tell  you  the  very  day,  and  give  a  shrewd  guess  as  to  the 
hour  of  the  second  Advent,  and  demonstrate  the  correctness  of  their 
views  not  only  prophetically,  but  chronologically,  arithmetically, 
hieroglyphically,  pictorially,  and  almost  geologically.  To  these  per- 
sons there  is  nothing  new  or  unlocked  for,  and  having  a  marvelous 
•want  of  marvelousness,  they  wonder  at  nothing,  unless  it  be  at  the  only 
mystery  which  they  admit  to  be  inexplicable — to  wit,  that  everybody 
will  not  agree  with  them  in  their  opinions. 

It  is  not,  however,  uncommon  to  find  great  communities  as  well  as 
great  individuals,  adopting  in  turn  opposite  views  of  the  method  of 
Scripture  interpretation,  and  even  holding  them  inconsistently  at  llie 
same  time.  The  Church  of  Rome,  the  very  mother  of  spiritual  mystifi- 
cation, declaring  the  sense  of  Scripture  manifold  and  obscure,  and 
denying  to  the  laity  both  the  ability  and  the  right  to  interpret  it, 
nevertheless  insists,  when  it  suits  her  purpose,  that  the  Scripture 
means  exactly  what  it  says,  and  appeals  confidently  to  this  very  prin- 
ciple when  endeavoring  to  substantiate  the  doctrine  of  transubstan- 
tiation  by  the  declaration  of  Christ:  "This  is  my  body."  The  great 
Luther,  too,  so  conversant  with  language,  and  so  just  in  general  in 
his  views  of  divine  truth,  seems  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  same 
principle,  when,  in  his  celebrated  conference  with  the  Swiss  Reformers, 
he  wrote  with  a  piece  of  chalk  upon  the  velvet  cover  of  the  table  at 
which  they  were  seated:  "Hoc  est  couris  MKr>r."  "Christ  has  said," 
exclaimed  he,  "this  is  my  body.  Let  them  show  me  that  a  body  Is 
not  a*  body.  I  reject  reason,  common  sense,  carnal  arguments  and 
mathematical  proofs.     God  is  above  mathematics.     We  have  the  word 


194  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBITsGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  God;  we  must  adore  it  and  perform  it."  And  not  content  with  con- 
tinually pointing  with  his  finger  to  the  words  which  lie  had  written, 
he  closes  the  discussion  by  seizing  the  velvet  cover,  pulling  it  off  the 
table  and  holding  it  up  in  front  of  Zuingle  and  Ecolampadius,  "See, 
said  he,  "see!  This  is  our  text;  you  have  not  driven  us  from  it,  as 
you  boasted,  and  we  care  for  no  other  pi'oofs."  Such  is  the  influence 
in  some  cases  of  interested  motives;  and  in  others,  of  those  impulses 
by  which,  as  by  oscillatory  movements,  the  human  mind  is  carried 
from  one  extreme  to  another. 

We  have,  in  our  own  times,  abundant  illustration  of  the  unlicensed 
use  of  the  right  of  private  judgment,  and  of  great  perversions  of  that 
favorite  saying:  "The  Scriptures  mean  what  they  say."  The  truth 
is,  the  great  majority  appear  to  mistake  the  meaning  of  this  saying 
itself,  and  to  be  unacquainted  with  its  origin  and  proper  application. 
They  suppose  it  to  be  an  absolute  expression — a  fixed  law  of  inter- 
pretation; when  it  is  merely  a  counter-assertion,  a  relative  principle 
subordinate  to  the  forms  and  laws  of  language.  No  one  could  commit 
a  greater  absurdity  than  to  apply  this  as  an  absolute  or  literal  rule  in 
the  interpretation  of  any  book  or  author,  human  or  divine;  and  it  is 
important  that  so  contracted  a  view  should  give  place  to  a  more 
enlarged  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  to  a  proper  acquaintance  with 
the  true  principles  of  Biblical  interpretation. 

Alarmed  at  the  rapid  flood  of  innovation,  and  as  yet  ignorant  of  the 
great  distinction  between  faith  and  opinion,  and  of  the  great  truth 
that  unity  is  quite  compatible  with  diversity,  the  Protestant  leaders 
endeavored  to  curtail  the  privileges  which  were  at  first  so  willingly 
bestowed. 

In  the  present  effort  to  recover  the  ground  thus  tamely  surrendered 
to  ambitious  prelates,  we,  of  course,  seek  to  give  conspicuity  to  the 
original  Protestant  doctrine,  that  all  men  may  discuss  and  unanimously 
interpret  the  meaning  of  the  inspired  volume;  and  it  is  in  opposition 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  clergy,  to  wit,  that  the  Scripture  has  a  secret 
spiritual  sense  discoverable  by  them  alone,  that  the  saying,  "The  Scrip- 
ture means  what  it  says,"  has  been  introduced  and  employed.  It  was 
never  intended  as  a  literal  rule  of  interpretation,  but  simply  as  a 
counter-assertion,  equivalent  to  a  denial  of  the  proposition  that  the 
sense  of  Scripture  is  manifold,  and  that  the  true  spiritual  meaning  is 
occult  and  discoverable  only  by  those  who  are  divinely  called  for  the 
purpose  of  expounding  it  to  the  people. 

And  as  to  the  sense  of  Scripture,  because  it  is  asserted  that  "it 
means  what  it  says,"  it  does  not  follow  that  every  one  who  has  learned 
to  spell,  is  qualified  to  decide  dogmatically  either  what  it  says  or  what 
It  means.  Alas!  how  many  uninstructed  and  unlicensed,  save  by  an 
overweening  self-complacency,  have  assumed  the  character  and  office 


the:    millennial    harbinger    abridged.  195 

of  public  teachers,  and  by  their  distorted  views  of  divine  trutli,  and 
absolute  ignorance  of  the  true  principles  of  the  present  attempt  at 
reformation,  have  created  unnecessary  opposition  and  brought  discredit 
upon  the  cause  in  which  they  had  been  ostensibly  enrolled  I 

It  is  with  slow,  but  we  trust  with  sure  steps,  that  Truth  follows  a 
path  marked  with  desolation,  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion,  and,  like 
genial  Spring,  to  evolve  both  grateful  flowers  and  precious  fruits  from 
amidst  the  storms  of  a  Winter  of  contention.  It  is  by  the  word  of 
God  alone,  rightly  "divided;"  rightly  interpreted;  rightly  practiced, 
that  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  religious  world  can  be  secured. 
This  word  alone  can  cast  out  the  demons  of  discord,  and  restore  Chris- 
tendom to  a  right  mind.  It  is  then  that  all  true  disciples  will  be  found 
sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

In  a  certain  point  of  view  it  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  all  the  great 
controverted  points  which  have,  for  so  many  ages,  agitated  Christen- 
dom, are  mere  questions  of  Scripture  interpretation.  The  Romanist 
appeals  to  the  word  of  God:  so  does  the  Protestant.  Nay,  each  party 
of  Protestants  contends  that  it  alone  has  discovered  the  true  meaning 
of  the  divine  communications  to  men.  A  difference  of  sentiment  as 
to  the  import  of  the  single  word  "baptism,"  has  had  the  effect  of  sep- 
arating the  whole  Christian  community  into  great  divisions.  There  is, 
indeed,  scarcely  a  party,  great  or  small,  that  we  shall  not  find,  upon 
examination,  to  be  based  ultimately  upon  a  few  biblical  criticisms. 
The  very  distinctions  or  characteristics  which  belong  to  the  present 
effort  at  reformation,  may  thus  be  resolved  finally  into  proper  defini- 
tions of  a  few  Scriptural  terms — such  as  Law,  Gospel,  Testimony, 
Faith,  Regeneration,  Salvation. 

It  was  by  the  words  of  Satan  that  the  human  mind  was  first 
deceived;  and  it  is  by  the  words  of  God,  that  it  is  disabused  of  error. 
As  language  was  the  medium  through  which  the  ruin  of  man  was 
effected,  it  is  also  made,  with  great  propriety,  the  medium  of  his 
restoration. 

On  the  part  of  the  Scriptures,  no  condition  is  needed  but  a  correct 
version.  We  need  read  no  fallacies  in  the  word  of  God.  It  is  against 
ourselves  we  must  be  upon  our  guard.  We  have  to  watch  against  our 
own  imperfections  in  knowledge  and  capacity;  our  own  prejudices 
and  preconceptions;  our  own  proneness  to  hasty  and  erroneous  con- 
clusions; our  own  unfitness  for  a  proper  reception  of  truth.  The  word 
of  God,  being  inspired,  is,  of  course,  infallible  as  its  Author.  He  who 
"can  not  lie"  dictated  it,  and  it  can  not  deceive  us.  He  who  knows  all 
things  imparts  therein  a  wisdom  which  can  never  mislead  us.  We 
may  rely  upon  it,  therefore,  with  the  most  implicit  confidence. 

Amidst  the  controversies  respecting  the  perspicuity  of  this  sacred 
volume,  to  which  1  have  adverted,  men  seem  to  have  lost  sight  of  the 


196  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

obvious  truth,  that  thia  quality  is  always  relative.  A  treatise  upon 
any  subject,  which,  to  an  intelligent  mind,  or  one  familiar  with  the 
subject,  would  be  perfectly  clear,  would  be  incomprehensible  to  another 
not  possessed  of  the  same  capacity  or  knowledge.  A  matter,  which 
seems  obscure  upon  slight  and  partial  consideration,  becomes  perfectly 
evident  when  maturely  examined.  The  degree  of  attention  has,  indeed, 
in  all  cases,  much  to  do  with  the  proper  understanding  of  the  objects 
both  of  sense  and  thought;  and,  in  deciding  upon  the  perspicuity  of 
any  work,  we  must  duly  consider  the  nature  of  the  subject  which  it 
presents,  and  whether  it  demands  a  greater  degree  of  attention  than 
the  subject  itself  requires  and  deserves.  And  as  there  are  some  sub- 
jects which  address  themselves  to  the  reason  or  the  fancy,  while  others 
have  a  special  relation  to  the  affections,  we  must  also  consider  whether 
the  proper  kind  of  attention  has  been  bestowed.  He  who  considers, 
with  cold  philosophical  abstraction,  a  subject  which  demands  the  warm- 
est emotions  of  the  heart,  will  be  as  far  from  comprehending  it 
truly,  as  he  who  wildly  speculates  upon  a  matter  requiring  the  most 
vigorous  intellectual  analysis,  will  be  from  the  discovery  of  the  truth 
he  seeks. 

The  perspicuity  of  the  Scriptures,  then,  may  scarcely  be  made  with 
propriety  a  matter  of  discussion.  Being  the  dictates  of  inspiration, 
they  are  necessarily  perfect  in  this  as  in  every  other  respect. 

Perspicuity,  then,  as  said  before,  is  a  relative  quality,  and  is  to  be 
regarded  in  a  twofold  point  of  view:  1st,  as  respects  the  power  to 
impart  knowledge;  and  2dly,  as  it  regards  the  ability  to  receive  it. 
These  are  correlative  and  dependent  upon  each  other.  It  matters 
not  that  a  treatise  have  the  utmost  possible  clearness  which  the  sub- 
ject admits,  if  there  be  not  sufficient  capacity,  or  knowledge,  or  atten- 
tion on  the  part  of  its  student.  However  brilliant  the  light  of  heaven, 
it  may  not  penetrate  eyes  that  are  closed;  however  distinct  and  clear 
the  truths  the  Bible  utters,  they  will  fail  to  enter  into  ears  that  are 
dull  of  hearing;  however  interesting  and  attractive  the  objects  it 
presents  for  acceptance,  they  can  find  no  admission  into  hearts  already 
full  of  grossness  and  corruption.  Hence  it  is  that  our  Lord  so  often 
closes  an  important  lesson  of  instruction  with  the  singular  but  expres- 
sive injunction,  "He  that  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear."  The  good 
word  of  the  kingdom,  too,  is  represented  as  seed  sown  upon  various 
kinds  of  ground — on  the  beaten  pathway  where  it  did  not  enter;  upon 
stony  places  where  it  had  not  sufficient  depth  of  earth;  among  thorns 
by  which  its  growth  was  hindered,  or  upon  the  good  soil  in  whicn 
it  flourished  and  brought  forth  abundant  fruit.  These  different  kinds 
of  ground  represent  different  classes  of  hearers,  and  as  it  is  manifestly 
no  defect  in  the  vegetative  power  of  the  seed  sown  that  occasions  sucn 
various  results,  but  differences  in  the  soil  on  which  it  falls,  so  it  is 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  197 

owing  to  no  deficiency  in  the  word  oi"  (Jod,  that  all  do  not  understand 
and  receive  it,  but  to  the  obtuseness  and  obduracy,  the  corruption  and 
pride  of  the  human  heart  itself. 

Instead,  then,  of  vainly  endeavoring  to  make  the  Scriptures  plainer, 
our  efforts  should  be  directed  rather  to  the  removal  of  the  obstacles 
which  prevent  them  from  speaking  to  the  consciences  of  men.  Chris- 
tians may  be  co-workers  with  the  Lord  and  agents  of  the  divine  provi- 
dence in  breaking  up  the  stony  ground  or  the  trodden  paths  of  obdu- 
racy, and  in  extirpating  the  rank  weeds  of  depravity  and  vice.  It  is 
thus  the  skillful  husbandman  addresses  his  labors  to  the  amelioration 
of  the  soil  he  cultivates,  nor  does  ue  ever  dream  of  adding  any  vege- 
tative power  to  the  seed  he  sows,  but  seeks  to  secure  an  abundant 
harvest   by   preparing  and   opening  the   coil   for  its  reception. 

It  has  not  been  my  design,  in  these  papers,  to  enter  upon  the  con- 
sideration of  the  rules  to  be  observed  in  translating  the  Scriptures 
from  the  original  tongues. 

It  has  been  shown,  I  trust,  that  the  state  of  mind  of  those  to  whom 
the  Scripture  is  addressed,  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance;  and 
that  if  the  heart  be  not  in  a  suitable  condition,  the  proper  impressions 
can  not  be  made  upon  it.  To  this  cause  alone  is  evidently  referred, 
in  the  parable  of  "The  Sower,"  any  failure  or  deficiency  that  may 
appear  in  the  results  designed  to  be  accomplished  by  the  word  of  God. 
Just  as  the  sun's  rays  fall  in  vain  upon  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  so 
does  the  light  of  truth  fail  to  penetrate  into  the  soul  that  is  unfitted  lo 
receive  it.  The  perspicuity  of  the  Scriptures,  then,  is  necessarily  rela- 
tive,  as  we  have  before  stated,  depending  quite  as  much  upon  the 
attention  and  disposition  of  the  reader,  as  upon  the  intrinsic  perfec- 
tion of  the  oracles  themselves.  But  their  light  is  necessarily  trans- 
mitted through  the  medium  of  human  language,  in  order  that  it  may 
depict  upon  the  human  heart  the  bright  image  of  the  divine  perfec- 
tions. This  medium  must  be  so  pure  that  no  ray  of  the  celestial  light 
shall  be  intercepted;  or,  in  other  words,  we  must  have  a  true  ver- 
sion, in  which  the  divine  communications  are  fully  delivered;  but  it 
is  no  less  necessary  that  the  mind  should  be  ready  to  receive  the  truth, 
and  that  this  should  dwell  long  enough  upon  the  heart  to  produce  its 
pioper  impression.  There  can  never  be  any  imperfection  in  this 
impression,  unless  from  some  defect  in  the  medium  of  communication, 
or  in  the  heart  itself  on  which  the  impression  is  to  be  made.  If  no 
defect  exist  in  these,  the  heavenly  light  will  truly  reveal  God  to  the 
human  soul;  and  not  only  so,  but  will  also  reveal  man  to  himself,  and 
with  such  unerring  truthfulness  portray  his  real  character,  that  no  one 
can  mistake  the  resemblance.  It  will  not  be  here  as  in  a  miniature 
drawn  by  human  art,  which  misrepresents;  is  seldom  accurate,  and 
almost  invariably  flatters;   hut  rather  as  in  the  Daguerreotype  which 


198  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

forms,  by  means  of  the  light  of  day,  a  perfect  image  upon  the  polished 
plate  fitted  to  receive  it.  The  Bible,  indeed,  is  the  Daguerreotype 
KOR  THE  SOUL.  Through  it  the  spiritual  light  of  heaven  passes,  and 
imprints  upon  the  heart  a  faithful  representation  of  the  character. 
Like  the  Daguerreotype,  however,  it,  too,  may  fail  by  a  mistranslation 
or  perversion  of  its  language,  which,  like  the  lens  of  the  former,  is  the 
medium  through  which  the  light  passes — or  by  an  insensibility  or 
corruption  of  the  heart,  which  is  as  the  plate  on  which  the  image  is 
portrayed.  What  care,  then,  should  be  taken  that  this  celestial  light, 
itself,  so  pure  and  perfect,  should  be  transmitted  through  a  pure 
medium,  and  received  into  a  heart  well  prepared  for  its  reception! 

Ernesti  says:  "It  has  frequently  been  asserted,  that  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture,  we  should  proceed  in  the  same  manner  that 
we  would  do  in  regard  to  any  other  book  of  antiquity.  To  a  certain 
extent,  this  position  may  be  regarded  as  just,  and  many  of  the  observa- 
tions contained  in  the  following  pages  are  founded  on  it;  but  as  the 
Bible  contains  subjects,  which,  of  all  others,  are  calculated  to  affect 
the  heart,  and  it  is  generally  admitted,  that  in  proportion  as  the  heart 
is  interested  in  any  inquiry,  a  corresponding  degree  of  influence  will 
be  exerted  on  the  processes  of  investigation;  it  is  evident,  that  respect 
must  be  had  to  the  moral  state  of  the  affections,  if  we  would  arrive 
at  just  and  accurate  views  of  divine  truth. 

"The  high  and  exclusive  claims  of  Scripture,  too,  give  them  an 
elevation  of  character,  which  commands  peculiar  attention  and  respect. 
Till  the  mind  be  satisfied  on  the  subject  of  these  claims,  it  may  be 
conceded  to  an  inquirer,  to  class  the  sacred  writings  with  other  works, 
pretending  to  a  heavenly  origin,  though,  even  then,  he  could  not  be 
justified  in  treating  their  contents  with  levity  and  indifference  of 
mind;  but  no  sooner  are  their  inspiration  and  paramount  authority 
admitted,  than,  according  to  the  natural  constitution  of  the  human 
mind,  he  is  constrained  to  place  himself  under  the  influence  of  a  prin- 
ciple, which  will  lead  him  to  bow  with  humble  submission  to  their 
holy  dictates,  and  to  seek  in  all  things  to  receive  and  practice  what- 
ever is  presented  to  him,  as  the  will  of  the  great  Author  of  revelation. 
"If  he  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Bible,  and  his  affections  be 
in  unison  with  its  dictates,  nothing  will  be  more  natural  and  easy 
than  the  acquisition  of  correct  ideas  respecting  its  contents;  whereas, 
i.f  his  views,  feelings  and  inclinations  are  at  variance  with  its  require- 
ments, he  will  infallibly,  though  perhaps  unwittingly,  endeavor  to 
pervert  the  language  in  which  these  requirements  are  recorded,  in 
order  to  bring  them  into  accordance  with  his  wishes,  or  the  standard 
of  his  preconceived  opinions. 

"S 1.  The  primary  moral  qualification,  therefore,  of  all  who  would 
successfully  interpret  the  Scriptures,  is  vital  and  practical  godliness — 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HAKIilSGER    ABRIDGED.  199 

that  'godliness,'  'which  is  profitable  to  all  things' — 'the  fear  of  the 
Lord,'  which  'is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.'  While  it  is  the  righteous 
determination  of  heaven,  that  'none  of  the  wicked  shall  understand;' 
we  are  taught  by  Him,  who  is  truth  itself,  that  all  who  conduct  their 
inquiries  under  the  influcnco  of  a  predisposition  to  conform  to  the  will 
of  God,  shall  not  be  left  without  instruction;  'if  any  one  is  willing 
to  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  concerning  the  doctrine'  (John  vii.  17). 
'What  man  is  he  that  feareth  Uie  Lord?  Him  shall  he  teach  in  the 
way  that  he  shall  choose'  (Ps.  xxv.  12). 

"S2.  Unreserved  suh7nission  to  the  authority  of  divvie  revelation. 
The  language  of  him  who  interprets  Scripture,  should  ever  be  in  har- 
mony with  that  of  Samuel:  'Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth. 
All  favorite  ideas,  popular  hypotheses,  hereditary  or  self-cogitated 
systems  and  opinions,  must  be  laid  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  Bible, 
which  must  be  'received  not  as  the  word  of  men;  but  as  it  is  in 
truth,  the  word  of  God.'  'To  the  law  and  the  testimony'  all  our 
decisions  must  be  brought.  If  they  differ  from  them,  'it  is  because 
there  is  no  light  in  them.'  A  divine  revelation  might  naturally  be 
expected  to  teach  truths  untaught  by  reason;  and  it  is  equally  natural 
to  expect,  that  our  limited  capacities  should  not  be  able  to  comprehend 
fully  the  modes,  circumstances,  and  relations  of  these  truths  which 
reason  could  not  teach,  and  which  are  known  only  by  revelation,  any 
more  than  of  many  physical  and  moral  truths  connected  with  our 
world,  known  without  revelation. 

"§3.  An  humble  and  teachable  disposition  of  mind.  As  few  things 
are  more  hostile  to  the  pursuit  of  truth,  in  general,  than  self-conceit 
and  pride  of  intellect,  so  there  is  no  temper  so  offensive  to  the  great 
Author  of  religious  truth,  as  a  proud  and  self-sufficient  disposition: 
"Though  the  I^rd  be  high,  yet  hath  he  respect  to  the  lowly;  but  the 
proud  he  knoweth  afar  off.  Every  one  that  is  proud  in  heart,  is  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord.  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace 
to  the  humble.  The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment,  and  the  weak 
will  he  teach  his  way'  (Ps.  cxxxviii.  6;  Prov.  xvi.  5;  L  Pet.  v.  5; 
Ps.  xxv.  9).  Hence,  both  in  che  general  defense  of  Christianity,  and 
in  the  successful  interpretation  of  its  essential  doctrines,  none  have 
more  signally  distinguished  themselves  than  they  who,  to  a  grasp  of 
intellect  above  their  fellows,  have  united  the  profoundest  reverence 
and  humility  in  exploring  the  depths  of  heavenly  wisdom. 

"S4.  A  decided  attachment  to  divine  truth,  springing  from  a  percep- 
tion of  its  intrinsic  beauty  and  excellence.  That  spirit  of  indifference 
which  some  would  recommend  as  favorable  to  the  discovery  of  truth, 
is  perfectly  incompatible  with  all  just  ideas  of  the  nature  and  impor- 
tance of  divine  revelation.  The  truths  it  discloses  are  so  transcen- 
dently  excellent,  and  bear  so  directly  on  our  best  and  dearest  interest. 


200  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

that  whenever  discovered  in  their  native  light,  they  must  win  the 
heart,  and  decide  the  choice.  Accordingly,  those  who  derive  no  sav- 
ing benefit  from  the  gospel,  are  said  to  receive  not  the  love  of  the 
TRUTH.  (II.  Thess.  ii.  10.)  The  more  the  true  glory  of  the  revealed 
system  is  perceived,  the  more  will  the  mind  be  imbued  with  the  spirit, 
and  the  influence  which  this  imbuement  will  exert  in  leading  to  full 
and  consistent  views  of  that  system,  can  not  fail  to  be  signally  bene- 
ficial. 

"§5.  Persevering  diligence  in  the  use  of  every  proper  means  for  dis- 
covering 'the  mind  of  the  Spirit.'  "While  it  is  of  prime  importance 
for  the  interpreter  of  Scripture  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  his  natural 
faculties,  and  never  to  attribute  supremacy  to  his  own  understand- 
ing, or  the  judgment  of  any  mere  man,  or  body  of  men,  it  is  obviously 
his  duty  to  apply  those  faculties  in  the  use  of  the  various  means  with 
which  he  is  furnished  for  understanding  the  Scriptures.  Subject  to 
those  restrictions,  which  a  sense  of  the  supreme  authority  of  the  ora- 
cles of  God,  and  the  natural  darkness  of  the  mind  can  not  but  inspire, 
human  reason  and  science  may,  without  hesitation,  be  allowed  their 
full  share  in  the  interpretation  of  those  oracles.  Though  incompetent 
themselves  to  the  discovery  of  spiritual  knowledge,  yet,  when  discov- 
ered, they  are  competent  to  discern,  to  examine,  to  compare,  to  illus- 
trate, and  to  confirm  it  by  means  similar  to  those  which,  in  every 
other  pursuit,  lead  most  certainly  to  improvement  and  perfection. 
Not  only  must  the  interpreter  render  himself  familiar  with  the  con- 
tents of  the  sacred  volume,  by  a  constant  and  unremitting  reading; 
but  he  must  spare  no  pains  in  finding  out,  and  appropriating 
to  his  use,  all  the  accessory  means  by  which  his  acquaintance  with 
it  may  be  facilitated  and  advanced:  endeavoring  to  make  himself  mas- 
ter of  every  subject  in  any  way  connected  with  the  work  in  which 
he  is  engaged;  and  guarding  against  every  temptation  to  precipita- 
tion and  rashness  in  drawing  conclusions  on  matters  of  such." 

'Incessant  and  earnest  prayer  for  divine  illumination,^'  to  which 
he  appends  the  following  remarks:  "While  it  is  freely  admitted  that 
no  such  extraordinary  teaching,  as  was  enjoyed  in  the  age  of  inspira- 
tion, can  warrantably  be  expected  in  the  present  day,  it  is  neverthe- 
less undeniable  that  the  Scriptures  instruct  us  to  believe  in  the  en- 
lightening influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  (I.  John  ii.  20,  27.)  This 
aid  consists  in  a  special,  internal  and  efficient  operation  of  that  divine 
agent,  and  is  no  less  distinct  from  the  prophetic  and  apostolic  im- 
pulse, than  it  is  from  that  mere  natural  assistance  by  which  we  dis- 
cover common  truths,  and  succeed  in  our  ordinary  undertakings.  It 
is  granted  in  answer  to  prayer,  accompanied  by  the  exercise  of  humble 
dependence  on  God,  and  a  due  use  of  all  the  ordinary  means  of  im- 
provement.    'If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  201 

to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not:   and  it  shall  he  c^ivkn  iiisi' 
(Jas.  i.  5). 

"All  eminent  interpreters  of  Scripture  have  asserted  the  neces- 
sity and  utility  of  prayer.  One  of  the  qualifications  which  Wickliffe 
considered  to  be  indispensably  requisite  in  him  who  interprets  the 
word  of  God,  he  expresses  in  the  following  striking  terms:   'He  should 

be  A    MAX   OF  PRAYER.      He   NEEDS   THE  INTER.XAL   I.NSTRLCTION   OF  THE  Pi:I- 

MAUY  Tt,vciiER.'  To  the  same  effect  is  the  testimony  of  the  great  Dr. 
Owen:  'For  a  man  solemnly  to  undertake  the  interpretation  of  any 
portion  of  Scripture  without  invocation  of  God,  to  be  taught  and  in- 
structed by  his  Spirit,  is  a  high  provocation  of  him;  nor  shall  I  ex 
pect  the  discovery  of  truth  from  any  one  who  thus  proudly  engages 
in  a  work  so  much  above  his  ability.  But  this  is  the  sheet  anchor 
of  a  faithful  expositor  in  all  difficulties:  nor  can  he  without  this  be 
satisfied  that  he  hath  attained  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  in  any  divine 
revelation.  When  all  other  helps  fail,  as  they  frequently  do,  this  wul 
afford  him  the  best  relief.  The  labors  of  former  expositors  are  of 
excellent  use;  but  they  are  far  from  having  discovered  the  depths  of 
this  vein  of  wisdom;  nor  will  the  best  of  our  endeavors  prescribe  lim- 
its to  our  successors:  and  the  reason  why  the  generality  go  in  the 
same  track,  except  in  some  excursions  of  curiosity,  is  not  giving  them- 
selves up  to  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  diligent  performance  of  their  duty.' 
And  Ernesti  himself,  whom  none  will  accuse  of  fanaticism,  scruples 
not  to  assert  that  'men  truly  pious,  and  desirous  of  knowing  the  truth, 
are  assisted  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  researches, 
specially  in  those  things  that  pertain  to  faith  and  practice.'  " 

Dr.  Richardson  protests  against  the  formation  of  any  theory  as  to 
how  the  Holy  Spirit  aids— the  fact  is  sufficient. 

INTERPRETATION    OF    THE    SCRIPTURES. 

In  discussing  the  general  subject  of  Scripture  interpretation,  we 
have  contemplated,  in  certain  points  of  view,  the  two  opposing  theories 
respecting  the  perspicuity  and  intelligibility  of  the  Bible.  In  order 
to  keep  these  theories  clearly  before  the  mind,  we  will  here  briefly 
state  them. 

The  one  is,  that  the  Scriptures  possess  in  themselves  an  absolute 
and  necessary  power  to  make  themselves  understood,  wholly  irrespec- 
tive of  the  state  or  character  of  the  mind  to  which  they  are  presented. 
In  this  view,  no  preparation  of  mind  or  heart  is  supposed  at  all  neces- 
sary to  the  reception  of  the  truths  of  revelation.  All  minds  are,  at  all 
times,  fit  for  their  reception.  Everybody  has  "ears  to  hear,"  and  to 
hear,  is  at  once  to  comprehend.  It  is  supposed  that  the  Scriptures, 
Independent  of  the  nature  of  the  subjects  which  they  present,  and 
even  of  the  attention  that  is  paid  to  them,  have  the  power  to  reach 


202     ■  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  control  the  understanding  and  the  affections,  and  all  influences 
of  every  sort  which  may  be  thought  by  others  requisite  or  even  con- 
ducive to  these  ends,  are  accordingly  contemned.  There  are,  it  is 
true,  a  great  many  different  degrees  and  phases  of  this  doctrine;  from 
the  time  at  which  it  first  modestly  displays  its  horns,  in  the  haze  of 
the  western  horizon,  to  that  at  which,  like  another  satellite,  high  in 
the  zenith,  it  reveals  its  full-orbed  face  unveiled.  But  we  prefer  to 
state  it,  and  to  consider  it,  as  it  is  really  and  essentially,  free  from 
those  reticences  and  ambiguities  by  which  it  is  so  often  rendered  mis- 
shapen or  obscure.  It  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  this  view  that  to 
a  proper  understanding  of  the  sacred  writings,  ignorance  is  just  as 
conducive  as  knowledge,  and  that  neither  learning,  nor  talent,  nor 
disposition,  nor  attention;  in  short,  that  no  gifts,  either  natural  or 
acquired,  contribute  any  thing  whatever  to  their  interpretation.  And 
the  practical  effect  of  it  is,  that  the  untaught  and  unstable,  glad  to 
receive  and  cherish  a  doctrine  which  places  them  upon  a  fancied 
equality  with  those  of  superior  attainments  ana  abilities,  adopt  the 
most  crude  and  imperfect  notions  of  religion,  and  adhere  to  them  so 
much  the  more  tenaciously,  as  they  are,  in  their  opinion,  the  evident 
doctrines  of  the  word  of  God,  of  which  they  are  themselves  competent 
and  authorized  expositors.  Such  individuals  are  readily  recognized  by 
the  vanity  and  confidence  with  which  they  propound  their  half-formed 
tenets,  and  the  dogmatic  intolerance,  and  procacity  with  which  they 
at  once  begin  to  controvert  the  views  of  others. 

The  other  theory  is,  that  the  written  word  is  a  dead  letter,  having 
no  power  or  tendency  whatever  in  itself  to  act  upon  the  human  mind. 
Nothing  can  secure  this  result  but  a  direct  and  independent  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  it  is  supposed,  can  and  often  does,  without 
the  word,  enlighten,  convince,  and  convert  the  soul.  Here,  equally 
as  in  the  other  view,  the  state  of  mind  is  a  matter  of  indifference,  and 
all  human  aids  which  might  be  thought  favorable  to  the  object,  such 
as  learning,  or  natural  ability,  or  purity  of  purpose,  or  earnestness 
of  desire,  or  application,  are  absolutely  unavailing.  The  wise  know 
not  God  by  their  wisdom,  nor  do  the  prudent  attain  salvation  by  their 
vigilance,  nor  do  the  earnest  secure  to  themselves  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  by  strenuous  perseverance.  It  is  an  instantaneous  effect,  pro- 
duced by  special  supernatural  power,  whose  exercise  depends  wholly 
upon  the  sovereign  will  and  pleasure  of  the  Deity.  The  natural  ten- 
dency and  the  actual  effect  of  this  doctrine  is  that  the  written  word 
is  neglected  and  its  teachings  disregarded,  and  that  the  supporters  of 
the  theory  are  characterized  more  by  the  unsettled  state  of  their  feel- 
ings, than  by  the  clearness  of  their  views  of  Christianity;  that  they 
are  more  superstitious  than  religious;  and  far  better  oneirocritics  than 
interpreters  of  Holy  Writ. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARUINOER    ABRIDGED.  203 

It  is  in  opposition  to  botli  of  tlio  above  theories  that  we  have 
endeavored  to  show  the  perspicuity  of  the  Scriptures  is  relative,  and 
that  a  variety  of  influences  .nay  and  do  contribute  to  a  proper  com- 
prehension of  their  meaning.  We  have  already,  we  trust,  in  some 
degree,  exhibited  the  importance  of  a  proper  state  of  mind — a  suitable 
preparation  of  heart  for  the  recepti<3n  of  the  truth — and  have  briefly 
stated  some  objections  to  the  popular  doctrine  which  requires  that 
this  preparation  of  heart,  or  that  spiritual  discernment  necessary  to 
the  just  perception  of  Scripture  truth,  shall  be  invariably  referred  to 
"a  special  internal  and  efficient  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

We  have  not  thought  it  necessary,  at  present,  directly  to  contro- 
vert this  theory.  It  has  been  deemed  sufficient,  in  relation  to  the 
general  subject  of  Scripture  interpretation,  to  object  to  it  as  an  un- 
authorized mixture  of  opinion  with  faith,  an  unnecessai-y  introduc- 
tion of  the  question  of  the  mode  in  which  prayer  for  wisdom  is 
answered,  and  an  undue  restriction  of  divine  agency  to  one  precise 
and  unvaried  channel.  It  ought  to  be  sufficient  for  the  Christian 
to  inculcate  belief  in  the  statements,  and  trust  in  the  promises  of 
Scripture,  without  insisting  upon  the  addition  of  any  theoretic  view 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to  be  fulfilled. 

We  regard  it,  however,  important  to  consider  a  little  more  fully 
the  opposite  notion,  that  the  Scriptures  possess  in  themselves  an 
absolute  intelligibility;  and  to  exhibit  the  nature  of  those  influences 
which  are  indispensable  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  things  which 
they  are  designed  to  reveal.  It  is  essential  here  that  words  be  rated 
at  their  true  value.  This,  indeed,  is  the  very  question  in  dispute. 
One  party  underrates;  the  other,  overrates  their  power.  The  former 
supposes  that  ^he  word  alone  does  nothing;  the  latter  imagines  that 
it  accomplishes  everything.  Between  such  conflicting  extremes,  calm 
and  impartial  investigation  may  discover  the  happy  medium  of  reason 
and  truth. 

That  the  power  of  words  to  communicate  ideas  depends  upon  the 
capacity  to  understand  them,  is  a  matter  so  obvious  that  it  requires 
no  argument.  And  this  capacity  is,  by  no  means,  always  given  by 
a  knowledge  of  the  individual  words  employed  to  communicate  the 
thought.  There  are  many  who,  while  they  are  willing  to  agree  that 
we  must  understand  the  words  in  order  to  comprehend  the  thought, 
will  by  no  means  admit  that  we  can  fail  to  grasp  the  thought  after 
having  this  acquaintance  with  the  words  employed  to  convey  it.  With 
them,  each  word  has  a  certain  determinate  value,  and  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  add  together  these  separate  values  to  have  the  true  result 
Words,  however,  are  somewhat  like  numbers,  whose  value  in  combi- 
nation is  very  different  from  that  which  they  possess  individually  and 
alone.     They  are  not,  indeed,  always  affected  by   relative  position  to 


204  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  same  extent,  or  in  the  same  manner  as  numbers,  but  every  one, 
at  all  conversant  with  language,  must  be  aware  how  much  depends 
upon  the  arrangement  of  words,  and  how  readily  the  meaning  of  a 
sentence  can  be  changed,  and  even  reversed,  by  a  slight  alteration 
in  the  order  of  its  words,  without  making  any  alteration  in  these 
words  themselves.  Hence  it  requires  the  largest  acquaintance  with 
language;  the  most  highly  cultivated  powers  of  thought,  and  the 
greatest  delicacy  of  perception,  to  determine,  with  accuracy,  the  proper 
signification  of  the  phrases  and  various  combinations  into  which  lan- 
guage may  be  wrought.  The  determination  of  these  points  involves 
often  the  exercise  of  the  very  highest  powers  of  the  human  mind, 
and  the  utmost  labor  of  research,  and  it  is  therefore  the  error  of 
ignorance  to  suppose  that  a  mere  knowledge  of  the  words  will  neces- 
sarily communicate  the  ideas  intended  to  be  conveyed.  A  knowledge 
of  the  words  is,  indeed,  necessary;  but  often  much  more  than  this 
is  necessary;  and  it  is  this  which  the  friends  of  the  theory  above 
mentioned   seem  to  have  wholly  overlooked. 

Again,  there  are  many  who  seem  to  imagine  that  human  language 
is  a  perfect  medium  of  the  communication  of  thought.  But  this  is 
very  far  from  being  the  case,  even  when  the  language  is  thoroughly 
understood.  Different  languages  differ,  indeed,  in  this  respect,  as  they 
vary  in  copiousness  and  in  delicacy  of  structure.  Thus  the  translator 
of  the  noted  passage  (Matt.  xvi.  18),  "I  say  unto  thee  that  thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church,"  may  well  complain 
of  the  imperfection  of  our  English  tongue,  as  compared  with  the 
Greek,  because  he  finds  it  impossible  to  express,  in  the  former,  the 
distinction  between  "Peter"  and  "rock,"  so  admirably  exhibited  in  the 
latter  by  the  differences  of  termination  of  the  words  Petros  and  petra. 
Not  only  is  the  allusive  force  and  beauty  of  the  passage  wholly  lost, 
in  our  language,  by  the  want  of  resemblance  between  "Peter"  and 
"rock,''  but  an  ambiguity  is  introduced  which  does  not  exist  in  the 
original,  and  which,  depending  merely  upon  two  or  three  letters, 
is,  nevertheless,  foundation  enough  for  St.  Peter's  and  the  Popedom. 
Thus,  also,  there  are  many  delicate  shades  of  thought  which  may  be 
expressed  in  the  French  language,  but  not  in  the  English.  But  there 
is  no  numan  language  which  can  perfectly  reveal  all  the  thoughts  and 
workings  of  the  mind. 

Written  language  is,  in  this  respect,  especially  defective,  as  com- 
pared with  that  which  is  spoken.  The  changes  of  the  voice,  the 
emphasis  and  intonations  of  the  speaker,  will  render  his  meaning 
clear,  when  his  words  alone  will  not  express  it.  We  feel  this  defici- 
ency of  written  language  often  is.  tlte  scriptures,  and  more  especially 
in  that  most  important  portion  of  them  in  which  our  Lord's  discourses 
are  recorded.     These  were  spoken,  and  when  thus  delivered  by  our 


THE    AflLLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  205 

Lord  in  person,  were  as  different  from  those  handed  down  to  us  in 
writing,  as  the  living  form  is  different  from  the  skeleton.  Hence 
much  of  the  force  and  meaning  of  his  language  is  wholly  lost  to  the 
reader,  who  is  either  too  superficial  to  penetrate  the  parchment  veil, 
or  too  dependent  upon  naked  arbitrary  signs,  to  pass  beyond  their 
mere  literal  import.  Of  this  we  might  adduce  many  examples  were  it 
necessary,  but  wo  will  here  for  illustration  only  refer  to  a  very  simple 
incident  in  the  interview  between  Jesus  and  Mary  after  the  resurrec- 
tion, recorded  by  John  (chap.  xx.  15,  16):  "Jesus  saith  unto  her, 
Woman,  why  weepest  thou?  Whom  seekest  thou?"  She,  supposing 
him  to  be  the  gardener,  saith  unto  him,  "Sir,  if  thou  hast  borne  him 
hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  him,  and  I  will  take  him  away." 
Jesus  saith  unto  her,  "Mary."  She  turned  herself  and  saith  unto  him, 
"Rabboni."  Here,  the  mere  utterance  of  a  single  word,  "Mary,"  and 
that  word,  too,  a  mere  proper  name,  and  wholly  insignificant  as  re- 
gards the  subject  then  before  the  minds  of  the  speakers,  at  once  pene- 
trates the  heart  and  understanding  of  the  person  addressed,  and  pours 
a  flood  of  light  and  conviction  upon  her  mind.  But  by  the  simple 
written  words  the  reason  of  this  sudden  and  wonderful  effect  is  not 
at  all  expressed;  nor  is  it  possible  to  perceive  it  even  when  the  pass- 
age is  read  aloud  in  the  usual  monotonous  and  inexpressive  style  of 
common  readers.  He  saith  unto  her,  "Mary."  Oh!  how  much  was 
due  to  that  gentle  intonation;  to  that  expressive  accent;  to  that  pecu- 
liar and  affectionate  utterance  with  which  that  single  word  was  spoken. 
How  that  soft  inflection  of  the  voice  could  make  that  word  speak  a 
meaning  which  was  not  in  it;  and  reveal  a  fact  of  whose  communica- 
tion to  others  it  could  form  no  parti  That  word  of  itself  states  noth- 
ing; explains  nothing;  reveals  nothing;  but  the  tone  in  which  it  is 
pronounced,  states  all;  explains  all;  reveals  all.  What  a  crowd  of 
convictions  rush  upon  the  soul  of  the  Magdalenel  What  a  flood  of 
amotions  fill  her  heart!  It  is  the  Lord!  He  is  risen  from  the  dead! 
He  is  alive  again  who  delivered  me;  who  died  for  me!  My  Lord! 
my  teacher!  my  all!  All  this,  and  more  than  this,  she  feels,  and  all 
this,  and  more  than  this,  she  utters;  not,  indeed,  in  the  written  word 
"Hablx)ni,"*  the  single  word,  that  with  all  the  propriety  of  language, 
of  truth  and  nature  and  feeling,  is  the  sole  reply;  but  in  the  deep 
affection,  the  reverence  and  joy  with  which  that  word  was  uttered. 

It  is  most  evident,  indeed,  that  language,  when  oral,  is  much  su- 
perior to  that  which  is  written,  as  a  means  of  communicating  ideas. 
The  inferiority  of  the  latter,  however,  arises  not  merely  from  its  in- 
ability to  represent  by  signs  the  various  inflections  of  the  voice  which 
give  such  force  and  point  to  spoken  language,  but  from  the  absence 
also  of  those  gestures  wbich  are  so  usual  and  so  important  an  accom- 

*  In  the  Galilean  dialect,  "  My  Ma.^ter. " 


206  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

paniment  of  the  latter.  The  want  of  these,  to  a  reader,  renders  many 
pass-ages  obscure,  which  were  clear  as  a  sunbeam  to  those  who  heard 
and  saw  the  speaker.  We  may  take  a  single  example  of  this  from 
the  very  next  chapter  of  John:  "So  when  they  had  dined,  Jesus  saith 
to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  more  than 
these?"  (xxi.  15).  The  question  here  is:  To  what  did  our  Lord  refer 
by  the  word  ''these''?  Grammatically,  it  may  apply  to  the  other  dis- 
ciples present,  or  to  the  boats  and  fishing  implements.  Papists  will 
adopt  the  first  view,  because,  in  the  use  they  make  of  it,  it  serves  to 
bolster  up  the  supremacy  of  Peter  and  the  Pope.  Protestants  will  re- 
ceive the  latter,  because  it  implies  a  deserved  reproof  to  Peter  for  hav- 
ing for  a  time  forsaken  his  spiritual  duties,  to  return  to  his  old  em- 
ployment of  fisherman.  Both  of  these  views  are  constructive,  neither 
being  expressed  in  the  words;  but  they  who  heard  the  question,  were 
at  no  loss  to  determine  the  precise  meaning,  as  they  could  see  the 
gesture  by  which  our  Lord  pointed  out  the  precise  objects  to  which 
he  referred. 

It  may  thus  be  readily  perceived  how  great  are  the  disadvantages 
under  which  we  labor  in  the  interpretation  of  the  records  of  the  past, 
and  how  far  written  language  really  is  from  possessing  any  absolute 
or  necessary  power  of  communicating  thought. 

THE    SIN   UNTO    DEATH   AND    THE    SIN    AGAINST    THE 
HOLY    SPIRIT. 

In  reply  to  several  queries  on  this  subject,  often  alluded  to  In  our 
writings,  I  am  constrained  by  a  recent  request  from  King  William, 
Virginia,  to  advert  to  the  subject  again. 

"All  manner  of  sins  and  blasphemies  committed  on  earth,  save  one, 
are  pardonable."  That  one  Is  defined  by  our  Saviour  to  be  a  speaking 
against  the  Holy  Spirit — a  blaspheming  his  character.  It  is  neither 
thought  nor  action  alone;  but  maliciously  sj)eahing  against  that  Divine 
Agent.  It  is  a  sin  of  the  tongue,  prompted  by  a  wicked  heart.  The 
reason  why  this  renunciation  and  blasphemy  of  the  Spirit  never  can 
be  forgiven,  is,  as  it  appears  to  me,  because  he  that  commits  it  can 
never  repent  of  it.  This  is  also  evident  from  the  fact  that  all  the 
goodness  of  God  is  so  sinned  against  that  there  is  no  attitude  in  which 
it  can  be  placed  before  the  mind  that  can  lead  it  to  repentance.  The 
Spirit,  of  course  offended,  leaves  off  all  farther  strivings  with  its 
calumniator;  and  then  the  Spirit  being  the  last  divine  agent,  no  one 
succeeding  it,  it  is  impossible  to  renew  such  a  one  to  repentance.  It 
is,  however,  questionable  whether  now  such  a  sin  is  at  all  possible:  the 
Spirit  not  now  appearing  in  such  miraculous  demonstration  as  for- 
merly, and  therefore  not  calling  forth  such  an  opposition  or  blas- 
phemy.    If  I  could  write  a  volume  on  the  subject,  I  would  do  little 


THE    MILLEVSIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  207 

more  than  amplify  and  place  in  diverse  attitudes  what  is  imported 
and  implied  in  this  paragraph.     But  a  new  word  may  be  added  on 

THE     SIN     INTO    DEATH. 

This  sin,  as  defined  in  my  mind,  is  simple  apostacy  from,  and  an 
open  renunciation  of,  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  treating  him  as  in  the  case 
of  the  blasphemy  above  described  the  Spirit  is  treated  by  his  calum- 
niator. Jesus  is  denied,  renounced,  crucified  in  effect  by  one  that 
openly  abjures  allegiance  to  him.  This  is  the  person  for  whom 
"remaineth  only  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery 
indignation."  He  is  an  adversary,  open  and  avowed,  of  that  same 
Jesus  Christ  whom  he  once  acknowledged  as  the  true  Messiah.  Paul 
to  the  Hebrews,  in  the  6th  and  10th  chapters,  refers  to  that  same  sin  to 
which  John  alludes  in  the  5th  chapter  of  his  General  Epistle.  But  it 
must  be  distinguished  from  the  sin  of  backsliding.  Backsliders  and 
apostates  are  very  different  characters,  though  the  former  may  ulti- 
mately terminate  in  the  latter.  Backsliders  are  comparatively  many, 
while  apostates  are  few.  Backsliders  may,  and  do  repent,  and  are 
forgiven;  while  apostates  sin  unto  death,  never  repent,  and  are  con- 
sequently never  forgiven. 

Many  tender  consciences  have  been  oppressed  with  a  fear  of  having 
sinned  so  much  against  light  and  conviction,  as  to  have  committed 
this,  with  them,  unpardonable  sin.  I  do  not  think  that  any  persons 
other  than  those  described,  have  ever  committed  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Spirit,  or  sinned  the  sin  unto  death.  And  certainly  those 
who  desire  to  be  saved  from  sin,  and  would  rejoice  in  the  favor  of 
God,  labor  under  some  morbid  influence,  physical  or  educational,  when 
they  imagine  that  they  have  been  guilty  of  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
unpardonable  offenses.  I  say  offenses:  for  although  but  one  and  the 
same  in  effect,  and  probably  from  the  same  remote  cause,  are  never- 
theless formally  and  apparently  separate  and  distinct.  To  all  who 
return  to  the  Lord  there  is  a  promise  of  redemption;  and  whosoever 
sincerely  desires  to  return,  certainly  is  neither  an  apostate  from  Christ 
nor  a  blasphemer  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  a.  c,  1842,  p.  181. 

In  1845,  page  388,  we  read: 

THE  PLAN  AND  METHOD  OF  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

This  very  sublime  and  mysterious  portion  of  the  apostolic  writing.^ 
seems  to  be  as  necessary  to  the  completion  of  the  Christian  revelation 
as  the  contents  of  it  are  captivating  and  interesting  to  every  sincere 
Christian.  Had  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Now  Institution  closed  with 
the  epistle  of  Jude.  or  with  that  of  John  to  sister  Electa,  every  one, 
well  read  in  the  Jewish  records,  must  have  regarded  the  Christian 
Scriptures  as   incomplete,   if   not   imperfect.     The   Jewish   Scriptures, 


208  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

like  the  Pentateuch,  begin  with  history  and  end  with  prophecy.  This 
is,  indeed,  the  plan  of  all  the  different  departments  of  revelation.  The 
merely  perceptive,  didactic,  and  exhortatory  portions  of  the  Bible, 
occupy  but  a  small  space  compared  with  its  history  and  prophecy. 
Both  volumes  of  the  sacred  writings  commence  and  end  alike.  The 
historian  opens  and  the  prophet  closes  the  divine  communications  to 
Jews  and  Christians.  There  are,  then,  some  good  reasons  why  the 
book  called  the  Apocalypse  should  be  placed  at  the  close  of  the  last 
message  which  Heaven  has  vouchsafed  to  man.  We  thank  kind 
Heaven  that  we  have  both  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  Christian 
Institution  in  this  volume. 

That  this  divine  communication  should  be  much  read  and  much 
pondered  seems  to  be  so  evident  from  the  benediction  pronounced  in 
the  beginning  of  it,  as  to  need  no  argument  to  enforce  it: — "Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth.  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and 
keep  those  things  which  are  written  therein."  If  the  blessing  had 
been  confined  to  those  only  who  understand  and  comprehend  it  all, 
then,  indeed,  it  would  have  been  enjoyed  by  no  one  from  the  days  of 
John  to  the  present  hour.  But  the  reading  and  practicing  of  the  things 
enjoined  in  this  book,  so  far  as  they  are  understood,  has  always  been 
accompanied  with  the  blessing  promised.  That  it  is  more  or  less  intel- 
ligible to  all  sincere  and  attentive  students  of  it,  is,  moreover,  to  be 
presumed  both  from  its  exordium  and  its  conclusion,  from  the  injunc- 
tion to  read  it,  and  the  consolation  promised  to  those  that  keep  its 
sayings. 

Notwithstanding  a  thousand  abortive  efforts  to  comprehend  it  all, 
and  a  thousand  failures  to  satisfactorily  explain  certain  passages  in 
this  book,  there  has  been  derived  from  it  very  much  light  as  to  th.? 
future  destiny  of  Christianity  and  the  world.  We  may  also  add  that 
much  successful  and  important  effort  to  bless  the  world  by  the  Bible, 
has  been  both  prompted  and  guided  by  the  indications  of  the  divine 
I'urposes  and  plans,  gleaned  from  the  assiduous  and  devout  examina- 
tion of  it.  So  that,  notwithstanding  all  the  discouragements  thrown 
in  our  way  by  weak  and  positive  dogmatists,  and  visionary  speculators 
upon  the  contents  of  this  book,  we  are  still  strongly  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  the  Revelation  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ, 
presented  to  us  in  the  visions  of  John,  has  paramount  claims  upon  the 
church  to  devote  to  it  much  calm,  prayerful,  and  unbiased  study  and 
examination. 

I  am  not  proposing  to  add  to  the  general  stock  of  knowledge  already 
possessed  on  this  book  by  the  Christian  Church,  by  any  new  light  that 
I  am  now  presuming  to  throw  upon  the  sublime  and  awful  subjects  on 
v/hich  it  treats.  I  only  purpose  to  assist  the  students  of  Christian 
prophecy  by  a  few  suggestions  on  the  plan  and  method  of  the  Apoca- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  209 

lypse,  and  by  discriminating,  as  lar  as  we  have  certain  knowledge,  the 
fulfilled  from  the  yet  unfulfilled  portions  of  the  book.  Though  in  this 
effort  we  may  not  be  able  to  advance  one  step  beyond  the  van  of  the 
most  enlightened  interpreters,  though  we  could  not  even  greatly  assist 
the  present  school  of  apocalyptic  students  in  advancing  to  the  highest 
class  of  interpreters;  still  it  might  be  a  service  full  of  reward  and 
honor,  could  we  only  induce  a  great  many  Christians  to  enter  the 
school  of  the  prophets,  and  to  learn  to  understand  what  the  Spirit  inti- 
mates to  us  of  the  awful  and  glorious  destinies  of  the  human  race.  In 
the  hope  of  inspiring  some  of  our  contemporaries  with  the  desire  to 
understand,  and  of  aiding  others  who  are  seeking  to  comprehend  these 
gracious  developments  of  human  destiny,  I  shall  first  undertake  to 
examine  the  plan  and  method  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  TITLE  of  the  book,  in  the  first  place,  demands  a  moment's  atten- 
tion. Romanists  and  others  call  it,  "The  Revelation  of  Saint  John  the 
Divine."  But  this,  like  many  other  names  imposed  on  parts  of  thi 
holy  oracles,  as  well  as  on  the  things  contained  in  them,  is  as  wanting 
in  good  sense  and  good  taste  as  in  divine  authority.  In  the  short 
preface  prefixed  to  the  Book  by  the  writer  of  it,  it  is  styled,  "A  Rev- 
elation of  Jesus  Christ,  uhich  God  gave  unto  him  to  show  unto  hii 
servants  things  xchich  must  shortly  come  to  pass."  It  is,  then,  a 
revelation  of  things  future  from  its  date;  some  of  which  were  imme- 
diately to  come  to  pass,  while  others  were  as  remote  as  the  end  of  the 
world.  Were  we  to  condense  this  divine  title,  found  in  the  text  itself, 
we    should   call    it,   "A    Ri;v?:latiox   of   future   e\t:xts.   addressed   to 

THE    SERVANTS    OF    GOD,    COMMUNICATED    BY    JeSUS    CHRIST    THROUGH    HIS 

SERVANT  John." 

Next  to  the  title  comes  the  preface.  John  presents  all  the  communi- 
cations made  to  him  in  one  letter  addressed  to  the  seven  Asiatic 
churches.  Hence  the  Apocalypse  is  one  great  epistle;  and,  indeed,  it 
might  well  be  called  The  Fourth  Epistle  of  John,  as  any  one  of 
the  three  is  called  First,  Second,  or  Third.  It  is  one  great  letter;  the 
first  period  of  which  is  "John  to  the  seven  congregations  which  are  in 
Asia:  Grace  to  you,  and  peace  from  him  who  is,  and  who  was,  and 
who  is  to  come,  and  from  the  seven  spirits  before  his  throne — even 
from  Jesus  Christ  the  faithful  witness,  the  first  born  from  the  dead, 
and  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth."  And  this  last  period  is,  "The 
grace  of  our  T.,ord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.     Amen." 

In  this  grand  letter,  written  by  John,  are  found  seven  special 
epistles  dictated  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  addressed  to  each  one  of  these 
Asiatic  communities.  Thus  John  addresses  one  letter  to  all  the  seven, 
while  in  that  letter  are  found  seven  short  epistles  severally  addressed 
to  each  of  the  communities  by  Jesus  Christ  himself. 


210  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  method  adopted  by  John  is  as  simple  and  rational  as  couH 
be  imagined.  In  the  first  chapter  h'fe  directly  addresses  the  seven 
churches,  giving  an  account  of  himself,  his  location  in  Patmos,  and  the 
cause  of  it,  with  the  scenes  that  there  transpired  on  a  certain  Lord's 
day.  He  especially  informs  them  that  he  was  commanded  by  the  Lord 
to  icrite  what  he  saw  and  what  he  heard  of  the  things  which  were 
then  existing,  and  of  the  things  which  were  afterwards  coming  to  pass. 
In  the  next  two  chapters  we  have  a  copy  of  the  letters  addressed  to 
Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Philadelphia,  and 
Laodicea. 

The  fourth  and  fifth  chapters  state  the  preparation  for  the  develop- 
ments of  the  things  then  future.  Here  we  have  a  vision.  John  was 
in  the  spirit  when  these  celestial  scenes  passed  before  him.  He  saw 
a  door  opened  in  heaven,  and  had  an  invitation  to  ascend  into  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.  Immediately,  he  adds,  I  was  in  the  spirit,  and, 
I  presume,  like  Paul,  "was  caught  away  into  the  third  heaven,"  in 
obedience  to  the  command,  "Come  up  hither,  and  I  will  show  thee 
things  which  must  be  hereafter:"  for  it  is  in  reference  to  this  precept 
that  he  immediately  adds,  "I  was  in  the  spirit."  The  scenes  there 
presented  to  his  view,  are,  indeed,  unearthly  and  divine;  and  his 
description  of  them  is  transcendently  animating  and  transporting. 

A  celestial  throne  of  high  state  is  erected,  and  the  Father  Almighty 
is  seated  in  it.  Earth's  brightest  and  most  radiant  gems  lend  their 
most  brilliant  rays  of  beauty  and  glory  to  adumbrate  the  splendors 
of  His  Majesty.  The  jasper  and  the  sardius,  with  an  emerald  rainbow, 
mingling  every  color  that  adorns  earth  or  heaven,  conspire  with  all 
their  powers  to  set  forth  his  peerless  eminence.  Four  and  twenty  infe- 
rior thrones,  at  proper  distance,  encircle  the  awful  throne  of  the 
Eternal,  pouring  forth  its  floods  of  light  and  glory  upon  them  all. 
These,  after  reflecting  upon  each  other  their  respective  glories,  send 
back  again  to  their  unwasting  fountain  all  that  beauty  and  grandeur 
which  they  have  received  from  it.  On  these  four  and  twenty  thrones 
sat  the  grand  peers  of  heaven  in  senatorial  majesty,  adorned  in  the 
snow-white  raiment  of  absolute  purity,  each  having  his  majestic  brow 
encircled  with  a  crown  of  gold.  From  the  central  throne  perpetually 
issued  coruscations  of  the  most  vivid  lightnings,  accompanied  with 
mighty  thunderings  and  overwhelming  voices.  Seven  lamps  of  celes- 
tial brilliancy  flamed  before  the  throne,  symbols  of  the  seven  spirits 
of  God,  and  shed  their  holy  light  upon  a  sea  of  glass,  of  more  than 
crystal  brightness,  spreading  its  unmeasured  waves  of  glory  far  beyond 
the  horizon  of  angelic  vision.  In  the  circular  interval  between  the 
four  and  twenty  senatorial  thrones  stood  at  proper  intervals  corre- 
sponding with  our  cardinal  points,  four  living  seraphim,  creatures  of 
no  earthly  resemblance,  having  each  six  wings,  and  covered  within  and 


TUK    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  211 

without  with  eyes  of  soul-piercing  brightness.  These  four  combined 
the  courage  of  the  lion,  the  patience  of  the  ox,  the  sagacity  of  man, 
and  the  towering  fleetness  and  lofty  genius  of  the  eagle.  These  were 
all  engaged  in  a  rapture  of  worship  at  the  moment  John  in  spirit  drew 
near.  The  seraphim  sang.  "Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  fiod  Almighty,  who 
wast,  and  art,  and  who  art  yet  to  cornel"  The  four  and  twenty  elders 
fall  prostrate  before  the  throne,  and  cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet, 
exclaiming,  "Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honor, 
and  power:  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they 
are  and  were  created."  Such  are  the  solemn  and  sublime  preparations 
antecedent  to  the  opening  of  the  Christian  Church  and  its  mighty 
fortunes. 

The  fifth  chapter  opens  with  a  view  of  the  eternal  God,  holding  in 
his  right  hand  a  roll  of  parchment,  written  on  both  sides,  seven  times 
encompassing  a  roller,  and  sealed  as  often  with  a  seal  on  one  of  its 
ends.  A  mighty  angel,  herald  of  that  day,  standing  before  him,  chal- 
lenges the  whole  created  universe  td  present  some  one  capable  of  break- 
ing the  seven  seals  and  reading  the  seven  rolls  of  that  most  mysterious 
parchment  inscribed  with  the  entire  annals  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  the  human  race.  But  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth,  neither 
under  the  earth,  "was  able  to  break  the  seal,"  unrol  the  parchment, 
and  read  its  awful  lines  replete  with  the  fortunes  of  the  world.  So 
en  rapt  was  John  and  so  eager  to  know,  that,  on  hearing  no  one  speak, 
and  on  seeing  no  one  advance  of  all  created  intellects,  celestial,  terres- 
trial, or  infernal,  he  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears.  But  while  in  this 
mournful  agony,  a  celestial  senator  stooping  from 'his  throne,  said, 
"Wekp  not;  Behold  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David, 
has  prevailed"  to  open  the  rolls  of  time  and  read  its  wondrous  devel- 
opments. Then  appeared  the  Lamb,  bearing  the  scars  of  death  upon 
his  person,  yet  living  and  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes — perfect 
power  and  perfect  knowledge  of  all  things,  past,  and  to  come.  Majesti- 
cally advancing  towards  the  central  throne  of  the  universe,  he  stretches 
forth  his  hand  and  receives  the  mystic  volume.  No  sooner  is  he  seen 
turning  round  to  open  the  first  seal,  than  all  the  celestial  ranks  and 
orders — angels,  principalities,  and  powers — prostrate  themselves  before 
the  Lamb:  "And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying.  Thou  art  worthy  to 
take  the  book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation;  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests:  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth.  And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard 
the  voice  of  many  angels  round  al)out  the  throne,  and  the  living  crea- 
tures, and  the  elders;  and  the  number  of  them  was  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands;  saying  with  a  loud  voice. 
Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and 


212  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"Wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing.  And  every 
creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the 
sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying.  Blessing,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  four  living  creatures  said.  So 
LET  IT  BE.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down  and  worshipped 
him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever." 

Thus  have  we  seen  (thanks  to  the  Father  Almighty!)  the  volumes 
of  providence  and  of  moral  government,  replete  with  the  church's  des- 
tiny, committed  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  verifies  the  title  of  the  book — 
"A  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  to  him  to  show  unto 
Ms  servants  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass."  The  Lord  has 
the  rolls  of  time  in  his  hand;  for  he  alone  could  open  them.  His  is 
the  power  and  the  intelligence,  and  he  alone  can  reveal  the  future. 
"All  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  are  in  him."  To  his 
throne  of  Grace  and  to  his  Apocalypse,  let  us  look  for  all  we  desire  to 
know,  that  we  ought  to  know,  of  the  things  that  are,  and  of  the  things 
which  are  yet  to  come  to  pass. 

We  shall  now  read  and  examine  the  sixth  chapter,  having  for  the 
present  disposed  of  the  first  five.  In  this  no  less  than  six  seals  are 
opened.  The  Lamb  stands  between  the  four  seraphim  and  the  throne 
of  God.  He  is  above  them  all.  He  takes  into  his  right  hand  the  roll. 
He  holds  it  up  before  the  universe.  Then  breaks  the  first  seal,  and 
unrolls  one  fold  of  the  curious  volume.  At  that  instant  stands  forth 
one  of  the  seraphim,  and  with  a  loud  voice  summonses  the  attention 
of  the  universe  to  the  mysterious  inscription,  saying,  "Come  and  see."' 
What  is  it?  A  milk-white  horse,  whose  puissant  rider  is  the  Messiah 
himself,  goes  forth  with  his  faithful  followers  to  subdue  the  nations 
with  the  sceptre  of  his  grace,  or  the  rod  of  his  anger.  He  has  one 
crown  upon  his  head,  a  bow  in  his  hand,  and  a  quiver  full  of  arrows  by 
his  side,  and  his  course  is  onward,  "conquering  and  to  conquer."  That 
we  have  not  mistaken  the  first  seal,  we  shall  now  prove  by  a  develop- 
ment that  comes  out  of  the  last,  or  seventh  seal,  when  the  eventful 
campaign  ia  coming  to  a  close.  It  is  found  in  chap,  xix.,  verses  11-16, 
"And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a  white  horse;  and  he  that  sat 
upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True,  and  in  righteousness  he  doth 
judge  and  make  war.  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head 
were  many  crowns:  and  he  had  a  name  written  that  no  man  knew,  but 
he  himself.  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood:  and 
his  name  is  called  The  Word  of  God.  And  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven  followed  him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white 
and  clean.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  he 
should  smite  the  nations:  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron: 
and  he  treadeth  the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  213 

God.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS." 

He  is  in  the  field  from  the  first  to  the  end  of  the  seventh  seal.  If 
he  does  not  appear  in  them  all,  he  is  at  work  in  them  all,  fighting 
by  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  with  which  he  smites  the  nations,  against 
those  who  will  not  have  him  to  rule  over  them,  and  still  extending  the 
victories  of  his  love.  All  the  symbols  of  this  passage  show  that  the 
Messiah  is  the  person  who  mounted  the  white  horse,  having  then  but 
one  crown,  now  returning  covered  with  the  blood  of  his  enemies,  and 
wearing  the  trophies  of  a  thousand  battles.  Well  did  Isaiah  say  of 
him,  chap.  Ixiii.  1-6,  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom,  with  dyed 
garments  from  Bozrah?  this  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel,  traveling 
in  the  greatness  of  his  strength?  I  that  speak  in  righteousness 
mighty  to  save.  Wherefore  art  thou  red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy 
garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in  the  winefat?  I  have  trodden  the 
wine-press  alone;  and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with  me:  for  I  will 
tread  them  in  mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury,  and  their 
blood  shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my 
raiment.  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and  the  year  of  my 
redeemed  is  come.  And  I  looked,  and  there  was  none  to  help;  and  1 
wondered  that  there  was  none  to  uphold:  therefore  mine  own  arm 
brought  salvation  unto  me;  and  my  fury,  it  upheld  me.  And  I  will 
tread  down  the  people  in  mine  anger,  and  make  them  drunk  in  my 
fur>',  and  I  will  bring  down  their  strength  to  the  earth." 

The  first  act  of  the  first  seal  and  the  last  act  of  the  seventh  seal  are 
most  unquestionably  applicable  to  the  Messiah,  and  to  him  only;  and 
indicate,  very  clearly,  what  is  intended  in  the  Apocalypse,  and  there- 
fore impart  great  assurance  to  those  who  view  the  treatise  as  indic- 
ative of  the  conflicts  between  King  Jesus  and  Tiberias  Cesar  in  some 
one  of  his  Pagan  or  Papal  successors,  and  of  the  various  mutations 
and  fortunes  of  a  two  thousand  years'  war  between  Christ  and  Belial 
— between  his  kingdom  and  the  world. 

I  need  not  go  into  a  prosing  detail  of  the  particular  calamities  to 
which  the  Christian  Church  was  subjected  down  to  the  time  of  Con- 
Btantine,  set  forth  under  the  figures  of  the  three  next  seals.  I  need 
not  give  the  history  of  the  red  or  war-horse  of  the  Cesars.  They  soon 
drew  the  sword.  They  called  for  the  blood  of  Christians.  That  oracle 
Ol  the  Messiah  was  fully  verified  in  them.  They  unsheathed  the  sword, 
and  they  perished  with  the  sword.  Our  Captain  commences  his  pacific 
and  conciliatory  career  mounted  on  a  milk-white  steed.  The  Cesars 
mounted  first  the  red  horse  of  war;  then  the  black  horse  of  famine; 
and  finally  the  paJe  horso  of  death.  TYhe>  ton,  more  or  less,  Pagan 
persecutions  of  the  Christians,  are  most  clearly  and  strikingly  set  forth 
under  these  appropriate  and  intelligible  symbols.     Any  one  who  makes 


214  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

himself  well  acquainted  with,  the  history  of  the  first  centuries  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  carefully  reads  Gibbon's  "Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,"  will  feel  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  Pagan  per- 
secutions are  here  set  forth  with  an  especial  reference  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  Christians  and  of  the  world  under  that  idolatrous  and  wicked 
government.  Each  of  the  four  seraphim  attends  in  succession  on  the 
opening  of  the  four  seals,  three  of  which  develop  the  general  character 
of  the  cruelties  of  the  opposition. 

The  fifth  seal  represents  the  souls  of  slaughtered  myriads  of  Chris- 
tians as  congregated  under  the  celestial  altar,  invoking  vengeance  on 
their  enemies,  and  imploring  mercy  upon  the  earth,  with  the  answers 
given  them  from  their  Chief. 

The  sixth  seal  presents  great  commotions  in  the  Roman  heavens 
and  earth.  The  sun  of  the  Cesars  is  covered  with  sackcloth,  and  their 
moon  is  baptized  in  blood.  Their  stars  fall  from  their  firmament,  and 
the  earth  reels  to  and  fro  like  a  drunken  man.  Their  political  heavens 
are  rolled  up  like  a  scroll,  and  the  mountains  and  islands  are  moved 
out  of  their  places.  The  whole  population  is  in  terror  and  alarm.  The 
government  is  changed.  Swarms  of  Barbarians  for  a  series  of  years 
spread  ruin  and  desolation  over  all  their  realms.  Kings  and  princes, 
the  rich  and  the  noble,  with  the  poor  and  the  ignoble,  the  bond  and 
the  free,  are  overwhelmed  in  trouble  and  dismay — the  consequences 
of  their  former  tyranny  and  their  hostility  to  the  name  of  the  Mes- 
siah. Pagan  Rome  is  in  name,  in  form,  and  profession,  no  more. 
Christianity,  in  name  at  least,  triumphs  over  avowed  Paganism,  and 
thenceforth  the  character  and  position  of  the  parties  lately  engaged 
in  hostile  array  are  changed. 

The  seventh  chapter  continues  the  developments  of  the  sixth  seal. 
The  four  angels,  ministers  that  command  the  forces  of  earth,  that 
are  ultimately  to  sweep  from  the  earth  with  the  besom  of  destruction 
those  that  oppressed  the  Christians,  are  for  some  time  to  hold  the 
tempests  of  wrath  in  their  hands  till  the  saints  are  all  sealed,  that 
they  may  escape  the  impending  evils  about  to  overwhelm  the  world. 
Of  the  twelve  tribes  (a  definite  number  put  for  an  indefinite),  soma 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  are  sealed  for  deliverance.  An 
innumerable  host  of  saints  of  all  nations  are  now  seen  standing  be- 
fore the  throne,  uniting  with  all  the  celestial  hosts  in  an  ecstacy 
of  admiration  and  worship — giving  glory  to  God  for  their  salvation 
and  deliverance  from  their  enemies,  and  for  the  triumphs  of  justice 
and   truth   over  unrighteousness  and   falsehood. 

The  six  seals,  then,  cover  the  whole  period  of  the  church's  trials 
under  the  tyranny  of  those  spirits  and  principles  that  first  opposed 
the  Messiah  and  his  Apostles.  Still  there  are  yet  in  store  for  the 
Roman  Empire  innumerable  woes  to  be  developed  under  the  seventh 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  215 

seal.  That  power  yet  exists  in  new  forms  and  combinations,  waiting 
for   a   day   of  complete  and   perpetual   desolation. 

The  period  of  the  six  seals  numbers  the  days  of  Pagan  Rome  so 
far  as  she  opposed  the  rising  empire  of  the  King  Messiah.  Tho 
church,  and  not  the  Roman  Empire,  is  the  special  object  of  the 
calamities  inflicted  during  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era.  The  seventh  seal  is  comprehensive  of  all  the  fortunes  of  th»i 
world  and  the  church  to  the  end  of  the  awful  career  of  Papal  Rome. 
It  reaches  to  the  second  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Indeed,  it  embraces 
the  sequel  of  human  history  under  the  remedial  system.  The  devel- 
opments of  the  seventh  seal  constitute  the  main  burthea  of  the  rev- 
elation of  Jesus  Christ  It  grasps  the  annals  of  almost  seventeen 
centuries,  and  therefore  it  includes  the  fortunes  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire from  the  days  of  Constantine  till  the  fall  of  Babylon,  or  the 
utter  ruin  of  Papal  Rome. 

The  dismemberment  of  that  empire  because  of  its  assaults  upon 
the  Christian  church,  and  the  calamities  consequent  thereupon, 
occupy  six  of  the  seven  "trumpets."  The  gradual  fall  of  the  empire 
by  the  terrific  irruptions  of  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  the  Huns,  and 
the  Lombards,  during  a  period  of  something  less  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  and  extending  to  the  overthrow  of  the  last  of  the 
emperors  by  Odoacer,  A.  D.  476,  engross  the  first  four  trumpets.  There 
are  not  wanting  some  of  the  most  learned  and  gifted  interpreters  of 
prophecy,  most  conversant,  too,  with  both  political  and  ecclesiastic 
history,  who  assign  the  first  trumpet  to  Alaric  the  Goth,  A.  D.  400; 
the  second  to  Genseric  the  Vandal,  the  maritime  depredator,  A.  D. 
420;  the  third  to  Ati'.a  the  Hun,  that  fiercest  scourge  of  Heaven  on 
Pagan  Rome,  A.  D.  450;  the  fourth  to  Odoacer  the  king  of  the  Heruli, 
A.  D.  476.  Still  no  prudent  and  learned  expositor  of  the  symbols 
would  confine  these  trumpets  exclusively  to  the  doings  of  any  four 
ii'dividual  depredators.  Hordes  after  hordes  of  these  northern  thun- 
derbolts of  war  made  irruptions  upon  the  ill-fated  empire  of  Rome, 
and  wave  after  wave  of  indignation  passed  over  it,  until  the  empire 
was  overwhelmed  with  floods  of  Goths  and  Vandals,  of  Huns  and 
Lombards,    that   left   behind    them    a   fearful    desolation. 

.\fter  these  accumulated  woes,  those  of  the  Saracens  and  Turks 
ensued,  and  with  a  mighty  sweep  of  wrath  reached  from  A.  D.  612  to 
the  overthrow  of  Constantinople,  A.  D.  1453,  which  entirely  destroyed 
the  eastern  section  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Some  of  our  contempo- 
raries assign  to  tho  Saracen  invasion  a  period  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  from  612  to  762.  and  give  the  prophecy  cf  the  hour,  the 
day,  the  month,  and  the  year — a  period  of  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  years  and  one  hundred  and  six  days,  to  the  Turks — from  the 
ascendency  of  Togrul  Beg,  head  of  the  Mahometan   realm,  to  the  fall 


216  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  the  city  of  Constantine,  A.  D.  1453.  Although  I  gave  substantially 
these  views  of  the  Apocalypse  in  a  course  of  lectures  delivered  to 
the  church  in  Wellsburg,  some  twenty  years  ago,  and  have  since  that 
time  seen  them  several  times  advanced  by  very  eminent  expositors, 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  I  should  not  lay  much  stress  upon  the 
exact  assignment  of  particular  persons  to  particular  events,  or  of 
particular  events  to  particular  persons.  Nor  is  the  evidence  of  the 
special  details  of  each  seal  or  of  each  trumpet  so  satisfactorily  clear 
and  demonstrative  as  to  leave  no  shadow  of  doubt  of  the  exact  har- 
mony of  the  symbol  or  prophecy  and  the  event.  We  therefore  prefer 
to  assign  to  a  period — a  well-marked  and  definite  period,  all  that 
belongs  to  the  seals,  the  trumpets,  the  vials,  etc.,  rather  than  to  find 
for  each  seal  and  for  each  trumpet  a  precise  accomplishment  in  well 
ascertained  historic  facts  and  documents. 

When,  however,  we  remember  that  the  blast  of  a  trumpet  was  the 
well  known  and  clearly  established  symbol  of  the  proclamation  of 
war,  and  of  victory  in  war,  we  can  not  doubt  that  while  the  seven 
seals  include  all  the  secrets  in  the  book,  and  that  six  of  the  seven 
indicate  the  fortunes  of  the  church  under  Pagan  Rome,  and  the 
calamities  accruing  in  consequence  to  the  empire — the  trumpets  inti- 
mate the  progressive  destruction  of  the  Pagan  form  of  imperial  Rome, 
to  make  way  for  the  rise  and  development  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  whose 
full  growth  was  hindered  while  yet  Pagan  idolatry  was  the  religion 
of  the  empire. 

A  sort  of  interlude  in  this  splendid  poem  or  picturesque  represen- 
tation of  the  mysterious  future  occupies  the  seventh  chapter.  The 
eighth  opens  to  us  a  new  scene.  Portentous  of  the  sublime  and  aw- 
ful developments  of  the  seventh  seal,  there  was  a  profound  silence 
in  heaven  for  half  an  hour.  Divine  worship  was  performed  at  the 
golden  altar  of  incense,  when  an  angel  cast  down  upon  the  earth  a 
censer  full  of  flaming  incense,  which  was  followed  by  voices,  thunder- 
in  gs,  lightnings,  and  an  earthquake.  Then  commence  the  seven  blasts 
of  the  trumpet-bearing  angels. 

These  seven  angels  belong  to  the  seventh  seal,  but  by  no  means 
exhaust  its  developments.  Six  of  the  seven  depict  the  crash  of  Pagan 
Rome,  as  before  intimated — interrupted,  however,  by  other  scenes 
afterwards  developed  by  special  symbols.  While,  then,  the  first  six 
seals  display  the  sufferings  of  the  church  under  the  Roman  perse- 
cutors, the  first  six  trumpets  represent  the  sufferings  of  these  Roman 
enemies  of  the  church,  by  the  desolating  hordes  of  the  North,  who 
distributed  the  empire  among  themselves  in  the  form  of  ten  kingdoms 
— fragments  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

The  seventh  angel,  like  the  seventh  seal,  is  the  most  comprehensive 
of  them  all.     During  the  awful  blasts  of  his  indignation  seven  vials 


/UK    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  217 

full  of  wrath  are  poured  out  upon  a  monster  that  sprung  up  out  of  the 
wreck  of  Pagan  Rome,  an  amalgamation  of  Judaism,  Paganism,  and 
Christianity.  This  new  mont-ter — this  anomalous  compound  of  idola- 
try, law,  and  gospel,  reduced  to  a  system,  though  the  most  conflicting 
and  jarring  elements,  has  been  most  singularly  compacted,  main- 
tained, and  controlled  by  one  mystic  person  called  the  beast — the 
Pope,  or  universal  sire  of  a  multitudinous  brood — a  mongrel  progeny, 
neither  Jews  nor  Christians,  neither  Pagans  nor  Turks;  but  a  com- 
bination of  all  creeds,  traditions,  opinions,  and  rites,  more  character- 
istically called  "papists"  than  anything  else. 

The  Papal  institution  of  Catholic  errors  has  spread  clouds  of  dark- 
ness and  error  over  the  whole  face  of  Christendom,  and  has  left 
unscathed  no  form  of  religion  to  which  the  cognomen  Christian  has 
been  affixed.  So  that  Protestantism  itself,  in  its  most  prominent  and 
by  law  established  branches,  is,  in  fact,  but  reformed  Popery,  though 
avowing  principles  which,  if  carried  out,  would  revolutionize  and 
convert  the  world.  This  monster  of  iniquity  occupies  considerable 
space  in  the  Apocalypse.  His  rise,  progress,  and  ruin,  are  the  subjects 
of  several  special  symbols.  Indeed,  his  mystic  Holiness  is  himself 
with  his  worshippers,  a  main  actor  in  the  drama,  and  a  main  subject 
of  prophecy. 

The  seventh  angel,  however,  announces  the  catastrophe,  and  intl 
mates  the  subordination  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  the  sceptre 
of  the  Messiah.  This  is  done  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, after  sundry  episodes  have  been  introduced,  and  after  several 
subordinate    symbols    have   been    developed;    amongst   which   are   the 

THREE  WOES,  the  SEVEN  THUNDERS,  the  LITTLE  BOOK,  and  the  TWO  WIT- 
NESSES. But  the  full  import  of  this  trumpet  reaches  to  the  end  of  the 
volume.  The  prophet  arranges  his  communications  under  the  three 
leading  classes  of  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets  and  seven  vials;  often, 
however,  interrupted  with  matters  somewhat  foreign,  yet  still  con- 
nected with  these  leading  visions.  A  very  characteristic  feature  of 
the  plan  of  the  Apocalypse  is  its  assortment  of  events  more  with 
regard  to  the  class  of  symbols  employed  than  to  the  chronological 
order  of  the  events  themselves.  For  example,  seven  seals  contain  all 
the  revelation  given  to  the  church.  Six  of  these  are  opened  in  imme- 
diate sequence,  and  the  remainder  of  the  book  belongs  to  the  seventh. 
Under  the  seventh  seal  first  come  the  seven  trumpets.  Six  of  these 
sound  in  rapid  succession,  and  occupy,  with  some  episodes,  only  a 
part  of  three  short  chapters.  Under  the  seventh  trumpet  "the  mysterv 
of  Cod  is  finished;"  or  to  quote  the  whole  sentence,  "And  the  angel 
which  I  saw  stand  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth,  lifted  up  his 
hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  who 
created    heaven    and    the   things    therein,    the    earth    and    the    things 


218  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

therein,  the  sea  and  the  things  therein,  that  there  should  be  time 
no  longer" — or,  should  be  no  longer  delay; — "but  in  the  days  of  the 
voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound  the  mystery 
of  God  should  be  finished  as  he  has  declared  to  his  servants  the 
prophets"  (x.  5-7).  While  the  sixth  angel  was  sounding  another  angel 
came  down  from  heaven,  of  surpassing  glory,  standing  both  on  the 
sea  and  on  the  earth,  and  cried  with  a  tremendous  voice;  at  the  close 
of  which  seven  mysterious  thunders  uttered  their  voices.  This  is  that 
angel  who  sware  that  while  the  seventh  angel  sounded,  the  secrets  of 
divine  government  and  providence  concerning  the  church  should  be 
fully   developed. 

The  remaining  future  of  the  church's  destiny  is  therefore  all  hid 
in  the  seventh  trumpet.  Under  the  seventh  trumpet  stand  forth  seven 
other  angels,  having  each  a  golden  vial  filled  with  indignation,  about 
to  be  poured  upon  the  apostate  church.  These  seven  vials  extend  to 
the  fall  of  Babylon.  After  which  but  one  other  angel  appears  in  the 
drama  of  the  church's  destiny.  He  has  the  key  of  the  bottomless 
pit  in  one  hand,  and  a  mighty  chain  in  the  other.  He  seizes  the 
dragon,  that  old  serpent,  the  devil  and  Satan,  and  binds  him  a  thou- 
sand years,  and  seals  him  up  in  that  bottomless  gulf.  Then  comes 
the  first  resurrection  and  the  triumph  of  the  saints.  What  follows 
are  but  details  of  the  church's  history  and  glory — the  laS't  conflict 
of  Satan,  and  the  final  judgment. 

The  seventh  seal,  the  seventh  trumpet,  the  seventh  vial,  in  their 
respective  classes,  are  those  of  superlative  interest  to  the  church. 
The  seventh  seal  contains  seven  trumpets  and  seven  vials,  with  all 
that  is  subsequent  to  the  desolations  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity  and 
the   first  resurrection. 

Various  digressions  or  episodes  occur  in  these  developments. 
These  give  special  views  of  peculiar  mystic  personages  and  events 
necessary  to  a  clear  intelligence  of  what  is  detailed  under  the  three 
great  classes  of  seals,  trumpets,  and  vials.  Of  these  special  mystic 
personages  we  may  hereafter  speak.  A.  o. 


BOOK  Y. 

THE  KINGDOM   OF  HEAVEN. 


3U 


BOOK    V. 

THE   3vINGDO:Nt   OF   HEAYEK 

PATRIARCHAL  AGE  OF  THE   WORLD. 

The  world  had  its  infancy  as  well  as  man.  Families  preceded  nsr 
tioDS.     Family  worship  was,  therefore,  the  first  religious  institution. 

At  the  head  of  this  institution  naturally  stood  the  Father  of  every 
Family.  From  necessity,  and  from  choice,  he  was  the  prophet,  the 
priest,  and  the  king  of  his  household.  As  a  prophet,  he  instructed  his 
household  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  in  the  history  of  man.  As  a 
priest,  he  officiated  at  the  family  altar,  interceded  for  those  under  his 
care,  and  pronounced  benedictions  upon  his  children.  As  a  lawgiver 
and  king,  he  commanded  his  children  and  servants,  and  rewarded 
them  according  to  merit.  By  a  divine  ordinance  the  first  fathers  of 
mankind  were  thus  constituted  prophets,  priests,  and  kings.  Hence 
the  first  religious  and  political  institution  is  properly  called  '"the  Pa- 
triarchal.'" 

Family  worship  was,  then,  the  first  social  icorship;  and,  during  the 
first  ages  of  the  world  (for  at  least  2,500  years)  it  was  the  only  social 
worship  of  divine  authority.  Though  other  institutions  have  since 
been  added,  this  has  never  been  superseded.  Having  its  foundation 
in  the  matrimonial  compact,  the  most  ancient  of  all  religions  and 
political  institutions,  and  this  being  founded  on  nature  itself,  it  never 
can  be  superseded.  While  the  forms  of  this  worship  have  always 
been  adapted  to  the  genius  of  the  various  revelations  of  God  vouch- 
safed to  mankind,  it  has  continued  through  all  the  changes  of  six 
thousand  years,  and  will  continue  till  the  day  when  men,  like  the 
angels  of  God,  shall  neither  marry  nor  give  in  marriage. 

Family  worship,  so  long  as  it  continued  the  only  social  worship, 
underwent  no  material  change;  and  this  is  the  peripd  which  is  prop- 
erly called  the  Patriarchal  Age  of  the  World.  So  long  as  the  de- 
scendants of  one  man  and  one  woman  continued  under  the  paternal 
roof,  or  until  they  became  heads  of  families  themselves,  they  contin- 
ued under  this  religious  and  political  administration.  And  if,  after 
marriage,  they  did  not  migrate  to  a  great  distance  from  the  patrimo- 
nial inheritance,  the  paternal  authority  was  still  acknowledged  and 
acquiesced  in.  Thus,  in  process  of  time,  he  who  at  first  was  only 
the  head  of  a  single  family,  if  his  days  were  prolonged  and  his  prog- 
eny multiplied,  became  the  paternal  prince  or  chief  patriarch  of  a 
tribe. 

221 


222  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

In  the  youth  of  time  and  freshness  of  human  nature  families  soon 
became  large;  and  as  the  father  and  head  could  not  be  always  present 
while  he  lived,  and  as  he  might  die  before  all  his  children  could  have 
become  heads  of  families,  it  became  necessary  that  a  substitute 
in  his  absence,  and  a  successor  in  case  of  his  premature  death, 
should  be  appointed  to  fill  his  place  and  administer  the  affairs  of  the 
family.  Nature  and  reason  alike  pointed  to  his  first-born  son,  and 
religion  consecrated  him  his  vicegerent.  Hence  the  privileges  and 
honors  of  the  first-born  son  were  both  religious  and  political;  and 
thus  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  gave  him  a  right  to  a  double 
portion  of  the  inheritance.  Esau  was,  therefore,  both  prodigal  and 
profane  in  selling  his  birthright  for  a  meal  of  pottage. 

The  antiquity  of  this  arrangement  appears  from  the  envy  and 
jealousy  of  Cain,  roused  at  the  rejection  of  his  offering  and  the  accept- 
ance of  that  of  Abel.  That  jealousy  seems  to  have  been  kindled  into 
rage  because  of  the  birthright.  This  is  fairly  implied  in  God's  ad- 
dress to  Cain,  when  that  address  is  fairly  translated  and  understood. 
"If  you  do  well,  shall  you  not  have  the  excellency;  and  if  you  do  not 
well,  sin  precludes  you  (from  the  excellency).  And  (Abel  shall  be 
subject  to  you)  to  you  shall  be  his  desire,  and  you  shall  rule  over 
him."  * 

The  moral  and  religious  institutions  of  the  patriarchal  or  family 
worship,  which  continued  from  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  covenant  of 
circumcision,  were  the  Sabbath,  the  service  of  the  altar,  oral  instruc- 
tion, prayer,  praise  and  benediction.  With  the  addition  of  circum- 
cision in  the  family  of  one  patriarch,  for  special  purposes,  these  were 
the  pai'ts  of  that  system  which  continued  for  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred years. 

The  religious  observance  of  weeks  or  Sabbaths  in  commemoration 
of  Creation,  and  prospective  of  an  eternal  rest,  to  arise  out  of  the 
sacrificial  and  typical  institution,  was  religiously  observed  to  the 
giving  of  the  law,  or  the  erection  of  the  Jewish  institution.  Thus  the 
law  of  the  Sabbath  commences  with  the  words,  "Remember  the  Sab- 
bath."  The  righteous  always  remembered  the  weeks,  and  regarded  the 
conclusion  of  the  week  as  holy  to  the  Lord.  Hence  even  after  the 
Apostacy,  which  issued  in  the  neglect  of  family  worship,  in  consequence 
of  the  sons  of  God  intermarrying  with  the  daughters  of  men,  and  which 
brought  a  fiood  of  water  upon  the  world  of  the  ungodly — we  find  Noah 
religiously  counting  his  weeks  even  while  incarcerated  in  the  Ark. 
In  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  before  the  giving  of  the  law,  we  also  find  the 
Jews  observing  the  Sabbath.  And  to  facilitate  the  observance  of  it 
God  wrought  three  special  miracles  during  the  peregrinations  of  Israel, 

♦  Gen.  iv.  7. 


TUn    MII.I.i:X\IAL    HARBINGER    AliUlDUED.  22'd 

He  gave  two  days'  portion  of  nianua  on  the  sixth  day — none  on  the 
seventh — and  preserved  from  putrefaction  the  portion  laid  up  for  the 
Sabbath.* 

Sin-offerings  and  thank  offerings,  on  altars  both  of  stone  and  earth, 
were  presented  to  the  Lord — the  former,  in  faith  of  the  promise  con- 
cerning the  bruising  of  the  Serpent's  head  by  the  offspring  of  woman 
— the  latter,  in  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  goodness  of  God  in 
creation  and  providence.  Cain,  without  faith  in  the  promised  redemp- 
tion, like  many  deists  and  natural  religionists  in  our  time,  did  acknowl- 
edge the  goodness  and  care  of  God  by  a  thank-offering;  but  Abel,  hy 
faith  in  that  promise,  not  only  offered  his  thank-offering,  but  a  lamb 
as  a  sin-offering:  therefore,  while  God  respected  not  Cain's  oblation 
without  faith  in  that  promise,  he  testified  in  favor  of  the  gifts  of 
Abel — he  accepted  his  sin-offering  and  his  thank-offering. 

In  the  very  brief  and  general  outlines  of  almost  two  thousand  five 
hundred  years  given  us  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  we  find  sundry  allu- 
sions to  this  part  of  the  patriarchal  institution.  Immediately  after 
his  egress  from  the  Ark,  we  find  Noah  rearing  his  altar  upon  the  bap- 
tized earth,  and  of  every  clean  bird  and  beast  offering  to  the  Lord 
whole  burnt  offerings.  Thus  began  Noah,  after  the  deluge,  to  worship 
the  T.,ord  according  to  the  patriarchal  institution.  And  thus  we  find 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Job,  and  other  patriarchs  presenting  their  sac- 
rifices to  the  Lord,  while  the  family  woi-^hip  was  the  only  religious 
institution  in  the  world. 

Even  libations,  drink-offerings,  and  anointing  as  tokens  of  gratitude 
and  consecration,  are  found  in  this  most  ancient  and  venerable  insti- 
tution. "Jacob  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  took  the  stone  which  he 
had  put  for  his  pillow,  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil  upon  the 
top  of  it."t  "And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  in  the  place  where  God  talked 
with  him,  even  a  pillar  of  stone,  and  he  poured  a  drink-offerinti;  thereon, 
and  he  poured  oil  thereon. "$ 

A  beautiful  and  instructive  instance  of  ancient  family  worship,  and 
of  the  sacerdotal  functions,  as  exercised  by  the  patriarchs  in  reference 
to  the  Altar,  we  have  in  that  most  ancient  of  books,  supposed  by  many 
to  have  been  written  by  Moses,  while  in  the  land  of  Midian;  but, 
according  to  others,  by  Job  himself,  who  was  certainly  contemporary 
with  ElipJiaz  the  Temanite.  Eliphaz  was  the  son  of  Teman,  who  was 
the  son  of  Eliphaz,  who  was  the  first  son  of  Esau,  the  son  of  Isaac, 
the  son  of  Abraham.  He  thereforo  lived  before  Moses.  Thus  we  find 
him  also  oflficiating  at  the  altar.  We  are  told  that  "his  sons  went  and 
feasted  in  each  other's  houses,  every  one  his  day,  and  sent  and  called 
for  their  sisters  to  eat  and  drink  with  them.     And   it  was  so,   that 


•Ex.  xvi.  1.1-2".        +(;cn.  xxviii.  IS.         t<J<'"-  xxxv.  M. 


224  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

when  the  days  of  their  feasting  were  gone  about,  that  Job  sent  and 
sanctified  them,  and  rose  up  early  in  the  morning  and  offered  burnt 
offerings  according  to  the  number  of  them  all:  for  Job  said,  It  may  be 
that  my  sons  have  sinned  and  cursed  God  in  their  hearts.  Thus  acted 
Job  continually."  * 

The  same  Job,  by  divine  appointment,  acted  as  priest  or  intercessor 
in  behalf  of  his  three  friends,  princes  of  Edom:  for  having  spoken 
amiss,  they  were  commanded  to  take  seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams, 
and  go  to  Job  the  servant  of  God,  and  to  offer  them  up  for  themselves; 
and  "Job  my  servant  shall  pray  for  you."  "Job  prayed  for  them,  and 
the  Lord  accepted  his  prayer,  and  forgave  Eliphaz,  Bildad,  and  Zophar." 
"The  Lord  also  accepted  and  blessed  Job  after  he  had  prayed  for  these 
his  friends,  and  the  Lord  turned  again  the  captivity  of  Job."t 

During  this  period  of  the  world  there  was  but  one  high  or  general 
priest,  specially  called  and  sent  by  God.  "He  was  King  of  Salem  and 
Priest  of  the  Most  High  God."  To  him  the  patriarch  Abraham  paid 
tithes  or  gave  the  tenth  of  the  spoils  taken  in  war,  and  Melchisedeck 
blessed  him.  He  was  of  an  order  sui  generis:  He  had  no  predecessor, 
successor,  nor  equal  in  the  age  of  family  worship. 

From  all  these  facts  and  documents  we  learn  that  the  service  of 
the  altar  belonged  first  to  the  father  of  the  family — next,  to  his  eldest 
son; — that  it  consisted  in  presenting  sin-offerings  and  thank-offerings 
of  various  sorts  in  behalf  of  himself  or  family — that  all  pious  sons 
and  individuals  might  for  themselves  erect  altars,  offer  sacrifices,  and 
pour  out  libations  and  thank-offerings  to  the  Lord; — that  these  sacri- 
ficial observances  were  generally,  if  not  always,  accompanied  with 
prayer,  intercession,  and  thanksgivings; — and  that  intercession  in 
behalf  of  those  under  the  care  of  any  father  or  patriarch  was  a  part  of 
the  first  institution. 

Benediction  also  was  one  of  the  duties  of  this  office.  Fathers  pro- 
nounced blessings  on  their  children.  Superiors  in  age  and  standing 
blessed  their  inferiors.  Melchisedeck  blessed  Abraham,  Isaac  blessed 
Jacob,  and  Jacob  blessed  the  twelve  patriarchs.  The  invocation  of 
blessings  and  the  imposition  of  hands  upon  the  head,  were  parts  of 
the  family  worship  institution. 

Concerning  prayer  and  praise,  as  we  can  not  imagine  a  religion 
without  them,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  particularly  of  them  as  parts 
of  the  patriarchal  institution.  Jubal  soon  taught  men  to  handle  the 
harp  and  the  organ,  and  piety  soon  consecrated  them  to  the  praise  of 
God.  The  melodies  of  nature  soon  taught  man  to  tune  his  voice  to 
God.  Isaac  went  out  into  the  fields  at  eventide  for  secret  prayer. 
Abraham   interceded    for    Sodom   until   he  was  ashamed   to   push   his 


•;-  Job  xlii.  8-10. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  225 

importunities  farther;  and  lor  Abimelech,  king  of  Egypt,  and  his 
family,  he  made  his  requests  to  God.  Of  him  and  his  patriarchal  char- 
acter God  said,  "I  Itnow  Abraham  that  he  will  command  his  children, 
and  his  household  after  him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  ways  of  the  Lord, 
to  do  justice  and  judgment,  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham 
that  which  he  has  spoken  of  him."  * 

Prophets  of  a  public  character  were  occasionally  raised  up  to  bring 
men  back  to  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  patriarchal  institution,  as 
well  as  to  lead  them  forward  to  the  future  developments  of  God's  pur- 
poses in  reference  to  the  work  of  redemption.  Amongst  these  the  most 
conspicuous  were  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob.  To  all  these 
were  given  new  visions  of  the  future,  and  thus  they  were  all  preachers 
of  righteousness  and  reformers  in  their  respective  generations. 

From  these  gleanings  from  the  book  of  Genesis,  one  may  learn  that 
the  family  worship  institution,  which  was  divinely  instituted  ;n  the 
first  age  of  the  world,  embraced  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  the 
service  of  the  altar,  oral  instruction,  prayer,  intercession,  thanksgiv- 
ing, and  benediction.  It  contemplated  no  other  bond  of  union  than 
the  marriage  covenant  and  the  relations  springing  out  of  it.  Doing 
justly,  loving  mercy,  and  walking  humbly  with  God,  were  enforced  in 
all  its  maxims,  and  in  the  examples  of  those  whom  God  honored  and 
approved. 

There  was,  during  the  long  period  of  this  family  institution,  no 
community  separated  from  the  world  larger  than  a  single  household — 
no  public  altars — no  temples — no  established  order  of  public  teachers; 
therefore,  there  were  no  initiating  or  separating  institutions.  There 
was  no  circumcision  for  the  infant,  nor  icashing  of  regeneration  for 
the  instructed.  These  institutions  of  later  times  had  respect  to  public 
professing  communities;  and,  therefore,  for  two  thousand  years  there 
was  no  initiating  rite  or  ordinance  amongst  men. 

Wherever  the  family  curtains  were  spread  and  a  tent  erected,  the 
devout  father  built  his  own  altar  to  the  Lord,  gathered  his  own  chil- 
dren and  domestics  around  him,  instructed  them  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  the  creator  and  preserver  of  all;  and  in  the  history  of  man,  his 
origin  and  destiny,  as  far  as  revealed  to  them.  They  offered  their 
thank-offerings,  acknowledgments  of  favors  received;  and  when  con- 
scious of  sin,  they  presented  their  sin-offering,  with  confessions,  and 
in  faith  of  God's  promise,  supplicated  pardon.  Such  are  the  essential 
attributes  of  the  patriarchal  institution,  and  of  the  family  worship,  as 
learned  from  the  writings  of  Moses. 

But  as  the  root  of  all  the  subsequent  dispensations  of  God's  mercy 
and  favor  to  man  was  planted  in  the  patriarchal  institution,  it  is  neces- 

•(ion.  xviii.  1!(. 


626  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

sary  to  our  plan,  before  we  advance  farther,  to  pay  some  attention 
to  one  of  these  patriarchs,  whose  fame  is  eternal,  on  whom  God 
bestowed  an  honor  above  all  earthly  honor,  and  who  stands  enrolled 
in  the  annals  of  time  as  the  friend  of  God.  The  intelligent  reader 
needs  not  to  be  informed  that  we  now  call  his  attention  specially  to 

ABRAHAM. 

Reader,  attend!  "I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob:  this  is  my  name  forever,  and  this  is  my  memorial 
to  all  generations."  And  shall  not  the  name,  the  calling,  the  blessing, 
and  the  history  of  Abraham  always  occupy  a  large  space  in  the  records 
of  God's  government  of  man,  and  in  all  the  details  of  his  redemption! 

Because  of  his  unprecedented  faith  in  God's  promises  and  exalted 
piety,  he  was  constituted  the  father  of  all  believers;  and  his  whole 
life  is  made  a  model  for  all  the  children  of  God,  as  far  as  walking  by 
faith  in  God's  promises  is  an  ornament  to  human  character. 

Sufficient  then  to  our  present  purpose,  we  observe,  that  during  the 
family  worship  institution,  a  little  after  the  commencement  of  the 
third  Millennium,  about  the  75th  year  of  his  life,  God  appeared  to 
Abraham  while  he  yet  lived  in  Ur  of  Chaldea,  and  commanded  him  to 
depart  out  of  that  country,  and  that  he  would  do  for  him  certain  things. 
Abraham  obeyed.  God  gratuitously  tendered  to  him  two  promises, 
not  only  interesting  and  valuable  to  Abraham  himself,  but  to  all  the 
human  race. 

These  two  promises  were  intended  to  be  the  basis  of  a  two-fold 
relation  to  God,  and  the  foundation  of  two  distinct  religious  institu- 
tions called  "the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,"  "the  Old  Covenant  and 
the  New,"  "the  Two  Covenants,"  and  "the  Covenants  of  Promise." 
There  was  contemplated  in  them  the  constitution  for  a  temporal  and 
a  spiritual  kingdom  of  God — a  kingdom  of  God  of  this  world,  and  a 
kingdom  of  God  not  of  this  world.  Be  it,  however,  always  remem- 
bered, when  we  attempt  to  form  correct  and  comprehensive  views  of 
the  whole  economy  of  God's  redemption,  that  these  two  promises  were 
made  while  the  patriarchal  institution  was  yet  standing  and  several 
centuries  before  its  close.    What,  then,  it  will  be  asked,  are  these 

TWO  PROMISES. 

We  find  them   in   their   most   simple   form   in  the  beginning  of  the 

twelfth  chapter  of  Genesis.    The  first — 

"7  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee  and  make 

thy  name  great,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.    I  wili  bless  them  that 

bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curses  thee." 

The  second — "In  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 
These  promises  when  fully  developed  contained  numerous  blessings. 

They  are,  however,  in  all  their  details  separate  and  distinct  from  each 


Tilt:  miljj:.\m.\j.  harbinger  abridged.  227 

other.  Abraham's  family  alone  are  personally  concerned  in  the  first — 
all  families  of  the  earth  in  the  second.  Temporal  and  earthly  are  the 
blessings  of  the  former — spiritual  and  eternal  are  the  blessings  of  the 
latter.  Paul  calls  tho  second,  "The  gospel  preached  to  Abraham, '  and 
"The  covenant  confirmed  by  God  in  reference  to  the  Messiah,  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  giving  of  the  law."  The  Jewish 
kingdom  in  all  its  glory  was  but  the  development  of  the  first — the 
Christian  kingdom  in  its  present  and  future  blessings  is  the  consum- 
mation of  the  second. 

COVENANT  OF  CIRCUMCISION. 

In  pursuance  of  the  first  promise,  and  in  order  to  its  exact  and 
literal  accomplishment,  about  twenty-four  years  after  its  promulga- 
tion the  "Covenant  of  Circumcision"  was  established.  This  "covenant 
in  the  fiesh"  marked  out  and  defined  the  natural  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham, and  gave  to  the  world  a  full  proof  of  the  faithfulness  of  God. 
putting  it  in  the  power  of  every  one  to  ascertain  how  God  keeps  his 
covenants  of  promise  with  all  people.  This  gave  to  the  descendants 
of  Abraham  the  title  of  "TJie  Circumcision,"  and  beautifully  repre- 
sented the  separation  of  God's  people  from  the  children  of  this  world. 

The  land  of  Canaan,  as  tJie  inheritance  of  this  nation,  is  repeatedly 
promised  to  Abraham;  and  as  soon  as  Isaac,  the  child  of  promise,  is 
born  and  circumcised,  the  promise  of  the  "seed,"  in  which  all  nations 
were  to  be  blessed,  is  confined  to  him.  Not  in  Ishmael,  but  "in  Isaac 
shall  thy  seed  be  called."* 

After  the  death  of  Abraham  and  towards  the  close  of  the  life  of 
Isaac,  his  father's  God  give  him  a  second  edition  of  these  two  prom- 
ises. The  first  is  considerably  amplified  in  its  details,  while  the  second 
is  repeated  almost  in  the  same  words.  That  which  was  first  to  be 
accomplished  is  first  developed,  and  its  provisions  pointed  out.  "I  will 
be  with  thee  and  will  bles?  thee;  for  unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  I 
will  give  all  these  countries,  and  I  will  perform  all  the  oath  which  I 
sware  to  Abraham  thy  father;  and  I  will  make  thy  seed  to  multiply 
as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  will  give  to  thy  seed  all  these  countries; 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed:  because 
Abraham  obeyed  my  voice,  and  kept  my  charge,  my  commandments,  my 
statutes,  and  my  laws."t 

The  same  two  promises  are  repeated  in  almost  the  same  words  to 
Jacob  the  son  of  Isaac  at  the  time  he  had  the  vision  of  the  ladder 
reaching  from  earth  to  heaven,  while  in  obedience  to  a  command  given 
him  by  his  parents,  he  was  on  his  way  to  Padan-aram  in  quest  of  a 
wife.    On  these  three  great  occasions — to  Abraham — to  Issac — to  Jacob 

•Goii.  xxi.  lU.        +(;<"n.  xx\i.  :'...'■>. 


228  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

— these  two  promises  are  solemnly  pronounced;  always  standing  in 
the  same  order — never  confounded;  but  as  distinct  as  earth  and  heaven 
— as  time  and  eternity. 

Four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  the  first  solemn  declaration  of 
these  promises,  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  virtue 
of  the  first  promise,  were  redeemed  out  of  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  saved 
from  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  of  Pharaoh.  Then,  in  order  to  the  full 
completion  of  its  stipulations,  God,  by  the  hand  of  Moses,  proposed  a 
covenant  with  all  Israel  at  Sinai;  in  which  he  guarantees  to  do  all  for 
them  contemplated  in  the  promise,  confirmed  by  an  oath  to  Abraham, 
in  being  a  God  to  his  seed  after  him.    This 

SINAITIC  COVENANT 

constituted  them  a  kingdom  of  God,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people. 
All  the  blessings  comprehended  in  the  first  promise  to  Abraham,  or 
that  could  grow  out  of  the  relation  to  God  which  it  contemplated,  were 
in  full  detail  carried  out  into  this  transaction,  and  secured  to  the  whole 
nation.  The  relation  was,  however,  temporal,  and  its  blessings  temporal 
and  earthly.  The  second  promise  made  no  part  of  the  Jewish  institu- 
tion or  covenant  at  Sinai,  more  than  it  did  of  the  patriarchal  or  ante- 
cedent institution.  The  typical  or  figurative  part  of  the  family  wor- 
and  earthly.  The  second  promise  made  no  part  of  the  Jewish  institu- 
tion and  made  a  part  of  it;  and  whatever  spiritual  privilege  was 
enjoyed  by  the  Jew,  was  enjoyed  upon  the  same  principle  with  the 
patriarch — by  faith  in  the  second  promise,  and  by  an  intelligent  and 
believing  attendance  upon  all  the  appointed  means  which  either  pre- 
figured the  coming  redemption,  or  realized  the  blessings  which  were 
to  be  derived  through  the  promised  seed. 

The  SEED  in  which  all  the  families  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed, 
was  in  the  nation,  but  in  no  other  sense  than  as  it  was  in  the  people 
while  in  Egypt,  or  in  the  patriarchs  before  they  went  down  into  Egypt. 
It  was  in  the  nation,  but  no  element  of  the  national  institution.  They 
had  the  second  promise  made  to  their  fathers,  and  all  the  faithful  atid 
approved  among  them  believed  that  promise,  and  acted  conformably  to 
it.  Thus  amongst  the  Jews,  even  before  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
there  were 

TWO  SEEDS, 

The  natural  and  the  spiritual  children  of  Abraham.  The  whole  nation 
were  his  literal  and  natural  children;  and  such  of  them  as  believed 
the  second  promise  and  understood  it,  were  not  only  his  natural  chil- 
dren, but  his  children  in  the  same  sense  in  which  all  believing  Gentiles 
are  by  virtue  of  the  second  promise  constituted  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham:  for  these  two  promises  raised  up  two  seeds  to  Abraham.     The 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  22? 

first,  like  Ishmael,  were  born  according  to  the  flesh — the  fleshly  seed 
of  Abraham;  the  second,  like  Isaac,  were  the  children  of  faith  in  the 
promise:  and  thus  Abraham  is  the  constituted  father  of  all  who  believe 
in  that  promise,  whether  of  his  flesh  or  not. 

But  the  second  promise  was  not  fulfilled  for  nearly  one  thousand 
five  hundred  years  after  the  first,  or  after  the  national  institution  was 
confirmed  at  Sinai;  and  therefore 

THE  BLESSING  OF  ABRAHAM, 

Which  was  to  come  on  the  nations  through  his  seed,  through  faith  in 
the  accomplished  promise,  was  to  be  the  basis  and  the  substance  of 
a  new  institution.  This  "blessing  of  Abraham"  includes  all  the  spirit- 
ual and  eternal  blessings  which  were  laid  up  in  his  seed,  who  is  the 
ark  of  this  new  constitution,  in  whom  all  the  promises  of  God  are 
verified,  and  in  whom  they  are  deposited  for  the  comfort  and  salvation 
of  all  the  children  of  God.  Whatever  concerned  the  family  of  Abra- 
ham coming  through  the  first  promise,  descended  upon  the  family  prin- 
ciple, which  is  only  flesh;  but  whatever  concerns  all  saints  of  all 
nations,  descends  upon  the  new  principle  of  faith.  "They  who  are  of 
faith,"  says  Paul,  "are  blessed  with  believing  Abraham."  And  "If  you 
be  Christ's,  then,"  and  only  then,  "are  you  Abraham's  seed  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise." 

The  blessing  of  Abraham  was  then  promised  in  the  patriarchal  age 
antecedent  to  the  Jewish  national  institution,  and  independent  of  ft; 
therefore,  that  institution  can  not  affect,  much  less  disannul,  the  bless- 
ings promised  in  the  covenant,  confirmed  before  by  God,  respecting  Uie 
Messiah,  in  the  time  of  family  worship,  and  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years  before  the  Jewish  institution  began. 

In  calling  Abraham,  and  in  making  him  the  father  of  many  nations, 
and  the  depository  of  still  more  precious  promises  and  revelations,  God 
did  not  supersede  the  family  worship.  He  only  added  to  the  stock 
of  religious  knowledge,  strengthened  the  faith,  and  enlarged  the  hopes 
of  that  single  family.  The  family  Institution  continued  without  the 
slightest  change,  except  in  one  particular  specified  in  the  covenant  of 
circumcision,  as  respected  the  single  family  of  Abraham,  for  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years  after  the  charter  concerning  his  seed  and 
that  concerning  the  Messiah  was  secured  to  this  renowned  patriarch. 
Thus  we  have  traced  the  continuance  of  the  family  religion,  or  patri- 
archal economy,  for  two  thousand  five  hundred  years,  and  are  now- 
prepared  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  Jewish  national  institution, 
though  we  have  already  anticipated  almost  all  that  is  necessary  to 
our  present  object.  Still,  however,  we  shall  make  it  the  subject  of  a 
distinct  notice. 


230  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

THE    JEWISH   INSTITUTION. 

In  this  age  of  improvement  in  divine  institutions,  we  read  and 
hear  much  of  "two  dispensations  of  the  covenant  of  grace;"  thus 
making  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  institutions  dispensations  ot  one 
"covenant  of  grace."  Why  not  make  the  patriarchal,  (still  more  vener- 
able for  its  antiquity  and  which  continued  a  thousand  years  longer 
than  the  Jewish,)  also  a  dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and 
then  we  should  have  had  three  dispensations  of  one  covenant!  This 
is  but  "a  show  of  wisdom."  The  Holy  Spirit  calls  them  "two  cove- 
nants," or  "two  institutions,"  and  not  two  modifications  of  one  cove- 
nant; and  it  speaks  of  each  as  established  upon  promises.  The  Jewish 
was  established  upon  temporal  and  earthly  promises,  contained  in  the 
first  promise  made  to  Abraham;  but  the  new,  says  Paul,  "is  established 
upon  ttetter  promises,''  growing  out  of  that  concerning  the  blessing  of 
the  nations  in  the  promised  seed.* 

The  Jewish  institution  commenced  and  continued  about  1,500  years 
before  the  Reign  of  Heaven  began.  It  was  not  substituted  for  the 
family  worship,  but  added  to  it;  affecting,  however,  the  patriarchal 
institution  in  some  respects,  as  far  as  concerned  the  single  family  of 
Abraham.  The  individual  families  of  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  as  such, 
had  still  their  family  Worship — still  the  worship  of  God  was  heard  in 
the  dwellings  of  the  righteous;  and,  like  Joshua,  every  good  Israelite 
said,  "As  for  me  and  my  family,  we  will  serve  the  Lord." 

In  four  hundred  years  the  family  of  Abraham  had,  in  the  line  of 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  in  fulfillment  of  the  first  promise,  grown  up  into 
millions.  Not  less  than  two  millionsf  came  up  out  of  Egypt  under 
the  conduct  of  Moses.  The  heavenly  Father,  in  progressive  develop- 
ment of  his  plan  of  blessing  all  nations,  leaves  all  the  world  under 
the  family  worship  institution,  and  erects  the  whole  progeny  of  Abra- 
ham that  came  up  out  of  Egypt  into  one  great  national  institution. 
He  condescends  to  appear  in  the  character  of  King  of  the  Jetvs,  and  to 
make  them  a  kingdom  of  God,  as  preparatory  to  the  appearance  of 
his  8o7i,  who  is  predestined  to  be  the  King  of  the  whole  earth,  and  to 
have  a  kingdom  which  shall  ultimately  embrace  all  the  nations  of 
the  world. 

The  twelve  tribes  were  brought  into  the  form  of  one  great  worship- 
ing family,  presenting  through  one  common  High  Priest  their  united 
worship  to  God.  This  gav^e  rise  to  the  erection  of  one  public  house 
consecrated  to  the  Lord,  as  the  place  of  meeting  in  their  social  and 
national  character.  A  constitution,  political,  moral,  and  religious,  was 
submitted  to  the  people;   and  on  their  adoption  of  it,  they  became  a 


*  Jer.  xxxi.  31. 

■^Men  lit  for  war  are  never  more  than  the  third  or  fourth  of   any  population. 
There  were  six  hundred  thousand  men  of  this  class  when  they  came  to  Mount  Sinai. 


rilK  MILLI-JXMAJ.   HARBISUKH   ABRIDGED.  231 

covenanted  people  of  God.  This  constitutional  kingdom  was  built  upon 
precepts  and  promises;  and  its  worship  when  fully  developed  was 
little  more  than  the  extension  of  the  family  worship  to  one  great 
national  family.  They  had  one  king,  one  high  priest,  one  national 
altar,  one  national  house  of  God,  one  morning  and  evening  sacrifice, 
one  great  national  sacrifice,  and  one  great  annual  atonement.  The 
nation  was  a  family  of  families,  and  whatever  pertained  to  a  single 
family  in  its  family  worship  was  extended  and  accommodated  to  this 
great  confederate  family. 

Various  mystic  and  significant  institutions  distinguished  this  nation 
from  all  others;  for  it  was  one  principal  object  of  its  institution  to 
keep  its  subjects  separate  and  distinct  from  all  other  people  till  Mes- 
siah (the  promised  seed)  should  come.  Another  object  was,  to  figure 
out  in  appropriate  types  the  spiritual  worship  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  to  exhibit  the  great  doctrine  of  faith,  repentance,  remis- 
sion, adoption,  and  inheritance,  by  picturesque  images,  ingeniously 
devised  to  figure  out  the  whole  doctrine  of  reconciliation  and  sanctifi- 
cation  to  God. 

The  Jewish  institution  is  not  to  be  regarded  only  in  its  political, 
moral  and  religious  aspect,  but  especially  in  its  figurative  and  pros- 
pective character.  God  so  wisely  and  benevolently  contrived  it  from 
its  origin  to  its  close,  that  its  whole  history — the  fates  and  fortunes 
of  its  subjects  from  their  descent  into  Egypt,  their  travels  thence  to 
Canaan  and  settlement  in  the  land  of  promise — their  fortunes  in  that 
land  to  their  final  catastrophe,  should  exactly  and  impressively  shadow 
forth  the  new  institution  with  the  fates  and  fortunes  of  the  subjects  of 
this  new  and  more  glorious  order  of  things.  "All  these  things  hap- 
pened to  them  for  types,"  (examples,)  says  Paul,  "and  they  are  written 
for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  have  come." 
The  same  great  commentator  on  this  institution  not  only  presents  the 
history  of  its  subjects  as  instructive  to  the  citizens  of  the  new  institu- 
tion, but  of  the  tabernacle  he  says,  "It  was  a  figurative  representa- 
tion for  the  time  then  present,"  the  furniture  thereof  "the  pattern 
of  things  in  the  heavens."  "The  law,"  he  adds,  "contained  only  a 
shadow  of  the  good  things  to  come."  A  shadow,  indeed,  proceeding 
from  a  man,  a  house,  a  tree,  is  not,  and  can  not  be,  an  exact  image 
or  representation  of  them;  yet,  when  explained  by  a  verbal  description, 
it  greatly  facilitates  an  easy  and  correct  conception  of  them. 

So  full  of  the  doctrine  of  the  new  institution  was  the  old,  that  we 
find  all  the  Apostles  and  Christian  writers  unceremoniously  applying 
everything  they  quote  from  the  law,  the  prophets,  and  the  psalms,  to 
the  Messiah,  his  kingdom,  and  the  fortunes  of  his  people;  as  if  the 
Jewish  writings  had  no  other  object  than  to  unfold  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.    Jesus  begins  with  Abraham  seeing  his  day  on  Mount  Moriah 


232  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

in  the  typical  resurrection  of  Isaac.  Paul  regards  Hagar,  Ishmael, 
Sarah,  Isaac,  as  the  best  illustration  of  the  two  mstitutions ;  and  John 
ends  with  the  description  of  the  descent  of  Jerusalem  from  heaven. 

Every  one,  then,  who  would  accurately  understand  the  Christian 
institution  must  approach  it  through  the  Mosaic;  and  he  that  would 
be  a  proficient  in  the  Jewish,  must  make  Paul  his  commentator.  While 
the  mere  politician,  moralist,  or  religionist  contemplates  the  one  with- 
out the  other,  though  he  may  find  much  to  admire  in  both,  he  will 
never  understand  either.  A  veil,  thick  as  that  which  concealed  the 
glory  of  the  face  of  Moses  from  the  Israelites,  will  hide  the  glory  of 
the  Jewish  and  Christian  institution  from  his  view. 

Not  only  did  the  tabernacle,  the  temple,  their  furniture,  the  service 
of  both,  the  priests,  the  sacrifices,  the  festivals,  the  convocations,  and 
all  the  ordinances  of  that  Ritual,  together  with  the  history  of  that 
people,  assume  the  picturesque  and  figurative  character,  but  almost 
all  the  illustrious  and  highly  distinguished  personages  of  that  institu- 
tion were  made  prophetic  or  typical  of  the  Messiah,  or  of  the  great 
incidents  of  his  life,  sufferings,  and  triumphs,  and  the  leading  affairs 
of  his  government.  Amongst  persons  in  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish 
ages,  who,  in  one  or  more  prominent  characters  or  incidents,  or  in 
their  general  history  adumbrated  the  Messiah,  and  his  reign,  the  fol- 
lowing group  occupy  a  lofty  eminence: — Adam,  Abel,  Noah,  Melchise- 
deck,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  Aaron,  Joshua,  Samson,  David, 
Jonah.  Of  things  of  this  class,  as  well  as  persons  highly  figurative 
and  instructive,  are  the  vision  of  Jacob's  ladder — the  burning  bush — 
the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire — the  manna — the  rock  Horeb,  a  fountain  of 
living  water  in  the  wilderness — the  veil  of  Moses — the  brazen  serpent — 
the  victory  over  the  nations  of  Canaan,  and  the  land  of  Canaan  itself. 
And  of  ordinances,  the  passover,  the  scape  goat,  the  red  heifer,  the  year 
of  jubilee,  the  law  of  the  leper,  the  kinsman  redeemer,  the  cities  of 
refuge;  together  with  all  the  sacrifices,  washings,  anointings,  and  con- 
secrations of  the  holy  nation. 

But  a  third  object  of  the  Jewish  institution,  of  paramount  impor- 
tance to  the  world,  was  the  furnishings  of  a  new  alphabet  and  language 
(the  elements  of  heavenly  science,)  without  which  it  would  appear  to 
have  been  almost,  if  not  altogether,  impossible  to  learn  the  spiritual 
things,  or  to  make  any  proficiency  in  the  knowledge  of  those  relations 
which  Christianity  unfolds.  The  language  of  the  new  institution  is 
therefore  explained  by  that  of  the  old.  No  one  can  understand  the 
dialect  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  who  has  not  studied  the  dialect  of 
the  antecedent  administrations  of  heaven  over  the  patriarchs  and  Jews. 
The  most  striking  and  characteristic  attribute  of  the  sacred  dialect 
is,  that  the  elements  of  it  are  composed  of  the  incidents  of  history,  or 
what  we  call  remarkable  providences. 


THE    M1LIA:SMAL.  HARDIKGER    abridged.  223 

I  can  not  explain  myself  better,  nor  render  my  readers  a  more  essen- 
tial service,  than  by  illustrating  by  an  actual  detail  of  sacred  history, 
the  following  proposition,  viz.:  That  sacred  history  ur  the  remarkable 
incidents  of  God's  providences  to  the  Jews  and  Patriarchs  are  the 
foundation  of  the  sacred  dialect  of  the  new  institution.  Or,  if  the 
reader  will  understand  it  better,  it  may  be  thus  expressed — All  the 
leading  icords  and  phrases  of  the  New  Testament  are  to  be  explained 
atid  understood  by  the  history  of  the  Jeicish  nation  and  God's  govern- 
ment  of  them.    Take  the  following  as  a  mere  specimen:  — 

God  called  Abram  out  of  Ur,  and  changed  his  name  into  Abraham; 
and  the  name  of  his  wife  Sarai  into  Sarah.  He  promised  Isaac  as  the 
person  in  whom  his  seed  should  be  called.  God  did  tempt  Abraham, 
commanding  him  to  offer  Isaac  for  a  burnt-offering — Isaac  had  two 
sons — Esau  the  elder,  and  Jacob  the  younger.  Esau  despised  his  birth- 
right and  sold  it  to  Jacob.  Jacob  wrestled  with  God,  and  prevailed; 
he  obtained  a  blessing,  and  was  therefore  called  Israel.  He  had  twelve 
sons:  of  these  Joseph  was  his  favorite.  His  brethren  envied  him,  and 
sold  him  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver.  Joseph  found  grace  in  the  sight 
of  his  master.  The  Lord  was  with  Joseph.  He  was  cast  into  prison, 
and  from  thence  was  elevated  to  be  the  governor  of  Egypt  under 
Pharaoh.  A  famine  in  Canaan  compelled  Jacob  and  his  sons  into 
Egypt  for  bread,  and  Joseph  was  made  known  to  his  brethren.  Joseph 
died  in  Egypt  and  left  his  father's  house  in  that  land.  They  multi- 
plied exceedingly,  and  the  Egyptians  greatly  afflicted  and  oppressed 
the  Israelites.  Moses  was  born  and  exposed:  Pharaoh's  daughter  found 
him  and  adopted  him  for  a  son.  Moses  fled  into  Midian,  and 
married  the  daughter  of  the  priest  or  prince  of  Midian,  and  kept  his 
father-in-law's  flock  in  the  desert,  and  came  to  Horeb,  the  mountain 
of  God.  The  Lord  appeared  to  him  in  a  flame  of  fire  in  a  bush.  The 
bush  burned  and  was  not  consumed,  Moses  drew  near,  and  then  first 
stood  on  holy  ground.  God  sent  him  to  Egypt  to  lead  his  people  out 
01  bondage. 

God  bade  him  say  to  the  children  of  Israel,  "I  am  has  sent  me  to 
you.  Gather  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  say  to  them.  The  Lord  God  of 
your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,"  etc.,  "has  sent  me  to  you.  I  will 
smite  Egypt  with  my  U'ondcrs,  and  bring  you  up  out  of  the  afflictions 
of  Egypt.  Tell  Pharaoh,  Israel  is  my  son — my  first  born.  Take  Aaron 
with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  put  words  into  his  mouth;  and  I  will  be 
with  thy  mouth  and  with  his  mouth:  he  shall  be  to  thee  instead  of 
a  mouth,  and  thou  shalt  be  to  him  instead  of  God.  Take  thy  rod  in 
thy  hand.  The  Lord  sent  Aaron  to  Moses:  he  met  him  in  the  mount 
and  kissed  him.  And  the  Lord  visited  his  people.  And  the  people 
believed  when  they  heard  that  the  Lord  had  looked  upon  their  afflic- 
tion.   Pharaoh  oppressed  them  still  more.    The  Lord  said  with  a  strong 


234  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

hand  shall  he  let  them  go.  I  will  redeem  them  with  a  stretched  out 
arm  and  with  great  judgments.  I  will  give  you  Canaan  for  a  heritage: 
I  will  take  you  to  me  for  a  people.    I  will  he  your  God." 

Moses  said,  I  am  a  man  of  uncircumcised  lips,  and  how  shall  Pha- 
raoh hearken  to  me?  I  have  made  thee  a  god  to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron 
thy  prophet.  I  will  multiply  my  signs,  and  bring  out  my  people,  and 
harden  Pharaoh's  heart.  When  he  says,  "Show  me  a  miracle,"  cast 
your  rod  before  him,  and  it  shall  become  a  serpent.  Still  Pharaoh 
refused,  and  hardened  his  heart.  The  magicians,  overcome  with  the 
signs,  said.  This  is  the  finger  of  God.  The  God  of  the  Hebrews  said. 
Let  my  people  go.  I  have  roused  thee  up  (as  a  lion)  to  show  in 
you  my  power  and  to  make  my  name  known  through  all  the  earth. 
The  Lord  slew  all  the  first  born  of  Egypt  after  he  had  plagued  them 
exceedingly.  Pharaoh  commanded  them  to  depart;  but  he  pursued 
them  to  the  Red  Sea.  Israel  fainted  at  the  sight  before  and  behind 
them.  Moses  said.  Stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation  of  God.'  The  sea 
was  divided.  Covered  with  a  cloud,  Israel  marched  through  as  on  dry 
ground.  The  waters  stood  on  either  side  as  a  wall.  Pharaoh  pursued 
with  his  chariots  and  horsemen,  but  the  waters  returned  and  they 
were  drowned.  Thus  the  Lord  redeemed,  saved,  delivered,  and  brought 
Israel  out  of  bondage. 

After  this  deliverance  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  sang,  "The 
Lord  is  become  my  salvation;  he  is  my  God.  Thou  hast  overthrown 
them  that  rose  up  agaitist  thee.  Thou  hast  led  forth  thy  people  whom 
thou  hast  redeemed.  Thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength  to  thy 
holy  habitation.  The  inhabitants  of  Canaan  shall  be  still  as  a  stone 
till  thy  people  pass  over,  0  Lord!  the  people  thou  hast  purchased. 
Thou  Shalt  plant  them  in  the  mountain  of  thine  inheritance — in  the 
sanctuary  which  thy  hands  have  established. 

They  came  into  the  wilderness  of  Sin.  They  cried  for  bread,  and 
God  rained  bread  from  heaven  upon  them,  that  he  might  prove  them 
whether  or  no  they  would  -walk  in  his  law:  and  they  did  eat  manna 
forty  years,  till  they  came  to  the  borders  of  Canaan. 

They  complained  for  water,  and  tempted  God.  And  Moses  smote 
the  rock  in  Horeb,  and  water  gushed  out.  But  Moses  was  wroth,  and 
smote  the  rock  twice;  and  he  and  Aaron  thus  rebelled  against  God, 
and  fell  in  the  wilderness.  The  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  the  whole 
nation  at  Sinai,  and  made  them  a  peculiar  treasure  above  all  people — • 
a  kingdom  of  priests,  a  holy  nation;  and  God  spake  all  the  words  of 
the  law,  written  on  two  tables  of  stone;  and  spake  to  Israel  from 
heaven. 

The  Lord  by  Moses  gave  them  directions  for  rearing  a  tabernacle, 
and  a  pattern  for  all  its  furniture.  And  as  a  ransom  for  his  soul, 
every  man,  rich  and  poor,  was  to  pay  half  a  shekel  as  an  offering  to 


THE    illLLEXMAL    HARBIXGEH    ABRIDGED.  235 

the  Lord,  to  make  an  atonement  for  his  soul;  and  it  was  given  lor 
the  service  of  the  tabernacle.  When  the  tabernacle  was  reared  and 
finished,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  tabernacle  and  the  cloud  cov- 
ered it.  And  when  the  cloud  uas  taken  up  they  journeyed;  but  until 
it  was  taken  up  they  journeyed  not.  The  cloud  was  on  the  tabernacle 
by  day,  and  fire  was  on  it  by  night,  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel  throughout 
all  their  journeys. 

And  before  Moses  died  he  laid  his  hands  upon  Joshua,  and  gave 
him  a  charge  as  the  Lord  commanded ;  and  thus  put  honor  upon  him, 
that  the  children  of  Israel  might  be  obedieiit  to  him  as  their  savior. 
"As  I  was  with  Moses,  so  will  I  be  with  thee,"  saith  God;  "I  will  not 
fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee." 

Could  we  thus  proceed  with  the  history  of  this  people,  and  add  to 
their  history  the  observances  of  their  religious  institutions,  we  should 
find  out  the  true  meaning  of  the  sacred  style  of  the  New  Testament 
with  more  accuracy  and  certainty,  than  from  all  the  commentators  of 
ancient  and  modern  times.  This,  as  a  sample,  must  suffice  for  our 
present  purpose. 

From  the  premises  now  before  us,  the  specifications  of  the  outlines 
of  the  Sinaitic  and  national  institution,  and  the  terms  and  phrases 
found  in  the  history  of  this  people,  we  may  discover  in  what  relation 
they  stood  to  God,  and  what  favors  he  bestowed  upon  them  in  that 
relation. 

They  were  called  and  chosen,  or  the  elect  of  God  as  a  nation.  As 
such,  they  were  delivered,  saved,  bought,  or  purchased,  and  redeemed. 
God  is  said  to  have  created,  made,  formed,  and  begotten  them.  As  such 
he  is  called  their  Father,  their  Ood,  their  Redeemer,  their  King,  their 
Saviour,  their  Salvation;  and  they  are  called  his  children,  sons,  and 
daughters,  born  to  him,  his  house,  people,  inheritance,  family,  servants. 
As  a  chartered  and  congregated  people,  they  are  called  the  city, 
the  holy  city,  the  city  of  the  Lord.  Jerusalem,  Zion,  Mount  Zion,  the 
city  of  David.  Other  nations,  in  contrast  with  them,  are  called,  not  a 
people,  aliens,  strangers,  enemies,  far  off,  unclean. 

Various  similitudes  expressive  of  the  kind  relation  in  which  they 
stood  to  God  are  also  found  on  the  pages  of  the  ancient  institution — 
such  as  husband  and  wife,  shepherd  and  flock,  vine  and  vineyard, 
mother  and  children.  They  are  said  to  be  tcritten  or  enrolled  in  the 
hook  of  God;  to  l)e  planted,  icashed,  sanctified,  clean,  sepa7-ated  to 
God;  they  are  called  the  house,  building,  sanctuary,  dwelling  place  of 
God;  a  kingdom  of  priests,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  saints, 
etc.,  etc. 

Those  who  are  curious  to  trace  these  phrases  descriptive  of  the 
relation  and  privileges  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  God,  had  better  ( in 
addition   to  the  passages  quoted   in  their  history  from    Egypt  to  the 


236  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Jordan)  examine  the  following  passages: — Ex.  xiv.  30;  xv.  16;  xix.  G: 
Deut.  iv.  37;  vii.  6;  x.  15;  xiv.  1;  i.  31;  vii.  5;  xxxii.  6,  18,  19;  xviii. 
7;  iii.  18,  20;  xii.  9;  I.  Kings  iii.  8;  Ps.  cv.  6;  xxxiii.  12;  cv.  43;  cvi.  5, 
21;  Ixxiv.  2;  cxlix.  2;  Isa.  xli.  8,  9;  xliii.  1,  3,  5,  7;  li.  2,  4;  Ixi.  5;  Ixiii. 
16;  i.  2;  Ixii.  1,  6,  7;  xxviii.;  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  and  the  Psalms  of 
David  throughout,  etc.,  etc. 

Unless  we  should  write  a  full  treatise  on  these  antecedent  institu- 
tions, we  can  not  with  propriety  descend  farther  into  details.  The 
outlines,  as  far  as  subordinate  to  the  theme  of  this  essay,  are  now 
before  the  reader;  and  with  this  preparation  we  shall  now  invite  his 
attention  to  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN. 

And  why,  an  American  will  say,  is  it  not  called  the  Republic  of 
Heaven,  and  the  Chief  called  the  President  of  a  Celestial  Republic? 
Certainly  there  were  the  Republics  of  Greece  and  Rome  before  the 
doctrine  of  this  Kingdom  was  first  promulged,  and  the  Gentiles  as 
well  as  the  Jews  could  have  understood  the  figure  of  a  Republic  as 
well  as  that  of  a  Kingdom.  It  was  not,  then,  because  there  was  not 
in  society  a  model  or  type  of  this  sort;  but  because  such  a  type  would 
have  been  inapposite  to  the  nature  of  this  institution. 

History  testifies  that  Republics  are  better  adapted  to  peace  than 
war,  and  that  they  are  forced  and  unnatural  organizations  of  society, 
Aristocracies  and  Republics  owe  all  their  attractions  to  the  excessive 
corruptions  of  the  governments  under  which  they  have  originated. 
They  are  the  reaction  of  force  and  fraud,  of  cruelty  and  oppression, 
and  are  sustained  by  the  remembrance  and  apprehension  of  the  evils 
which  occasioned  ihem.  They  have  alwaye  been  extolled  and  admired 
either  in  contrast  with  the  vices  and  enormities  of  degenerate  an.! 
profligate  monarchies,  or  in  the  freshness  of  the  recollections  of  the 
wrongs  and  outrages  which  occasioned  them;  and  men  have  generally 
tired  of  them  when  they  became  corrupt  and  forgetful  of  the  oppres- 
sions and  crimes  which  forced  them  into  being.  So  that  the  corrup- 
tions of  Monarchies  have  given  birth  to  Republics,  and  the  corruptions 
of  these  have  originated  Monarchies  again. 

In  these  last  days  of  degeneracy  Republics  are  great  blessings  to 
mankind,  as  good  physicians  are  blessings  in  times  of  pestilence;  but 
yet  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  would  be  a  greater  blessing  to  be 
without  plagues  and  doctors.  While  men  are,  however,  so  degenerate, 
and  while  selfishness  and  injustice  are  so  rampant  in  society,  repub- 
lican ofl!icers  are  better  than  kings — because  we  can  get  rid  of  them 
sooner.  They  are,  indeed,  kings  under  another  name,  with  a  short- 
leased  authority;  and  our  experience  fully  demonstrates  that  in  these 
degenerate  days  the  reigns  of  our  republican  kings  are  nearly  long 
enough.  Till  the  King  of  kings  comes,  we  Christians  ought  to  be  good 
republicans,   under   the   conviction   that   human   governments   seldom 


■     THE    MILLENNIAL    HAIiBINOER    ABRIDGED.  237 

grow  better,  and  that  the  popular  doctrine  of  our  country  is  true — that 
political  authority  generally  makes  a  man  worse,  and  public  favors 
almost  invariably  corrupt  the  heart.  Rapid  rotation  in  office  is  the 
practical  influence  of  the  republican  theory;  and  the  experiment  proves 
that,  brief  as  republican  authority  Is,  it  is  sometimes  too  long  for 
republican  virtue  to  sustain  without  deterioration.  Now  if  this  be 
true  of  republican  virtue,  the  brightest  and  the  best,  what  earthly 
virtue  can  long  resist  the  contamination  of  long  protracted  authority? 
Monarchy  is  the  only  form  of  government,  however,  which  nature 
recognizes.  It  was  the  first,  and  it  will  be  the  last.  A  government 
with  three  or  thirty  heads  is  a  monster;  and  therefore  the  beast  that 
represents  it  comes  out  of  the  sea  with  a  plurality  of  horns  as  well 
as  heads. 

The  most  approved  theory  of  human  nature  and  of  human  govern- 
ment now  current  wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken,  either  in 
the  Old  World  or  in  the  New,  is,  that  a  monarchy  would  be  always 
the  best  government,  because  the  cheapest,  the  most  efficient,  and  the 
most  dignified;  provided  only,  that  the  crown  was  always  placed  on  the 
wisest  head  and  the  sceptre  wielded  by  the  purest  hands.  Could  we 
always  secure  this  we  would  all  be  monarchists;  because  we  can  not, 
we  are  all  republicans. 

But  after  this  apology  for  the  phrase  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  we  would 
recall  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  concession  made  by  republi- 
cans themselves,  that  a  kingdom  is  better  adapted  to  a  state  of  war, 
than  a  republic;  and  that  this  beautiful,  because  most  appropriate 
figure,  which  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  times,  and  very  often  in  the  Old,  presupposes  a  state  of  war 
as  existing  in  the  universe.  But  for  the  reasons  assigned  in  preference 
of  monarchy,  the  natufaJ  government  of  the  universe,  always  was,  is, 
and  evermore  shall  be  monarchy.  God  himself  is  of  necessity  absolute 
monarch  of  the  universe.  Had  he  not  essentially  sustained  that  rela- 
tion to  all  his  creatures,  there  never  could  have  been  rebellion  nor 
sin  in  his  dominions.  The  systems  of  nature  are  all  after  this  model. 
Every  sun  is  a  king  over  the  system  which  it  controls;  and  in  every 
sphere  there  is  one  controlling  and  supreme  principle.  It  will  be  the 
last  government;  for  when  the  episode  in  the  great  drama  of  rational 
existence  which  sin  occasioned,  shall  have  been  completed,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  universe  will  assume  its  ancient  order,  and  God  be  supreme 
monarch  again.  But  this  will  not  be  till  Jesus  gives  up  the  kingdom 
to  God,  which  a  preternatural  state  of  things  put  into  his  hands.  This 
can  not  be  till  he  has  subdued  man  to  his  rightful  allegiance,  or 
destroyed  forever  every  opponent  to  the  absolute  monarchy  of  the 
Eternal  Supreme:  "for  Jesus  must  reign  till  all  his  enemies  be  put 
under  his  feet." 


238  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.    • 

The  kingdom  which  Jesus  has  received  from  his  Father,  however 
heavenly  sublime,  and  glorious  it  may  be  regarded,  is  only  temporal. 
It  had  a  beginning,  and  it  will  have  an  end;  for  he  must  reign  only 
till  all  enemies  are  put  under  his  feet.  But  the  transition  of  the 
sceptre  into  the  hands  of  Emanuel  has  not  changed  the  nature  of  the 
government.  He  is  now  the  hereditary  Monarch  of  the  universe,  as 
well  as  the  proper  King  of  his  own  kingdom.  He  now  reigns  as  abso- 
lutely over  all  principalities,  hierarchs,  and  powers,  celestial  and  ter- 
restrial, as  did  the  great  God  and  Father  of  the  universe,  before  he 
was  invested  with  the  regal  authority. 

We  have  said  it  was  a  preternatural  state  of  things  which  originated 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus:  therefore  the  object  of  this  remedial  reign  is 
to  destroy  that  preternatural  state  of  things,  or  to  put  down  sin.  Now 
as  all  human  governments  presuppose  disorder,  and  as  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  generally  have  arisen  out  of  confusion  and  war,  this 
kingdom  of  heaven  of  which  we  are  to  speak  owes  its  origin  to  the 
celestial  and  terrestrial  apostacies — the  revolt  of  Satan  and  of  Adam. 
Were  there  not  injustice  within,  or  violence  without,  civil  government 
would  be  wholly  unnecessary,  and  its  appendages  an  excrescence  upon 
society.  Had  there  not  been  such  a  revolt  and  rebellion  as  sacred 
history  records,  there  would  have  been  no  such  kingdom  of  heaven 
as  that  over  which  Jesus  the  Messiah  now  presides.  Now  as  both  this 
King  and  kingdom,  and  all  that  appertains  to  them,  were  occasioned 
by  such  a  preternatural  state  of  things,  we  must  view  them  in  all 
their  attributes  and  details,  with  reference  to  those  circumstances 
which  called  them  into  being. 

THE  ELEMENTS  OF  A  KINGDOM. 

We  must  understand  the  type,  or  we  can  not  understand  the  anti- 
type. We  must  understand  that  which  is  natural  before  we  can  under- 
stand that  which  is  spiritual.  What,  then,  are  the  essential  elements 
of  a  kingdom  as  existing  among  men?  They  are  five — viz.:  King,  Con- 
stitution, Subjects,  Laws  and  Territory.  Such  are  the  essential  parts 
of  every  political  kingdom,  perfect  in  its  kind,  now  existing  on  earth. 

In  forming  a  state,  the  essential  elements  are  people  and  country. 
The  people  make  a  constitution,  and  this  makes  a  President  or  a  King, 
citizens  or  subjects,  and  everything  else  belonging  to  a  state.  It  is, 
then,  the  relation  into  which  the  people  resolve  themselves,  which 
makes  it  a  republic,  an  aristocracy,  a  monarchy.  Do  they  choose  a 
monarchy?  They  first  make  a  constitution,  and  this  places  one  upon 
the  throne — makes  them  subjects,  and  he  gives  them  laws.  Although 
the  constitution  is  first,  in  the  order  of  nature,  of  all  the  elements  of  a 
kingdom,  for  it  makes  one  man  a  king  and  the  rest  subjects;  yet  we 
can  not  imagine  a  constitution   in  reference  to  a  kingdom,  without 


THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  239 

king  and  subjects.  In  speaking  of  them  in  detail,  we  can  not  then 
speak  of  any  one  of  them  as  existing  without  the  others — we  must 
regard  them  as  correlates,  and  aa  coming  into  existence  contempora- 
neously. There  is  no  husband  nor  wife  before  marriage,  neither  can 
there  be  a  husband  without  a  wife;  yet  one  of  the  parties  must 
be  made  before  the  other.  Marriage  makes  a  husband  out  of  the 
groom,  and  a  wife  out  of  the  bride.  So  the  constitution  makes  the 
king  or  the  governor,  the  citizens  or  subjects,  out  of  the  people,  as 
the  case  may  be:  for  there  never  can  be  a  king  or  subject  without 
a  constitution,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  an  agreement,  verbal  or 
written,  for  certain  privileges  stipulated  and  conditioned.  In  every 
well  regulated  political  kingdom,  in  the  order  of  nature,  the  elements 
stand  thus — 1.  Constitution;  2.  King;  3.  Subjects;  4.  Laws;  5.  Terri- 
tory. 

In  the  kingdom  which  God  set  up  by  Moses,  the  elements  stood  in 
this  order.  The  constitution  was  first  proposed  under  which  God  con- 
descended to  be  their  King,  and  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  his  people 
or  subjects;  he  then  gave  them  laws  and  established  them  in  the  terri- 
tory before  promised. 

But  in  the  kingdom  of  nature,  or  in  the  original  kingdom  of  God, 
the  elements  are  only  four,  and  the  order  in  which  they  stand,  are — 
1.  King;  2.  Subjects;  3.  Laws;  4.  Territory.  As  Father  and  Creator  of 
that  kingdom,  God  himself  was  absolute  Sovereign,  whose  will  is  the 
supreme  law  of  the  whole  realm  of  nature. 

Having  ascertained  the  essential  elements  of  a  kingdom,  and 
marked  the  order  in  which  they  stand,  before  we  particularly  attend 
to  these  elements  in  order,  we  shall  ask  why  this  kingdom  is  called  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven F 

THE    NAME 

Heaven,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  are  not  one  and  the  same  thing. 
God  is  not  the  Kingdom  of  God.  But  as  the  kingdom  of  God  is  some- 
thing pertaining  to  God,  so  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  something  per- 
taining to  heaven,  and  consequently  to  God.  Whether  always  thj 
phrases  "the  kingdom  of  God"  and  "the  kingdom  of  heaven"  exactly 
represent  the  same  thing,  certain  it  is  that  both  phrases  are  often 
applied  to  the  same  institution.* 

This  is  true  of  them  whether  translated  reign  or  kingd<m;  and  it 
is  very  evident  that  frequently  the  original  word  basileia  ought  in  pref- 
erence to  be  rendered  reign,  inasmuch  as  this  term   better  suits  ail 


•If  the  following  passapos  arc  carefully  cxaiiiiiuNl  and  comparod.  it  will  appear  that 
both  these  phrases  often  represent  the  same  tiling:  Malt.  iii.  17;  Mark  i.  14;  Luki' iv, 
43;— Matt.  xiii.  V>;  Mark  iv.  11;  Luke  viii.  10;— Matt.  xi.  11;  I.uke  vii.  lis.  To  these 
three  distinet  evidenees  many  more  miKht  l)e  added.  What  Matthew  calls  "  the  King, 
dumof  Jleaiin,"  Mark  and  Luke  call  "the  Kingdom  of  <r<.d." 


240  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

those  passages  where  coming  or  approaching  is  spoken  of:  for  while 
reigns  or  administrations  approach  and  recede,  kingdoms  have  attri- 
butes and  boundaries  which  are  stationary.  Reign  and  Kingdom  of 
God,  though  sometimes  applicable  to  the  same  subject,  never  contem- 
plate it  in  the  same  light.  They  are,  indeed,  as  intimately  connected 
as  the  reign  of  King  William  and  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain.  The 
former  represents  the  administration  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  latter 
the  state  over  which  this  administration   extends. 

Two  good  reasons  may  be  offered  why  Matthew,  the  oldest  Chris- 
tian writer,  generally  prefers  Kingdom  or  Reign  of  Heaven,  to  the 
phrase  Kingdom  or  Reign  of  God:  I  say  generally,  for  he  occasionally 
uses  both  designations.*  He  wrote  to  Jews  in  Judea  who  expected 
a  Messiah,  a  King,  and  a  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  a  mere  improve- 
ment of  the  Jewish  system;  and,  therefore,  to  raise  their  conceptions, 
he  delights  to  call  it  the  Reign  or  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  in  contrast 
with  that  earthly  kingdom  of  God,  of  which  they  were  so  long  in  pos- 
session. 

He  also  found  a  good  reason  in  the  idiom  of  the  Jewish  prophets  for 
using  the  word  Heaven  (both  in  the  singular  and  plural  form)  for  God. 
Daniel  told  the  Assyrian  monarch  that  his  kingdom  would  be  sure  to 
him  when  he  should  have  learned  that  "the  Heavens  do  rule;"  yet,  in 
the  preceding  verse,  he  says,  "Till  thou  knowest  that  the  Most  High 
rules  in  the  kingdom  of  men" — thus  using  Heavens  and  the  Most  High 
as  synonymous.  The  Psalmist  says,  "The  wicked  set  their  mouths 
against  the  Heavens."  The  Prodigal  confesses  that  he  had  "sinned 
against  Heaven,"  and  Jesus  himself  asked  whether  the  baptism  of 
John  was  "from  Heaven  or  from  men."  Thus  he  was  authorized  from 
the  Jewish  use  of  the  word  to  regard  it  as  equivalent  to  God.  If,  then, 
Matthew  had  meant  no  more  by  the  phrase  "Kingdom  of  Heaven" 
than  the  "Kingdom  of  God,"  he  was  justified  by  the  Jewish  use  of 
the  word  heaven,  to  apply  it  in  that  sense.  Some  may  object  to  all 
these  remarks  upon  Matthew's  manner,  that  it  was  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  preachers  he  commissioned  who  called  it  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
and  not  Matthew  Levi.  To  such  we  reply,  that  the  other  sacred  wri- 
ters uniformly,  in  reciting  all  the  same  parables  and  incidents,  use 
the  phrase  "Kingdom  of  God,"  and  never  the  phrase  "the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven." 

From  his  use  of  the  phrase  "Kingdom  of  God,"  we  must,  I  think, 
regard  him  as  having  special  reference  to  the  reason  first  assigned. 
He  does  not  say  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  shall  be  taken  from  the  Jews, 
but,  "The  Kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  it;"  for  although  it  might  with 


•See  cliapters  vi.  33;  xii.  28;  xix.  2-t;  xxi.  31,  48. 


THE    MILLEyyiAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  241 

propriety,  in  his  acceptation,  be  said,  that  the  Jews  already  had  the 
iiingdom  of  God,  it  could  not  be  said  that  they  had  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven  as  proclaimed   by  Matthew.* 

When  compared  with  the  earthly  kingdom  of  God  among  the  Jews, 
it  is  certainly  the  kingdom  of  Heaven:  for  Jesus  alleges  that  his 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;  and  Daniel  affirmed  that  in  the  days  of 
the  last  worldly  empire  the  God  of  Heaven  would  set  up  a  kingdom 
unlike  all  others  then  on  earth;  in  which,  as  Paul  teaches,  men  are 
"blessed  with  every  spiritual  blessing  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ:"! 
for  he  has  raised  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  "has  set  us  down  to- 
gether in  the  heavenly  places  by  Christ  Jesus."t 

There  is,  in  the  superior  and  heavenly  privileges  and  honors  be- 
stowed upon  the  citizens  of  this  kingdom,  the  best  reason  why  it 
should  have  first  been  presented  to  this  world  under  this  title,  rather 
than  any  other;  and,  for  the  same  reasons  which  influenced  Matthew 
to  usher  it  into  notice  in  Judea,  under  this  designation,  we  ought  now 
to  prefer  it;  because  many  of  our  contemporaries,  like  the  ancient 
Jews,  see  as  much  of  heaven  and  glory  in  the  veiled  grace  of  the 
Mosaic  institution,  as  in  the  unveiled  grace  of  the  Christian  kingdom. 
The  pertinency  of  this  title  will  appear  still  more  evident  as  we  de- 
velop the  constitutional  privileges  of  his  kingdom. 

But  most  evidently  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  "the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  of  God."  \\  It  is  the  kingdom  of  God  because  he  sot  it 
up,§  gave  the  constitution  and  King,  and  all  the  materials  out  of 
which  it  is  erected.**  It  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  because  God  the 
Father  gave  it  to  him  as  his  Son,  and  as  the  heir  of  all  things;  and 
therefore,  "all  that  is  the  Father's  is  mine,"  says  Jesus,  "and  I  am 
his."tt     "God  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ  and  von  him." 

Having,  then,  noticed  the  reasons  for  the  characteristic  titles  ot  this 
kingdom,  and  having  already  ascertained  what  are  the  elements  ab- 
solutely essential  to  a  kingdom,  distinguished  from  those  merely  cir- 
cumstantial or  accidental,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  consider,  in  the 
order  suggested,  the  Constitution,  King,  Subjects,  Laws,  and  Terri- 
tory of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

CONSTITUTION. 

God  himself,  after  the  gracious  counsels  of  his  own  will,  proposed 
and  tendered  the  constitution  of  this  kingdom  to  his  own  Son.  This 
"glory  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was."  He  that  was 
"in  the  beginning  with  God" — "the  iiisdom  and  poicer  of  God" — was 
"set  up  [constituted]  from  everlasting,  or  ever  the  earth  was."  "Then 
was  I  with  God,  as  one  brought  up  with  him;  I  was  daily  his  delight. 


•Matt.  xxi.  «.        +Epli.  i.3.        tKph.  ii.  «.        I!  Kpli.  v.  .■;.        ^Dnii.  ii.  41. 
**  Jor.  xxxi.  31-31.       t+Jolin  xvii.  18. 


242  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

rejoicing  always  before  him — rejoicing  in  the  habitable  parts  of  his 
earth;  and  my  delights  were  with  the  sons  of  men."*  Therefore 
he  who  was  to  be  '•ruler  in  Israel"  was  with  God  in  counsel  "in  the 
beginning  of  all  his  ways;"  for  "his  goings  forth  were  from  old,  even 
from  the  days  of  eternity."t 

It  was  TO  DO  THE  wii^L,  or  fulfill  the  items  in  this  constitution,  that 
"the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."  "I  came  to  do  the 
will  of  him  that  seiit  me,"  and  to  finish  "the  work  given  me  to  do." 
"I  have  the  power  to  lay  down  my  life,  and  I  have  power  to  resume  it; 
this  commandment  I  received  from  my  Father."  The  Father  "com- 
missioned and  sent  him  forth  into  the  world."  He  "came  down  from 
heaven."  "Thou  hast  given  me  power  over  all  flesh,  that  I  might  give 
eternal  life  to  all  that  thou  hast  given  me." 

These,  and  many  other  passages  which  the  reader  will  easily  re- 
member, unequivocally  evince  that  an  understanding  and  agreement 
existed  ere  time  began  between  God  and  the  Word  of  God — or,  as 
now  revealed,  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  respecting  this  king- 
dom. In  consequence  of  which,  "the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us" — in  consequence  of  which,  "he  divested  himself"  of  his 
antecedent  glory — "took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  bond-servant" — "was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh" — "took  part  with  us  in  flesh 
and  blood."  In  consequence  of  which  agreement,  and  the  promised 
glory,  for  "the  joy  set  before  him  in  the  promise,"  of  "seeing  his  seed, 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  being  satisfied,"  "he  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,"  and  "was  made  perfect  through  sufferings  to 
lead  many  sons  to  glory." 

To  the  stipulations  concerning  eternal  life,  propounded  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  frequent  allusions  are  made  in  the 
Apostles'  writings.  Thus  the  believers  were  "elected  in  him  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,"  and  "eternal  life  was  promised  before 
the  times  of  the  ages,"  "according  to  the  benevolent  purpose  which 
he  purposed  in  himself  for  the  administration  of  the  fulness  of  the 
appointed  times,  to  gather  together  all  under  Christ — all  in  the  heavens 
and  all  on  the  earth,  under  him."  He  formerly  marked  us  out  for 
an  adoption  through  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  his  purpose, 
who  effectually  works  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  will.l 

From  all  these  sayings  and  allusions,  we  must  trace  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  kingdom  into  the  days  of  eternity — before  time  began. 
We  must  date  it  from  everlasting,  and  resolve  it  into  the  absolute 
gracious  will  of  the  eternal  God.  In  reference  to  all  the  prospective 
developments  of  time,  "known  to  God  from  the  beginning,"  it  pro- 
posed to  make  the  Word  flesh,  and  then  to  make  the  incarnate  Word, 


*  Prov.  viii.  23-31.        +  Mic.  v.  21.        T  Epli.  1.  3-12. 


THE    illLLENNJAL    IJARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  243 

called  Emanuel,  or  Jesus  Christ,  the  King,  to  give  him  all  who  should 
be  reconciled  to  God  by  him  for  subjects,  to  put  under  him  all  the 
angelic  hosts,  and  constitute  him  monarch  of  heaven  and  earth,  laic- 
giver  to  the  universe;  and  thus  make  him  heir  and  Lord  of  all  things. 

As  a  constitution  brings  all  the  elements  of  a  kingdom  into  a  new 
relation  to  one  another,  so  it  is  the  measure  and  guarantee  of  all  the 
privileges,  immunities,  and  obligations  accruing  to  all  the  parties'  in 
that  relation.  It  prescribes,  arranges,  and  secures  all  the  privileges, 
duties,  obligations,  honors,  and  emoluments  of  the  King  and  the  sub- 
jects. Neither  of  them  can  claim  more  than  it  stipulates  and  guaran- 
tees, and  neither  of  them  can  rightfully  be  deprived  of  any  of  them. 

From  the  premises  now  before  us,  and  the  light  given  to  us  in 
these  Scriptures  and  those  in  the  margin,  we  learn — 

1.  That  God  is  the  author  of  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven;  that  he  propounded  it  to  the  Word  that  was  made  flesh,  be- 
fore the  world  was,  in  prospect  of  all  the  developments  of  creation. 

2.  That  the  Word  accepted  it,  because  the  will  of  God  was  always 
his  delight;  therefore  he  said,  "I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God!"  Hence 
"Ood  has  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believes  on  him   may  not  perish,  but  obtain  eternal   liffe." 

3.  That  in  consequence  "all  authority  in  heaven  and  earth"  was 
given  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  all  orders  of  intelligence  subjected  to  him, 
that  he  might  be  King  over  all,  and  have  the  power  of  giving  eter- 
nal life  to  his  people.* 

4.  That  the  earth  is  now  the  Lord's,  the  present  temporal  territory 
of  his  kingdom;  that  the  heathen  people  are  given  to  him  for  his  in- 
heritance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession;  that 
all  ends  of  the  earth  are  his,  and  all  dominions,  kindreds,  tribes, 
tongues  and  people  shall  yet  serve  him  on  earth,  and  glorify  him  in 
heaven.  ;- 

5.  That  all  he  redeems  are  his  seed — his  subjects:  that  he  will 
have  their  faith,  confidence,  esteem,  admiration,  and  gratitude  for- 
ever: that  he  will  be  worshiped,  honored,  and  revered  by  them  in:  a 
world  without  end:  that  God,  angels  and  saints  will  delight  in  him 
for  ever  and  ever.i  He  has,  therefore,  to  raise  the  dead,  jud.a;o  the 
world,  and  to  present  the  redeemed  pure,  holy,  happy  and  triumphant 
before  his  Father,  and  then  to  give  up  the  kingdom  to  God. 

To  comprehend,  in  any  adequate  degree,  the  constitution  of  this 
kingdom,  we  must  learn  more  than  its  history,  or  the  way  in  which 
it  was  introduced  and  propounded.  We  must  regard  all  the  elements 
of  the  kingdom  as  constitutional  elements — the  King  as  a  constitu- 
tional King;   the  subjects,  laws  and  territory,  including  the  ultimate 


•^Matt.  xxviii.  iil.  ji.  U;  vii.  27.        +  I's.  ii.  ('.-8;  Ixxii.  2-18;  nanii'l.        1  Hov.  v.  J»-14; 
Xiv.  1-5;  xvi.  :!,  4;  »xi.  it-27;  Kph.  i.  20,  21. 


244  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

inheritance,   as    constitutional    subjects,    laws,    territory,    inheritance; 
and,  therefore,  we  shall  speak  of  them  in  detail. 

THE  KING. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  constitutional  monarch  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  The  privileges  guaranteed  to  him  in  reference  to  the  king- 
dom are  the  following: 

As  King,  he  is  to  be  the  oracle  of  God — to  have  the  disposal  of  the 
Holy  Spirit — to  be  Prophet  and  High  Priest  of  the  Temple  of  God — 
to  have  the  throne  of  his  Father — to  be.  Governor  of  all  nations  on 
earth,  and  head  of  all  hierarchs  and  powers  in  heaven — the  supreme 
Lawgiver,  the  only  Saviour,  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  the  ultimate 
and  final  Judge  of  all,  and  the  Heir  of  all  things. 

These  honors,  privileges,  and  powers  are  secured  to  him  by  the 
irrevocable  grant  of  the  God  and  Father  of  all;  therefore,  as  said 
Isaiah,  "The  Lord  cometh  with  a  strong  hand,  and  his  arm  shall  rule 
for  him.  Behold,  his  reward  is  with  him,  and  his  work  before  him." 
"I  have  set  my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."  "Ask  of  me, 
and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  "I  have  made  him  a 
leader  and  a  commander  to  the  people" — "a  light  to  the  Gentiles" — 
"salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth" — "a  Priest  forever  after  the  order 
of  Melchisedeck."  "Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  till  I  make  thy  foes 
thy  footstool."  "The  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulders."  "All 
things  are  delivered  to  me  of  my  Father."  "He  is  Lord  of  the  dead 
and  living."  "Angels,  authorities,  and  powers  are  subjected  to  him." 
"The  Father  gave  the  Spirit  without  measure  to  him."  "He  received 
of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  "The  kingdom  is  the 
Lord's,  and  he  is  the  governor  among  the  nations."  "He  shall  have 
dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  Eurhrates  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth."  They  shall  fear  thee  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  endure 
to  all  generations."  "The  Father  has  committed  all  judgment  to 
the  Son." 

But,  not  to  weary  the  reader  with  quotations  and  proofs,  we  shall 
give  but  another:  "Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  uphold;  my  elect,  in 
whom  my  soul  delights.  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him.  He  shall 
bring  forth  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  dis- 
couraged till  he  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth;  and  the  Isles  shall 
wait  for  his  law.  I,  the  Lord,  have  called  thee  in  righteousness,  and 
will  hold  thy  hand  and  keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  [a  con- 
stitution] of  the  people  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles — to  open  the  blind 
eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison,  and  them  that  sit 
in  darkness  out  of  the  prison-house."* 


♦Isa.  xlii.  1-7;  xlix.  8. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  245 

THE   SUBJECTS   OF   THE    KINGDOM. 

They  are  all  born  again.  Their  privileges  and  honors  are  the  fol- 
lowing: 

1.  Their  constitutional  king  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God; 
whose  title  and  honors  are — image  of  the  invisible  God — effulgence 
01  the  Father's  glory — Emanuel — Upholder  of  the  Universe — Prophet 
of  the  Prophets — High  Priest  of  the  Temple  of  God — King  of  kings 
— Lord  of  lords — the  only  Potentate — Commander  and  Covenant  of 
the  people — Captain  of  Salvation — Counsellor,  Lawgiver,  Redeemer, 
Deliverer,  Mediator,  Saviour,  Advocate,  Judge.  He  is  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, Prince  of  Peace,  Lamb  of  God,  Lion  of  the  tril)e  of  Judah, 
the  Root  and  the  Offspring  of  David,  the  Bright  and  Morning  Star, 
Light  of  the  World,  the  Faithful  and  True  Witness,  Bishop  of  Souls, 
Great  Shepherd  of  the  Sheep,  Head  of  the  Church.  Lord  of  all.  Heir 
ot  the  Universe,  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,  the  Son  of  Man,  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  Amen,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  Such  is  the  Christian's  King,  whose  assistance  in  all  these 
characters,  offices,  and  relations,  as  exhibited  under  all  these  figures, 
is  guaranteed  to  him  in  the  Constitution.  Indeed  it  is  all  expressed 
in  one  promise — "/  icill  be  your  God,  and  you  shall  be  my  people." 

2.  It  is  guaranteed  that  "their  sins  and  iniquities  are  to  be  remem- 
bered no  more."  "There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  under 
Christ."  "Sin  shall  not  have  dominion,  nor  lord  it  over  them.'  The 
Lord  imputeth  to  them  no  sin.  They  are  all  pardoned,  justified,  and 
saved  from  sin. 

3.  They  are  adopted  into  the  family  of  God;  made  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  the  Lord  Almighty;  children  of  God,  and  heirs — joint  heirs 
with  Christ.  They  have  an  advocate  in  the  heavens,  through  whom 
their  persons  and  prayers  are  accepted. 

4.  They  all  know  the  Lord.  "All  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of 
God."  The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  writes  the  law  of  God  upon  their 
hearts,  and  inscribes  it  upon  their  understanding:  so  Ihat  they  need 
not  teach  every  one  his  fellow  citizen  to  know  the  Lord,  "for  they 
all  know  him  from  the  least  to  the  greatest."  They  are  all  sancti- 
fied through  the  truth — separated  and  consecrated  to  God. 

5.  They  have  the  promise  of  a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and  eter- 
nal life;  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  unfading — new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  in  which  righteousness  alone  shall  dwell 
forever. 

Such  are  the  constitutional  rights  and  privileges  of  the  citizens  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  these  have  obtained  for  them  the  fol- 
lowing titles  and  honors:  Kingdom  of  heaven;  Israel  of  God:  chosen 
generation;  body  of  Christ;  children  of  God;   habitation  of  God;  fam- 


24e  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ily  of  God;  Jerusalem  from  above;  Mount  Zion;  peculiar  people;  the 
elect  of  God;  holy  nation;  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  house  of  God; 
city  of  the  living  God;  pillar  and  ground  of  truth;  living  stones;  seed 
of  Abraham;  citizens  of  heaven;  lights  of  the  world;  salt  of  Ihe  earth; 
heirs  of  God;  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  etc.,  etc. 

These  privileges,  honors,  and  emoluments  belong  to  every  citizen 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Indeed,  they  are  all  comprehended  in 
the  summary  which  Paul  (from  Jeremiah)  lays  before  the  believing 
Hebrews:  "This  is  the  constitution  which  I  will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel  after  those  days:  I  will  put  my  laws  into  their  mind, 
and  inscribe  them  upon  their  hearts;  and  I  will  be  to  them  a  God, 
and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people.  And  they  shall  not  teach  every 
man  his  fellow  citizen,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the 
Lord;  for  all  shall  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  to  the  greatest 
of  them;  because  I  will  be  merciful  to  their  unrighteousness,  and 
their  sins  and  iniquities  I  will  remember  no  more."*  To  this  sum- 
mary the  reader  may  add  those  scriptures  in  the  margin  as  confirm- 
atory to  the  above.! 

THE  LAWS  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

The  supreme  law  of  the  kingdom  is  love — love  of  the  King  and 
love  of  each  other.  From  this  law  all  its  religious  homage  and  mo- 
rality flow.  Precepts  and  examples  innumerable  present  this  to  the 
mind  of  all  the  citizens.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  divided  into 
small  societies,  called  churches,  or  congregations  of  the  Lord.  Each 
of  these  communities  in  the  reception  of  members,  in  the  education 
and  discipline  of  them,  or  in  excluding  them  when  necessary,  is  to  be 
governed  by  the  apostolic  instructions:  for  to  the  Apostles  the  Saviour 
committed  the  management  of  his  kingdom.  After  they  had  made 
citizens  by  preaching  the  gospel  and  baptizing,  they  were  commanded 
to  teach  them  to  observe  whatsoever  the  Saviour  had  commanded 
them. 

These  laws  and  usages  of  the  Apostles  must  be  learned  from  what 
the  Apostles  published  to  the  w^orld,  after  the  ascension  and  corona- 
tion of  the  King,  as  they  are  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and 
Epistles:  for  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel  that  the  gospel  was  fully  devel 
oped,  and  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Reign  of  Christ  began  to  be  pro- 
claimed in  Jerusalem  on  the  first  Pentecost  after  the  ascension. 

The  old,  or  Jewish  constitution  was  promulged  first  on  Sinai  on 
the  first  Pentecost  after  the  redemption  of  Israel  from  Egyptian 
bondage;  and  from  that  day,  and  whac  is  written  after  it  in  Exodus 
and  Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy,  all  the  laws,  manners  and 


*Heb.  viii.  10-1.3.       +Rom.  vi.  ."5.  fi,  U;  viii.  1,  33-89;  I.  Cor.  vi.  11;  Eph.  i.  7;  ii.  6, 19, 
21,  22;  Col.  i.  13,  ii;  I.  Pet.  ii.  5-7;  II.  Pot.  i.  10,  11 ;  I.  Johu  ii.  2. 


THE    MILLEyyiAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  247 

customs  authorized  by  the  national  constitution  are  to  be  found.  They 
are  not  to  be  sought  after  in  Genesis,  nor  in  the  antecedent  economy. 
Neither  are  the  statutes  and  laws  of  the  Christian  kingdom  to  be 
sought  for  in  the  Jewish  scriptures,  nor  antecedent  to  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost; except  so  far  as  our  Lord  himself,  during  his  lifetime,  pro- 
pounded the  doctrine  of  his  reign.  But  of  this  when  we  ascertain  the 
commencement  of  this  kingdom. 

There  is  one  universal  law  of  naturalization,  or  for  making  citizens, 
out  of  all  nations,  enjoined  upon  those  citizens  of  the  kingdom  who 
are  engaged  in  the  work  of  proselytism;  but  the  laws  of  this  king- 
dom, like  the  laws  of  every  other  kingdom,  are  obligatory  only  on 
the  citizens. 

The  weekly  celebration  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and 
the  weekly  meeting  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  for  this  purpose,  and 
for  the  edification  of  one  another  in  their  most  holy  faith,  are  the 
only  positive  statutes  of  the  kingdom ;  and,  therefore,  there  is  no  law, 
statute,  or  observance  in  this  kingdom,  that  in  the  least  retards  its 
extension  from  East  to  West,  from  North  to  South,  or  that  can  pre- 
vent its  progress  in  all  the  nations  of  the  world. 

It  is,  however,  worthy  of  observation,  that  every  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian worship  in  the  small  communities  spread  over  the  territory  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  like  so  many  candlesticks  in  a  large  edifice,  are 
designed  to  enlighten  and  convert  the  world;  and,  therefore,  in  all  the 
meetings  of  the  family  of  God,  they  are  to  keep  this  supremely  in 
view;  and  to  regard  themselves  as  "the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth." 

Concerning  the  details  of  the  laws  of  the  kingdom,  we  can  not  now 
speak  particularly.  "The  favor  of  God  which  brings  salvation,  teaches 
all  the  citizens  of  heaven,  that,  denying  all  godliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  they  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godlily  in  this  present 
world,  expecting  the  blessed  hope^namely,  the  appearing  of  the  glory 
of  the  great  God,  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself 
for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  to  him- 
self a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works."  These  things  the  Bish- 
ops of  every  community  should  teach  and  enforce;  for  such  is  the 
spirit  and  such  is  the  object  of  all  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven. 

THE  TERRITORY. 

In  all  other  kingdoms,  except  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  territory 
is  the  national  domain  and  inheritance.  It  was  so  in  the  first  kingdom 
of  God  under  the  constitution  from  Sinai.  But  in  the  typical  kingdom 
they  lived  at  a  distance  from  their  inheritance  for  one  generation. 
During  these   forty   years,   in   which   they    pitched   their   tents   in   the 


248  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

wilderness,  God  was  their  inheritance.  He  rained  bread  from  heaven 
upon  them,  and  sent  them  flesh  on  the  east  wind.  He  made  the  flinty 
rock  Horeb  a  living  spring,  whose  stream  followed  them  all  the  way 
to  Jordan.  He  renewed  their  garments  every  day,  so  that  for  forty 
years  they  grew  not  old,  nor  needed  a  single  patch.  A  pillar  of  fire 
by  night  and  a  cloud  by  day  guided  them  on  towards  Canaan,  the 
land  of  their  inheritance. 

The  whole  earth  is  the  present  territory  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
but  the  new  heavens  and  earth  are  to  be  its  inheritance.  The  earth, 
indeed,  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof;  but  the  children  of  God 
and  the  children  of  the  wicked  one — the  wheat  and  the  darnel,  are 
both  planted  in  it,  and  must  grow  together  till  the  harvest.  The 
righteous  have  their  bread  and  water  guaranteed  to  them  while  they 
live;  for  "godliness  is  profitable  to  all  things,  having  promise  of  the 
life  that  noio  is,  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come."  But  the  joint 
heirs  with  God  are  never  taught  to  regard  the  earth  as  their  inher- 
itance. They  may  indeed  say,  though  poor  and  penniless,  "All  things 
are  ours;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life, 
or  death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to  come — all  are  ours,  and  we 
are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  But,  like  the  Jews  on  their  jour- 
ney to  Canaan,  "they  seek  a  better  country" — "they  seek  a  city  yet 
to  come."  "My  kingdom,"  says  Jesus,  "is  not  of  this  world."  And, 
therefore,  in  the  world  Christians  are  strangers  and  pilgrims,  and  may 
expect  tribulation. 

The  earth  is  the  present  theater  of  war ;  therefore  all  Christians  in 
the  territory  are  soldiers.  Their  expenses  are  borne,  their  rations  are 
allowed,  the  arms  and  munitions  of  war  are  supplied  them  from  the 
magazines  in  Mount  Zion,  the  stronghold  and  fortress  of  the  king- 
dom; where  the  King,  the  heads  of  departments,  and  all  the  legions 
of  angels  are  resident.  So  that,  on  entering  the  Army  of  the  Faith, 
every  soldier  is  panoplied  with  the  armor  of  God;  and  when  inducted 
into  the  heavenly  tactics  under  the  Captain  of  Salvation,  he  is  ex- 
pected to  be  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith  courageously  and  victoriously. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  on  this  territory  is  greatly  opposed  by  the 
kingdom  of  Satan;  which  ever  seeks  to  make  an  inheritance  out  of  the 
territory  of  the  militant  kingdom  of  righteousness;  and,  therefore,  the 
citizens  have  not  to  wrestle  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  with  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world — with  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places. 

Ever  since  the  commencement  of  this  kingdom,  the  governments  of 
this  world  have  either  been  directly  opposed  to  it,  or,  at  best,  pre- 
tended friends;  and,  therefore,  their  influence  has  always  been  op- 
posed to  the  true  spirit  and  genius  of  the  Christian  institution.    Chris- 


THE    JUILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  249 

tians  have  nothing  to  expect  from  them  except  liberty  of  conscience 
and  protection  from  violence,  while  leading  peaceable  and  quiet  lives, 
in  all  godliness  and  honesty,  till  Jesus  take  to  himself  his  great  power, 
and  hurl  all  these  potentates  from  their  thrones,  and  make  his  cause 
triumphant — a  consummation  devoutly  to  l>e  wished,  and  which  can 
not  now  be  regarded  as  far  distant. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

Touching  the  planners  and  customs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  they 
are  such  as  generally  obtained  in  the  land  of  Judea  and  in  the  East  at 
the  time  of  its  erection;  or,  rather,  they  are  the  simple  manners  and 
customs  of  the  family  worship  age  of  the  world.  These  are  conse- 
crated by  simply  performing  them  with  a  regard  to  Jesus  Christ,  or 
from  the  motives  prompted  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Reign  of  Heaven. 
As  we  treat  our  natural  brothers  and  sisters  in  public  and  in  private 
— as  we  address,  salute,  and  converse  with  them — as  we  transact  all 
family  business,  and  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  household — so  are  Chris- 
tians to  treat  one  another.  There  is  no  other  virtue  or  utility  in  these, 
than  as  they  cherish  brotherly  kindness  and  love,  and  are  regarded 
to  the  Lord. 

INDUCTION  INTO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN. 

Into  every  kingdom,  human  or  divine,  there  is  a  legal  door  of  admis- 
sion. This  is,  in  the  statute  book  of  heaven,  called  a  birth.  Into 
the  kingdom  of  nature  we  are  born.  Into  the  future  and  ultimate 
kingdom  of  glory  we  enter,  soul  and  body,  by  being  born  from  the 
grave.  As  Christ,  the  first-born  from  the  dead,  entered  the  heavenly 
kingdom,  so  must  all  his  brethren.  And  as  to  this  kingdom  of  which 
we  speak,  as  now  existing  in  this  world,  Jesus  himself  taught  that  into 
it  no  person  can  legally  enter  who  is  not  born  again,  or  "born  of  u-afcr 
and  the  Spirit."*  The  analogy  is  complete  between  the  kingdoms  of 
nature — of  grace — and  of  glory.  Hence  we  have  natural  birth,  met- 
aphorical or  spiritual  birth,  and  supernatural  birth.  There  is  a  being 
bom  of  the  flesh — born  of  the  Spirit — born  of  the  grave;  and  there 
Is  a  kingdom  for  the  flesh — a  kingdom  for  the  Spirit — and  a  kingdom 
for  the  glorified   man. 

This  second,  or  new  birth,  which  inducts  into  the  kingdom  of  God 
Is  always  subsequent  to  a  death  and  burial,  as  it  will  be  into  the  ever- 
lasting kingdom  of  glory.  It  is,  indeed,  a  literal  death  and  burial 
before  a  literal  resurrection,  into  the  heavenly  and  eternal  kingdom. 
It  is  also  a  metaphorical  or  figurative  death  and  burial,  before  the 
figurative  resurrection  or  new  birth  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Water  is  the  element  in  which   this  burial   and   resurrection  is  per- 


*  John  iii   5;  Til.  iii. 


250  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER   ABRIDGED. 

formed,  according  to  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Hence  Jesus  connects  the  water  and  the  Spirit  when  speaking  of  enter- 
ing this  kingdom  of  God. 

In  naturalizing  aliens  the  commandment  of  the  King  is  first  to 
submit  to  them  the  Constitution,  or  preach  to  them  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom.  Soon  as  they  understand  and  believe  this,  and  are  desirous 
of  being  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of  God,  that  "they 
may  receive  the  remission  of  sins  and  inheritance  among  all  that  are 
sanctified,"  they  are  to  be  buried  in  water,  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  and  raised  out  of  it  confessing  their 
death  to  sin,  their  faith  in  Christ's  sacrifice  and  resurrection;  and 
thus  they  are  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  and  constituted  citizen.s 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  To  as  many  as  thus  receive  him  he  gives 
privilege  to  become  the  children  of  God;  for  they  are  "born  of  God" — 
born  of  God,  when  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  because  this  is  the 
institution  of  God. 

In  these  days  of  apostacy  men  have  sought  out  many  inventions. 
Some  have  attempted  to  get  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  without  being 
born  at  all.  Others  imagine  that  they  can  be  born  of  the  Spirit,  with- 
out water,  and  that  the  King  is  as  well  pleased  with  them  who  have 
been  born  without  a  mother,  as  with  those  who  are  lawfully  born  of 
father  and  mother.  Others  think  that  neither  Spirit  nor  water  is 
necessary;  but  if  they  are  politically  born  of  the  flesh,  they  can 
enter  the  kingdom  as  rightfully  as  the  Jewish  circumcised  infants 
enter  the  earthly  kingdom  of  Israel.  But  as  we  have  no  faith  in  any 
modern  improvements  of  the  gospel,  change  or  amendment  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  we  must  leave  them  to  account  to 
the  King  himself,  who  "have  transgressed  the  law,  changed  the  ordi- 
nance, and  broken  the  everlasting  covenant ;"  and  proceed  to  the  ques- 
tion, 

THE  COMING  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

When  did  the  kingdom  of  heaven  commence?  "With  the  ministry 
of  John,"  says  one; — "With  the  ministry  of  Jesus,"  says  another;  — 
"With  the  first  sending  out  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,"  says  a  third;  — 
"At  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,"  says  a  fourth; — "At  none  of  them:  but 
by  degrees  from  the  baptism  of  John  to  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,"  says  a 
fifth. 

The  reader  will  please  remember  that  there  are  at  least  five  ele- 
ments essential  to  a  perfect  organized  kingdom,  and  that  it  may  be  con- 
templated in  reference  to  one  or  more  of  these  component  parts. 
Hence  the  numerous  and  various  parables  of  the  Saviour.  Sometimes 
he  speaks  of  the  administration  of  its  affairs — of  its  principles  in  the 
heart — of  its  subjects — of  its  King — of  its  territory — of  its  progress — 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  251 

of  various  incidents  in  its  history.  Hence  the  parable  of  the  sower — 
of  the  wheat  and  darnel — of  the  leaven — of  the  merchant  seeking 
goodly  pearls — of  the  grain  of  mustard  seed — of  the  sweep  net — of  the 
marriage  of  a  king's  son — of  a  nobleman  going  into  a  far  country — 
of  the  ten  virgins — of  the  talents — of  the  sheep  and  goats,  present  to 
our  view  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  different  attitudes,  either  in  its 
elements  or  in  its  history — its  commencement  or  its  close. 

The  approaching,  or  the  coming  of  the  reign  of  heaven,  can  properly 
have  respect  only  to  one  or  two  of  the  elements  of  a  kingdom;  or  to 
the  formal  exhibition  of  that  whole  organization  of  society  which  we 
call  a  kingdom.  It  can  have  no  proper  allusion  to  its  territory;  for 
that  was  created  and  located  before  man  was  created.  It  can  not 
allude  either  to  the  persons  who  were  constituted  subjects,  for  they 
too  were  in  existence  before  the  kingdom  commenced.  It  can  not 
allude  to  the  birth  or  baptism  of  the  King,  for  it  was  not  till  after 
these  that  Jesus  began  to  proclaim  its  coming  or  approach.  It  can. 
not  have  reference  to  the  ministry  of  John  or  of  Jesus,  any  more  than 
to  the  patriarchal  or  Jewish  dispensations;  because  Jesus  did  not  begin 
to  proclaim  the  coming  of  this  reign  till  after  John  was  cast  into 
prison.  This  is  a  fact  of  so  much  importance,  that  Matthew,  Mark, 
and  Luke  distinctly  and  circumstantially  declare  that,  in  conformity 
to  ancient  predictions,  Jesus  was  to  begin  to  proclaim  in  Galilee,  and 
that  he  did  not  eommence  to  proclaim  the  doctrine  or  the  gospel  of 
the  coming  of  the  Reign,  till  after  John's  ministry  ceased  and  he  was 
cast  into  prison.  In  this  assertion  the  Evangelists  agree: — "Now 
Jesus  [after  his  baptism  and  temptation  in  the  wilderness]  hearing 
that  John  was  imprisoned,  retired  into  Galilee;  and  having  left  Naza- 
reth, resided  at  Capernaum.  For  thus  said  the  Prophet,"  etc.  From 
that  time  Jesus  began  to  proclaim,  saying,  "Reform,  for  the  Reign  of 
Heaven  approaches;"  or,  "The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand,"  as 
says  the  common  version.* 

Some  Baptists,  for  the  sake  of  immersion,  and  some  of  our  breth- 
ren in  the  Reformation,  for  the  sake  of  immersion  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  seem  desirous  to  have  John  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
to  date  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  dispensation  with  the 
first  appearance  of  John  the  Immerser.  They  allege  in  support  of 
this  hypothesis  that  Jesus  said,  "The  Law  and  the  Prophets  continued 
till  John,"  (the  only  instructers  of  men;)  "since  that  time  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man  presses  into  it."  "Publicans 
and  harlots  show  you  the  way  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  said 
Jesus  to  tho  Pharisees.  Again,  "AlasI  for  you  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees! for  you  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men,  and  will 
neither   enter   yourselves,   nor   permit   others   that   would,   to   enter." 


'Matt.  iv.  12;  Mark  i.  U;  Luku  iii.  'in;  iv.  U. 


252  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you."  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  has 
overtaken  you."  From  these  premises  they  infer  that  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  was  actually  set  up  by  John  the  Baptist:  "For,  say  they, 
"how  could  men  and  women  enter  into  a  kingdom  which  was  not  set 
up?  And  did  not  John  immerse  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  call 
upon  men  to  repent  and  reform  in  order  to  baptism?" 

The  Paidobaptists,  too,  will  have  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  Moses, 
David,  and  all  the  circumcised  Jews  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
because  Jesus  said,  "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am;"  "Abraham  saw  my 
day  and  was  glad;"  and  Paul  says  Moses  esteemed  the  reproach  of 
Christ  greater  riches  than  all  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  and  forsook 
Egypt  in  faith  of  the  Christian  recompense  of  reward.  Yes,  and  Paul 
affirms  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  their  families,  who  dwelt  in 
tents  in  the  promised  land,  looked  not  only  to  the  rest  in  Canaan,  but 
they  sought  a  heavenly  country,  and  expected  the  city  of  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  Thus  the  Jews  had  Christ  in  the 
manna  and  in  the  Rock,  and  baptism  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea. 

The  mistake  is  specifically  the  same.  Christ  was  promised  and 
prefigured  before  he  came,  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  promised " 
and  preached  by  John,  by  Jesus,  the  Twelve,  and  the  Seventy,  (who 
went  about  proclaiming  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Reign)  before  the 
reign  of  Christ,  or  kingdom  of  heaven,  commenced.  Because  Christ 
was  promised  and  prefigured  in  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish  agt^s,  the 
Paidobaptists  will  have  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth  since  the 
days  of  Abel;  and  because  the  glad  tidings  of  the  reign  and  kingdom 
of  heaven  and  the  principles  of  the  new  and  heavenly  order  of  society 
were  promulged  by  John,  the  Baptists  will  have  John  the  Baptist  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  the  very  person  who  set  it  up. 

Let  us,  then,  examine  this  matter  with  all  candor:  and  first  we 
shall  place  the  passages  above  quoted  out  of  the  testimonies  of  the 
Evangelists  on  one  side,  and  the  following  passages  on  the  other 
side;  and  then  see  if  we  can  reconcile  them.  John  says,  "Reform, 
for  the  reign  of  God  approaches."  Jesus  began  to  proclaim,  saying, 
"Reform,  for  the  reign  or  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  He  also 
commanded  the  Twelve  and  the  Seventy  to  perigrinate  all  Judea,  mak- 
ing the  same  proclamation.*  Of  John  the  Baptist  he  said,  though 
greater  than  all  the  Prophets,  "The  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  greater  than  he." 

Thus  after  John  was  beheaded  we  have  some  eighty-four  preachers 
daily  proclaiming  the  nigh  approach  of  the  reign  of  God;  and  Jesus 
often  assuring  his  disciples  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  soon  to 
appear,  and  that  some  of  his  companions  would  see  him  enter  upon 


*Matt.  X.  8;  Luke  x.  1-11.    Wlien  eating  the  last  supper  he  distinctly  said  that  the 
reign  of  God  was  then  future.    Luke  xxii.  18. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  253 

his  reign  before  they  died — and  yet  the  kingdom  was  set  up  by  John! 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  shutting  the  kingdom  against  men,  when 
Jesus  had  only  given  the  keys  to  Peter!  John  the  Baptist  was  in  the 
kingdom,  and  the  least  in  the  kingdom  is  greater  than  he!  More 
than  eighty  preachers  say,  "Reform,  for  the  reign  of  heaven  is  at 
hand;"  and  John  the  Baptist  before  he  died  introduced  all  Judea  and 
Jerusalem  into  it!  How,  then,  shall  we  reconcile  these  apparent  con- 
tradictions? Make  both  sides  figurative,  and  it  may  not  be  done. 
Regard  both  sides  literally,  and  it  can  not  be  done!  To  say  that  the 
kingdom  came  in  one  point  of  view  at  one  time,  and  in  another 
point  of  view  at  another  time,  is  only  to  say  that  it  came  in  different 
senses — literally  and  figuratively.  For  our  part  we  must  believe 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  began,  or  the  reign  of  heaven  literally 
and  truly  commenced  in  one  day. 

Many  of  its  principles  were  developed  by  the  ancient  Prophets; 
David,  Isaiah,  and  others  wrote  much  concerning  it;  John  the  Bap- 
tist proclaimed  its  immediate  and  near  approach,  and  more  fully 
developed  its  spiritual  design;  therefore,  he  was  superior  to  them. 
Jesus  often  unfolded  its  character  and  design  in  various  similitudes; 
and  every  one  who  understood  and  received  these  principles  were 
said  to  "press  into  the  kingdom,"  or  to  have  "the  kingdom  within 
them;"  and  wherever  these  principles  were  promulged  "the  kingdom 
of  heaven"  was  said  to  "come  nigh"  to  that  people,  or  to  "have  over- 
taken them;"  and  those  who  opposed  these  principles  and  interposed 
their  authority  to  prevent  others  from  receiving  them,  were  said  to 
"shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men;"  and  thus  all  those  Scrip- 
tures must  of  necessity  be  understood  from  the  contexts  in  which 
they  stand:  for  it  was  impossible  that  the  reign  of  heaven  could  lit- 
erally commence  "till  Jesus  ivas  glorified,"  "received  the  promise  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,"  was  "made  Lord  and  Christ,"  and  "sat  down  with 
his  Father  upon  his  throne" — for  he  left  this  earth  to  receive  a 
kingdom  * 

To  make  this,  if  possible,  still  more  evident,  we  ask,  When  did 
the  kingdom  of  God,  established  by  Moses  amongst  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, cease  f  This  question  penetrates  the  whole  nature  and  necessity 
of  the  case:  for  will  any  one  suppose  that  there  were  two  kingdoms 
of  God  on  earth  at  one  and  the  same  time?  Certainly  the  one  ceased 
before  the  other  began. 

Now  that  the  kingdom  of  God,  ministered  by  Moses,  had  not  ceased 
during  the  personal  ministry  of  the  Messiah  on  earth,  is,  we  think, 
abundantly  evident  from  the  following  facts  and  documents:  — 

1.  Jesus  was  to  have  appeared  and  did  appear,  "in  the  end  of  the 
world,"  or  last  days  of  the  first  kingdom  of  God.     "In  the  conclusion 

^Lakexix.  11-15. 


254  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  the  age  has  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him- 
self." The  "world  to  come"  was  one  of  the  names  of  the  gospel  age. 
He  has  not  subjected  "the  world  to  come"  to  the  angels,  as  he  did  the 
world  past,  says  Paul  to  the  Hebrews.  He  appeared,  then,  not  in  the 
beginning  of  the  gospel  age,  but  in  the  end  of  the  Jewish  age. 

2.  The  Temple  was  the  house  of  God  to  the  very  close  of  the  life 
of  Jesus.  For  it  was  not  till  the  Jewish  ministry  conspired  to  kill 
him  that  he  deserted  it.  At  the  last  festival  of  his  life,  and  imme- 
diately before  he  fell  into  their  hands,  on  walking  out  of  the  Temple, 
he  said,  "Behold  your  house  is  deserted,  for  you  shall  not  see  me 
henceforth  till  you  shall  say.  Blessed  be  he  that  comes  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord!"  It  was  his  Father's  house,  the  house  of  God  till  that 
moment.     Then,  indeed,  the  glory  departed. 

3.  The  Jewish  offerings  and  service,  as  a  divine  institution,  con- 
tinued till  the  condemnation  of  Jesus.  He  sent  the  cleansed  leper 
to  the  priest  to  make  the  offering  commanded  in  the  law.  He  com- 
manded the  people  to  hear  the  doctors  of  the  law  who  sat  in  Moses' 
chair.  He  paid  the  didrachma.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  circumci- 
sion. He  lived  under,  not  after  the  law.  He  kept  all  its  ordinances, 
and  caused  all  his  disciples  to  regard  it  in  its  primitive  import  and 
authority  to  the  last  passover.  Indeed,  it  could  not  be  disannulled, 
for  it  was  not  consummated  till  on  the  cross  he  said,  "It  is  finished.'" 

4.  When  he  visited  Jerusalem  the  last  time,  and  in  the  last  par- 
able pronounced  to  them  he  told  them  plainly  "the  kingdom  of  God 
should  be  taken  from  them"  and  given  to  a  nation  who  should  make 
a  better  use  of  the  honors  of  the  kingdom;  consequently  at  that  time 
the  Jews  had   the  kingdom  of  God. 

5  It  was  not  until  his  death  that  the  veil  of  the  Temple  was  rent; 
that  the  things  "which  could  be  shaken  were  shaken."  It  was  then, 
and  not  till  then,  that  he  nailed  the  legal  institution  to  his  cross. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  was  the  middle  wall  of  partition  broken 
down.  The  last  Sabbath  he  slept  in  the  grave.  From  the  moment 
of  his  death  there  was  no  life  in  the  old  kingdom  of  God.  The 
Temple  was  deserted,  its  veil  rent,  its  foundation  shaken,  the  city 
devoted,  the  ritual  abolished,  and  as  after  death  the  judgment,  the 
Temple,  city,  and  nation  waited  for  the  day  of  his  vengeance. 

The  kingdom  of  God  was  evidently  in  the  Jewish  institution  till 
Jesus  died.  Hence  the  kingdom  of  heaven  came  not  while  Jesus 
lived.  In  anticipation  they  who  believed  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
received  the  kingdom  of  God,  just  as  in  anticipation  he  said,  "1  have 
finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do"  before  he  began  to 
suffer;  and  as  he  said,  "This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood, 
shed  for  the  remission  of  the  sins  of  many,"  before  it  was  shed.  So 
while  the  doctrine  of  this  reign — faith,   repentance,  baptism,  and  a 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  255 

iipw  principle  of  sonship  to  Abraham  were  promulging  by  John,  the 
Twelve,  the  Seventy,  and  by  himself,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was 
approaching;  and  those  who  received  these  principles  by  anticipation 
were  said  to  enter  into  the  kingdom,  or  to  have  the  kingdom  within 
them. 

The  principles  of  any  reign  or  revolution  are  always  promulged, 
debated,  and  canvassed  before  a  new  order  of  things  is  set  up.  A 
party  is  formed  upon  these  principles  before  strength  is  acquired  or 
a  leader  obtained  competent  to  the  commencement  of  a  new  order  of 
things.  In  society,  as  in  nature,  we  have  first  the  blade,  next  the 
stem,  and  then  the  ripe  corn  in  the  ear.  We  call  it  wheat,  or  we  call 
it  corn,  when  we  have  only  the  promise  in  the  blade.  By  such  a 
figure  of  speech  the  kingdom  of  God  was  spoken  of  while  as  yet  only 
its    principles   were   promulging. 

When  these  American  states  were  colonial  subjects  of  the  King  of 
England,  and  long  before  the  setting  up  of  a  Republic,  republican 
doctrines  were  promulged  and  debated.  The  believers  and  advocates 
of  these  doctrines  were  called  Republicans,  while  as  yet  there  was 
not  a  republic  in  this  continent.  He  who  dates  the  commencement 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  from  the  ministry  of  John  the  Baptist, 
sympathizes  with  him  who  dates  the  American  Republics  from  the 
first  promulgation  of  the  republican  principles,  or  from  the  formation 
of  a  republican  party  in  the  British  colonies.  But  as  a  faithful  and 
intelligent  historian,  in  writing  the  history  of  the  American  Repub- 
lics, commences  with  the  history  of  the  first  promulgation  of  these 
principles,  and  records  the  sayings  and  deeds  of  the  first  promulgers 
of  the  new  doctrines;  so  the  sacred  historians  began  their  history  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  with  the  appearance  of  John  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Judea,  preaching  the  Messiah,  faith,  repentance,  a  holy  life, 
and  raising  up  a  neic  race  of  Israelites  on  the  principle  of  faith  rather 
than  of  flesh:  for  this  in  truth  was  "the  blade"  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Having  from  all  these  considerations  seen  that  until  the  death  of 
the  Messiah  his  kingdom  could  not  commence:  and  having  seen  from 
the  record  itself  that  it  did  not  commence  before  his  resurrection,  we 
proceed  to  the  development  of  things  after  his  resurrection  to  ascer- 
tain the  day  on  which  this  kingdom  was  set  up,  or  the  reign  of 
heaven  began. 

The  writer  to  whom  we  are  most  indebted  for  an  orderly  and  con- 
tinued narrative  of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  is  the  Evan- 
gelist Luke.  His  history  begins  with  the  angelic  annunciations  of 
the  nativity  of  John  and  Jesus,  and  ends  with  the  appearance  of  the 
great  standard-bearer  of  the  Cross  in  Imperial  Rome.  A.  D.  CA.  That 
part  of  his  hi?tory  to  which  we  now  look  as  a  guide  to  the  affairs  of 


256  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  commencement  of  the  Reign,  is  the  notices  which  he  makes  of 
the  forty  clays  which  the  Lord  spent  in  his  crucified  body,  previous  to 
his  ascension.  The  reader  ought  not  to  be  told  (for  he  ought  to 
know)  that  Jesus  rose  in  the  same  body  in  which  he  was  crucified, 
and  in  that  reanimated  fleshly  body  did  eat,  drink,  and  converse  with 
his  Apostles  and  friends  for  forty  days.  That  body  was  not  changed 
till,  like  the  living  saints  who  shall  be  on  the  earth  at  his  second 
personal  coming,  it  was  made  spiritual,  incorruptible,  and  glorious 
at  the  instant  of  his  ascension.  So  that  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was 
made  like  to  all  his  brethren  in  his  death,  burial,  resurrection,  trans- 
figuration, ascension,  and  glorification;  or  rather,  they  shall  be  made 
to  resemble  him  in  all  these  respects. 

The  Apostles  testify  that  they  saw  him  ascend — that  a  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sight — that  angels  descended  to  inform 
them  that  he  was  taken  up  into  heaven,  not  to  return  for  a  long 
time — that  he  ascended  far  above  all  the  visible  heavens,  and  now 
fills  all  things.  Stephen,  when  dying,  saw  him  standing  on  the  right 
hand  of  God. 

Much  attention  is  due  to  all  the  incidents  of  these  forty  days — ^as 
much,  at  least,  as  to  the  forty  days  spent  by  Moses  in  the  Mount  with 
God  in  the  affairs  of  the  preceding  kingdom  of  God.  For  the  risen 
Messiah  makes  the  affairs  of  his  approaching  kingdom  the  principal 
topic  of  these  forty  days.*  Towards  the  close  of  these  days,  and 
immediately  before  his  ascension,  he  gave  the  commission  to  his 
Apostles  concerning  the  setting  up  of  this  kingdom.  "All  authority 
in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  given  to  me:  go,  therefore,"  said  he,  "con- 
vert the  nations,"  (announce  the  gospel  to  every  creature,)  "immers- 
ing them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  the  things  which  I  have 
commanded  you;  and  behold!  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  con- 
clusion of  this  state. "t  "But  continue  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until 
you  be  invested  with  power  from  on  high."  Thus  according  to  his 
promise  and  the  ancient  prophecy,  it  was  to  "begin  at  Jerusalem."t 

The  risen  Saviour  thus  directs  our  attention  to  Jerusalem  as  the 
place,  and  to  a  period  distant  "not  many  days,"  as  the  ti7ne  of  the 
beginning  of  his  reign.  The  great  facts  of  the  death,  burial,  and 
resurrection  of  Jesus,  not  being  yet  fully  developed  to  his  Apostles, 
they  were  not  qualified  to  take  any  steps  to  the  setting  up  of  a  king- 
dom which  was  to  be  founded  upon  Christ  crucified.  They  needed 
an  interpreter  of  these  facts,  and  a  supernatural  advocate  of  the 
pretensions  of  the  King,  before  they  could  lay  the  foundation  of 
his  kingdom. 


«Acts  i.  3.         fMatt.  xxviii.  19,  20;  Mark  xvi.  16;  Luke  xxiv.  47,  48.         tisa.  ii.  3; 
Mic.  iv.  2. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  257 

Again,  the  King  himself  must  be  glorified  before  his  authority 
could  be  established  on  earth;  for  till  he  received  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  from  his  Father,  and  was  placed  on  his  throne,  the  Apostles 
could  not  receive  it;  so  that  Christ's  ascension  to  heaven  and  coro- 
nation were  indispensable  to  the  commencement  of  this  reign  of 
heaven. 

Here  let  U8  pause  for  a  moment — leave  the  earth,  and  on  the 
wings  of  faith  in  the  testimony  of  Prophets  and  Apostles,  the  two 
witnesses  for  Jesus,  let  us  follow  him  to  heaven  and  ascertain  his 
reception  into  the  heaven  of  heavens,  and  exaltation  to  the  right 
hand  of  God. 

THE  ASCENSION  OF  THE  MESSIAH. 

Prophets  and  Apostles  must  now  be  heard.  David,  by  the  Spirit, 
says,  "The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousana,  even  thousands  of 
angels;  the  Lord  is  among  them  as  in  Sinai  in  the  holy  place.  Thou 
hast  ascended  on  high;  thou  hast  led  captivity  captive;  thou  hast 
received  gifts  for  men;  yea,  for  the  rebellious,  that  the  Lord  God 
might  dwell  among  them."  *  The  same  Prophet,  in  speaking  of  the 
solemn  and  joyful  procession  at  the  carrying  up  of  the  ark  of  the 
ancient  constitution  into  Mount  Zion,  turns  his  eyes  from  the  type 
to  the  antitype,  and  thus  describes  the  entrance  of  the  Messiah  into 
heaven: — "Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  God?"  The  attendant 
angels  in  the  train  of  the  Messiah,  approaching  the  heaven  of  heavens, 
shout,  "Lift  up  your  heads,  0  you  gates!  be  lift  up,  you  everlasting 
doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in."  Those  within,  filled 
with  astonishment  that  any  one  should  so  confidently  demand  admis- 
sion into  those  gates  so  long  barred  against  the  sons  of  men,  respon- 
sive shout,  "Who  is  the  King  of  glory?"  The  angels  in  attendance 
upon  the  Messiah  reply  in  strains  still  as  triumphant,  "The  Lord, 
strong  and  mighty!  the  Lord,  mighty  in  battle!"  and  still  more  exult- 
ingly  triumphant,  shout,  "Lift  up  your  heads,  0  you  gates!  even  lift 
them  up,  you  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in. 
Who  is  this  King  of  glory?  He  is  the  Lord  of  hosts!  he  is  the  King 
of  glory!" t 

CORONATION   OF  THE   MESSIAH. 

Everything  in  its  proper  order.  He  that  ascended  first  descended. 
Jesus  died,  was  buried,  raised  from  the  dead,  ascended,  and  was 
crowned  Lord  of  all.  In  the  presence  of  all  the  heavenly  hierarchs. 
the  four  living  creatures,  the  twenty-four  seniors,  and  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  angels,  he  presents  himself  before  the  Ihrone. 
So  soon  as  the  first  born  from  the  dead  appears  in  the  palace  royal 

*  INii.  Ixviii.  1\  fl'sa.  xxiv. 


258  THE    MILLENNIAL  HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  the  universe,  his  Father  and  his  God,  in  his  inaugural  address, 
when  anointing  him  Lord  of  all,  says,  "Let  all  the  angels  of  God  wor- 
ship him" — "Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thy  enemies  thy 
footstool."  "Jehovah  shall  send  out  of  Zion  [Jerusalem]  the  rod  of 
thy  strength:  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies,  [the  city  of 
thy  strongest  foes.]  Thy  people,  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power, 
shall  come  to  thee.  In  the  beauty  of  holiness,  more  than  the  womb 
of  the  morning,  shalt  thou  have  the  dew  of  thy  progeny.  The  Lord 
hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent.  Thou  art  a  Priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedeck.  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike 
through  the  kings  [that  oppose  thee]  in  the  day  of  his  wrath."  "Thy 
throne,  O  God,  endures  forever:  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a 
sceptre  of  rectitude.  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated 
iniquity;  therefore  God,  thy  God,  has  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  joy 
above  thy  fellows.  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning  hast  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thy  hand: 
they  shall  perish,  but  thou  remainest;  and  they  shall  all  grow  old 
as  does  a  garment,  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  fold  them  up,  and 
they  shall  be  changed;  but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall 
not  fail."  * 

Thus  God  highly  exalted  him,  and  did  set  him  over  all  the  works 
of  his  hands,  and  gave  him  a  name  and  an  honor  above  every  name 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  glorified  every 
knee  should  bow,  and  every  tongue  confess,  to  the  glory  of  God. 

Now  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
that  he  might  taste  death  for  all,  on  account  of  the  sufferings  of 
death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honor" — Now  "angels,  authorities, 
principalities,  and  powers  are  subjected  to  him."  "His  enemies  will 
I  clothe  with  shame,  but  upon  himself  shall  his  crown  flourish." 

The  Holy  Spirit,  sent  down  by  Jesus  from  heaven,  on  the  Pentecost 
after  his  resurrection,  to  the  disciples  in  attendance  in  Jerusalem, 
informs  the  Apostles  of  all  that  had  been  transacted  in  heaven  during 
the  week  after  his  ascension,  and  till  that  day.  Peter  now  filled  with 
that  promised  Spirit,  informs  the  immense  concourse  assembled  on 
the  great  day  of  Pentecost,  that  God  had  made  that  Jesus  whom 
they  had  crucified  both  Lord  and  Christ — exalted  him  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour  to  grant  repentance  to  Israel  and  remission  of  sins. 

The  first  act  of  his  reign  was  the  bestowment  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
according  to  the  prophecy  of  Joel  and  his  own  promise.  So  soon  as 
he  received  the  kingdom  from  God  his  Father,  he  poured  out  the 
blessings  of  his  favor  upon  his  friends;  he  fulfilled  all  his  promises 
to  the  Apostles,  and  forgave  three  thousand  of  his  fiercest  enemies. 
He   received    pardons  and   gifts   for   them   that   did    rebel,    and    shed 


■  Psa.  xc,  c.  and  Heb.  i. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBIN UER    ABRIDGED.  259 

forth  abundantly  all  spiritual  guts  on  tho  little  flock  to  whom  it 
pleased  the  Father  to  give  the  kingdom.  Thus  commenced  the  Reign 
of  Heaven,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  in  the  person  of  the  Messiah, 
the  Son  of  God,  and  the  anointed  Monarch  of  the  Universe.  Under 
him,  his  people,  saved  from  their  sins,  have  received  a  kingdom  which 
can  not  be  shaken  nor  removed. 

Ihit  as  the  erection  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle,  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  first  kingdom  of  God,  was  the  work  of  some  time,  and  of 
united  and  combined  effort,  on  the  part  of  those  raised  up  and  quali- 
fied for  the  work;  so  was  the  complete  erection  of  this  new  temple 
of  God.  The  Apostles,  as  wise  master  builders,  laid  the  foundation— 
promulged  the  constitution,  laws,  and  institutions  of  the  King,  and 
raised  the  standard  of  the  kingdom  in  many  towns,  cities,  and  coun- 
tries, for  the  space  of  forty  years.  Some  of  them  not  only  saw  "the 
Son  of  Man  enter  upon  his  reign,"  and  the  kingdom  of  God  commence 
on  Pentecost,  and  carry  its  conquests  over  Judea,  Samaria,  and  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth;  but  they  saw  the  Lord  "come  with 
power"  and  awful  glory,  and  accomplish  all  his  predictions  on  the 
deserted  and  devoted  temple,  city,  and  people.  Thus  they  saw  a 
bright  display  of  the  golden  sceptre  of  his  grace  in  forgiving  those 
who  bowed  to  his  authority,  and  an  appalling  exhibition  of  the  iron 
rod  of  his  wrath  in  taking  vengeance  on  his  enemies  who  would  not 
have  him  to  reign  over  them, 

PRESENT    ADMINISTRATION    OP   THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN. 

During  the  personal  absence  of  the  King,  he  has  committed  the 
management  of  this  kingdom  to  stewards.  These  were,  first.  Apos- 
tles; next  in  rank  to  them.  Prophets;  next,  teachers;  then,  assistants, 
or  helpers;  then  directors  or  presidents,  all  furnished  with  gifts, 
knowledge,  and  character,  suited  to  their  respective  functions. 
Besides  these,  many  persons  possessed  of  miraculous  powers — gifts  of 
healing  and  speaking  foreign  languages,  were  employed  in  setting  up 
and  putting  in  order  the  communities  composing  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Angels  also  were  employed,  and  are  still  employed,  under 
the  great  King  in  ministering  to  them  who  are  heirs  of  salvation. 
For  Jesus  now,  as  Lord  of  all,  has  the  Holy  Spirit  at  his  disposal, 
and  all  the  angels  of  God;  and  these  are  employed  by  him  in  the 
affairs  of  his  kingdom.* 

The  Apostles  were  plenipotentiaries  and  ambassadors  for  Jesus, 
and  had  all  authority  delegated  to  them  from  the  King.  Hence  every- 
thing was  first  taught  and  enjoined  by  them.  They  were  the  first 
preachers,  teachers,  pastors,  overseers,  and  ministers  in  the  kingdom, 
and  had  the  direction  and  management  of  all  its  affairs.f 

*I.  Cor.  xii.  2.S;  Eph.  iv.  II:  Hcl..  i.  U.        +I[.  Cor.  iii.  (5;  v.  18-20. 


260  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  communities  collected  and  set  in  order  by  the  Apostles  were 
called  the  congregations  of  Christ,  and  all  these  taken  together  are 
sometimes  called  the  kingdom  of  God.  But  the  phrases  "church  of 
God,"  or  "congregation  of  Christ,"  and  the  phrases  "kingdom  of 
heaven,"  or  "kingdom  of  God,"  do  not  always  nor  exactly  represent 
the  same  thing.  The  elements  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  it  will  be 
remembered,  are  not  simply  its  subjects,  and  therefore  not  simply  the 
congregations  of  disciples  of  Christ.  But  as  these  communities  posr 
sess  the  oracles  of  God,  are  under  the  laws  and  institutions  of  the 
King,  and  therefore  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  present  salvation,  they 
are,  in  the  records  of  the  kingdom,  regarded  as  the  only  constitutional 
citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and  to  them  exclusively  belongs 
all  the  present  salvation.  Their  King  is  now  in  heaven,  but  present 
with  them  by  his  Spirit  in  their  hearts  and  in  all  the  institutions 
of  his  kingdom. 

Every  immersed  believer,  of  good  behavior,  is,  by  the  constitution, 
a  free  and  full  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  entitled  to  all 
the  social  privileges  and  honors  of  that  kingdom.  Such  of  these  as 
meet  together  statedly  in  one  place  in  obedience  to  the  King,  or  his 
ambassadors  the  Apostles,  for  the  observance  of  all  the  institutions 
of  the  King,  compose  a  family,  or  house,  or  congregation  of  Christ; 
and  all  these  families  or  congregations,  thus  organized,  constitute 
the  present  kingdom  of  God  in  this  world.  So  far  the  phrases  king- 
dom of  heaven  and  the  congregation  or  body  of  Christ  are  equivalent 
in   signification.* 

Now  in  gathering  these  communities,  and  in  setting  them  in 
order,  the  Apostles  had,  when  alive,  and  when  dead,  by  their  writings 
still  have,  the  sole  right  of  legislating,  ordering,  and  disposing  of  all 
things.  But  it  is  not  the  will  of  Jesus  Christ,  because  it  is  not 
adapted  to  human  nature,  nor  to  the  present  state  of  his  kingdom  as 
administered  in  his  absence,  that  the  church  should  be  governed  by 
a  written  document  alone.  Hence  in  every  city,  town,  and  country 
where  the  Apostles  gathered  a  community  by  their  own  personal 
labors,  or  by  their  assistants,  in  setting  them  in  order,  for  their  edifi- 
cation, and  for  their  usefulness  and  influence  in  this  world,  they  uni- 
formly appointed  Elders,  or  overseers,  to  labor  in  the  word  and  teach- 
ing, and  to  preside  over  the  whole  affairs  of  the  community.  To  these 
also  were  added  Deacons,  or  public  ministers  of  the  congregation, 
who,  under  the  direction  of  the  overseers,  were  to  manage  all  the 
affairs  of  these  individual  families  of  God.  This  the  very  names 
Bishop  and  Deacon,  and  all  the  qualifications  enjoined,  fairly  and 
fully  import. 


'Rom.  xii.  4-8;  I.  Cor.  xii.  27;  Hcb.  iii.  i 


THE    MILLKXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  261 

But  as  all  the  citizens  of  tlie  liingdom  are  free  men  under  Christ, 
they  all  have  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  the  persons  whom  the  Apos- 
tles appoint  to  these  offices.  The  Apostles  still  appoint  all  persons 
so  elected,  possessing  the  qualifications  which  they,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  prescribed.  And  if  a  congregation  icill  not  elect  to  these  offices 
the  persons  possessing  these  qualifications;  or  if  by  a  waywardness 
and  selfwilledness  of  their  own,  they  should  elect  those  unqualified, 
and  thus  disparage  those  marked  out  by  the  possession  of  those 
gifts;  in  either  case,  they  despise  the  authority  of  the  Ambassadors 
of  Christ,  and  must  suffer  for  it.  It  is,  indeed,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
not  the  congregations,  which  creates  Bishops  and  Deacons.  The  Spirit 
gives  the  qualifications,  both  natural  and  acquired,  and,  speaking  to 
the  congregations  in  the  written  oracles,  commands  their  ordination 
01   appointment  to  the  work.* 

In  the  present  administration  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  faith  is  the 
PKiNcirLE,  and  ordinances  the  means  of  all  spiritual  enjoyment. 
Without  faith  in  the  testimony  of  God,  a  person  is  without  God,  with- 
out Christ,  and  without  hope  in  the  world.  A  Christless  universe,  as 
respects  spiritual  life  and  joy,  is  the  most  perfect  blank  which  fancy 
can  create.  Without  faith  nothing  in  the  Bible  can.  be  enjoyed;  and 
without  it,  there  is  to  man  no  kingdom  of  heaven  in  all  the  domin- 
ions of  God. 

In  the  kingdom  of  nature  seiise  is  the  principle,  and  ordinances 
the  means  of  enjoyment.  Without  sense,  or  sensation,  nothing  in 
nature  can  be  known  or  enjoyed.  All  the  creative,  recuperative,  and 
renovating  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God,  exhibited  in  nature, 
are  contained  in  ordinances.  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars — the  clouds, 
the  air,  the  earth,  the  water,  the  seasons,  day  and  night,  are  there- 
fore denominated  the  ordinances  of  Heaven,  because  God's  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness  are  in  them,  and  felt  by  us  only  through  them.f 
Now  sense,  without  the  ordinances  of  nature,  like  faith,  without  the 
ordinances  of  religion,  would  be  no  principle  of  enjoyment;  and  the 
ordinances  of  nature,  without  sense,  like  the  ordinances  of  religion, 
without  faith,  would  be  no  means  of  enjoyment.  These  are  the  unal- 
terable decrees  of  God.  There  is  no  exception  to  them;  and  there 
is  no  reversion  of  them.  To  illustrate  and  enforce  the  doctrine  of 
this  single  paragraph  is  worthy  of  a  volume.  The  essence,  the  whole 
essence  of  that  reformation  for  which  we  contend,  is  wrapped  up  in 
this  decree  as  above  expressed.  If  it  be  true,  the  ground  on  which 
we  stand  is  firm  and  unchangeable  as  the  Rock  of  Ages;  if  it  be 
false,  we  build  upon  the  sand.     Reader,  examine  it   icell! 


<'Act.><  vi.  2-7;  xiv.  %\:  xx.  17-:t(i:   Pliil.  i.  1;  I.  Tim.  iii.   I-lf.;  Tit.  i.  .VIO;  Hob.  xlii. 
7,  17.  'i.').        +.!<•!•.  xxxi.  ;!."i.  :«>;  .I(>1>  xxxviil.  :!l-:i:!;  .Ii  r.  xxxiil.  2,"). 


262  THE    MILLENl^IAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

In  the  kingdom  of  heaven  faith  is,  then,  the  principle,  and  ordi- 
nances the  7neans  of  enjoyment;  because  all  the  wisdom,  power,  love, 
mercy,  compassion,  or  grace  of  God,  is  in  the  ordinances  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven;  and  if  all  grace  be  in  them,  it  can  only  be  enjoyed 
through  them.  What,  then,  under  the  present  administration  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  are  the  ordinances  which  contain  the  grace  of 
God?  They  are,  preaching  the  gospel — immersion  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit— the  reading  and  teaching  the  Living  Oracles— the  Lord's  Day 
— the  Lord's  Supper — fasting — prayer — confession  of  sins — and  praise. 
To  these  may  be  added  other  appointments  of  God,  such  as  exhorta- 
tion, admonition,  discipline,  etc.:  for  these  also  are  ordinances  of 
God;  and,  indeed,  all  statutes  and  commandments  are  ordinances:* 
but  we  speak  not  at  present  of  those  ordinances  which  concern  the 
good  order  of  the  kingdom,  but  of  those  which  are  primary  means 
of  enjoyment.  These  primary  and  sacred  ordinances  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  are  the  means  of  our  individual  enjoyment  of  the  present 
salvation  of  God. 

Without  the  sun,  there  is  no  solar  influence;  without  the  moon, 
there  is  no  lunar  influence;  without  the  stars,  there  is  no  sidereal 
influence;  without  clouds,  there  can  be  no  rain;  and  without  the 
ordinances  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  there  can  be  no  heavenly 
influence  exhibited  or  felt.  There  is  a  peculiar  and  distinctive  influ- 
ence exerted  by  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars;  yet  they  all  give  light.  So 
in  the  ordinances  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven — although  they  all  agree 
in  producing  certain  similar  effects  on  the  subjects  of  the  kingdom, 
there  is  something  distinctive  and  peculiar  in  each  of  them,  so  that 
no  one  of  them  can  be  substituted  for  another.  Not  one  of  them 
can  be  dispensed  with— they  are  all  necessary  to  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  reign  of  heaven. 

In  nature  and  in  religion  all  the  blessings  of  God  bestowed  on 
man  are  properly  classed  under  two  heads.  These  may  be  called,  for 
illustration,  antecedent  and  consequent.  The  antecedent  includes  all 
those  blessings  bestowed  on  man  to  prepare  him  for  action  and  to 
induce  him  to  action.  The  consequent  are  those  which  God  bestows 
on  man  through  a  course  of  action  correspondent  to  these  antecedent 
blessings.  For  example,  all  that  God  did  for  Adam  in  creating  for 
him  the  earth  and  all  that  it  contains,  animal,  vegetable,  mineral; 
in  forming  him  in  his  own  image;  giving  him  all  his  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  moral  powers,  and  in  investing  him  with  all  the  per- 
sonal and  real  estate  which  elevated  him  above  all  sublunary  beings, 
were  antecedent  to  any  act  of  Adam;  and  these  furnished  him  with 
inducements  to  love,  honor,  and  obey  his  creator  and  benefactor.     All 

*  Jas.  i.  25. 


THE    MILLIJNMAL    IIAHBINOER    ABRIDGED.  2G3 

that  God  did  tor  Abraham  in  promises  and  precepts  before  his  obedi- 
ence— all  that  he  did  lor  the  Israelites  in  bringing  them  up  out  of 
Egypt,  and  redeeming  them  from  the  tyranny  of  Pharaoh,  were  anie- 
cedent  to  the  duties  and  observances  which  he  enjoined  upon  them, 
and  to  the  privileges  which  he  promised  them.  And  all  the  blessings 
which  Adam,  Abraham,  the  Israelites  enjoyed  through  conformity  to 
the  institutions  under  which  they  were  placed,  were  consequent  upon 
that  state  of  mind  and  course  of  action  which  the  antecedent  favors 
demanded  and  occasioned.  God  never  commanded  any  being  to  do 
anything  hut  the  power  and  motive  were  derived  from  something 
God  had  done  for  him. 

In  the  kingdom  of  heaven  the  antecedent  blessings  are  the  consti- 
tution of  grace,  the  King,  and  all  that  he  did,  suffered,  and  sustained 
for  our  redemption.  These  were  finished  before  we  came  upon  the 
stage  of  action.  This  is  all  favor,  pure  favor,  sovereign  favor:  for 
there  can  be  no  favor  that  is  not  free  and  sovereign.  But  the  remis- 
sion of  our  sins,  our  adoption  into  the  family  of  God,  our  being  made 
heirs  and  inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  glory,  are  consequent  upon 
faith  and  the  obedience  of  faith. 

Organization  and  life  of  any  sort  are  of  necessity  the  gifts  of 
God;  but  health  and  the  continued  enjoyment  of  life,  and  all  its 
various  and  numerous  blessings,  are  consequent  upon  the  proper  exer- 
cise of  these.  He  that  will  not  breathe,  eat,  drink,  sleep,  exercise, 
can  not  enjoy  animal  life.  God  has  bestowed  animal  organization 
and  life  antecedent  to  any  action  of  the  living  creature;  but  the  crea- 
ture may  throw  away  that  life  by  refusing  to  sustain  it  by  the  means 
essential  to  its  preservation   and   comfort. 

God  made  but  one  man  out  of  the  earth,  and  one  earthly  nature 
of  every  sort,  by  a  positive,  direct,  and  immediate  agency,  of  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness.  He  gave  these  the  power,  according  to  his  own 
constitution  or  systeyn  of  nature,  of  reproducing  and  multiplying  to 
an  indefinite  extent.  But  still  this  life  is  transmitted,  diffused,  and 
sustained  by  God  operating  through  the  system  of  nature.  So  Jesus, 
in  the  new  creation,  by  his  Spirit  sent  down  from  heaven  after  his 
glorification,  did,  by  a  positive,  direct,  and  immediate  agency,  create 
one  congregation,  one  mystical,  or  spiritual  body;  and,  according  to 
the  constitution  or  system  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  did  give  to  that 
mystical  body  created  in  Jerusalem,  out  of  the  more  ancient  earthly 
kingdom  of  God,  the  power  of  reproducing  and  multiplying  to  an 
Indefinite  extent.  But  still  this  new  and  spiritual  life  is  transmitted, 
diffused,  and  sustained  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  operating  through  the 
constitution,  or  system  of  grace,  ordained  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Hcnco  in  setting  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  as  in  setting  up  the 
kingdom  of   nature,   there   was  a  display   of  divinity,   compared    with 


264  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

everything  subsequent,  properly  supernatural.  Hence  the  array  of 
apostles,  prophets,  extraordinary  teachers,  gifts,  powers,  miracles, 
etc.,  etc.  But  after  this  new  mystical  body  of  Christ  was  created  and 
made,  it  had,  and  yet  has,  according  to  the  system  of  grace  under  the 
present  administration  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  power  of  multi- 
plying and  replenishing  the  whole  earth,  and  will  do  it;  for  as  God 
breathed  into  the  nostrils  of  Adam  the  spirit  of  life  after  he  had 
raised  him  out  of  the  dust;  and  as  he  bestowed  on  his  beloved  Son 
Jesus,  after  he  rose  out  of  the  water,  his  Holy  Spirit,  without  meas- 
ure; so  on  the  formation  of  the  first  congregation,  figuratively  called 
the  body  of  Christ,  Jesus  did  breathe  into  it  the  Holy  Spirit  to  ani- 
mate and  inhabit  it  till  he  come  again.  The  only  temple  and  habita- 
tion of  God  on  earth,  since  Jesus  pronounced  desolation  on  that  in 
Jerusalem,  is  this  body  of  Christ. 

Now  this  first  congregation  of  Christ,  thus  filled  with  the  Spirit 
of  God,  had  the  power  of  raising  other  congregations  of  Christ;  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  of  causing  the  body  of  Christ  to  grow  and 
increase.  Thus  we  see  that  other  congregations  were  soon  raised  up 
in  Judea  and  Samaria  by  the  members  of  the  Jerusalem  body.  Many 
were  begotten  to  God  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  through  the  members  of 
the  first  congregation.  And  since  the  Spirit  himself  ceased  to  operate 
in  all  those  splendid  displays  of  supernatural  grandeur,  by  still  keep- 
ing the  disciples  of  Christ  always  in  remembrance  of  the  things 
spoken  by  the  holy  Apostles,  and  by  all  the  arguments  derived  from 
the  antecedent  blessings  bestowed,  working  in  them  both  to  will  and 
do  according  to  the  benevolence  of  God,  he  is  still  causing  the  body 
of  Christ  to  grow  and  increase  in  stature,  as  well  as  in  knowledge 
and  the  favor  of  God.  Thus  the  church  of  Christ,  inspired  with  his 
Spirit,  and  having  the  oracles  and  ordinances  of  the  reign  of  heaven, 
is  fully  adequate  to  the  conversion  of  the  whole  world  if  she  prove 
not  recreant  to  her  Lord. 

In  the  work  of  conversion,  her  Evangelists,  or  those  whom  she 
sends  beyond  the  precincts  of  her  weekly  meetings,  have,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  simply  to  propose  the  constitution,  or 
the  glad  tidings  of  the  reign,  to  those  without;  and  by  all  the  argu- 
ments which  the  oracles  of  God  and  the  times  and  occasions  suggest, 
to  beseech  and  persuade  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  to  kiss  the  Son, 
to  accept  the  constitution,  to  bow  to  him  who  is  ordained  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour  to  grant  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  to  all  who  submit 
to  his  government.  Thus  they,  and  the  congregation  who  sends  them 
forth  and  sustains  them  in  the  work,  beget  children  of  God  by  the 
gospel,  and  enlarge  the  body  of  Christ. 

With  all  these  documents  before  us,  may  we  not  say,  that,  as  Eve 
was  the  mother  of  all  living,  so  "Jerusalem  is  the  mother  of  us  all"? 


THE    MILLJJ.WJAL    HARlilSGER    ABRIDGED.  265 

And  thus,  to  use  the  language  of  Paul,  "Men  are  l>egotten  to  God  by 
the  gospel"  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  congregations  of  Christ. 
Under    the   present   administration    of   the   kingdom    of    heaven    a 
great   apostacy    has   occurred,   as    foretold    by   the   Apostles.     As    the 
church,    compared    to   a   city,    is   called    "Mount    Zion,"    the   apostate 
church  is  called  "Babylon  the  Great."     Like  Babylon  the  type,  "Mys- 
tery Babylon"  the  antitype  is  to  be  destroyed  by  a  Cyrus  that  knows 
not  God.     She  is  to   fall   by  the  sword  of  infidels,  supported   by  the 
fierce  judgments  of  God.     "The  Holy  City"  is  still  trodden  under  foot 
and    the   sanctuary   is   filled   with   corruptions.     It   is,    indeed,   a   den 
of  thieves;   but  strong  Is  the  Lord  that  judges  the  apostate  city.     Till 
that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  come,  we  can  not.  from  the 
prophetic  word,  anticipate  a  universal  return  to  the  original  gospel 
nor  a  general   restoration  of  all   the  institutions  of  the  kingdom   of 
heaven   in  their  primitive  character;    and.  consequently,   we   can   not 
promise  to  ourselves  the  universal  subjugation  of  the  nations  to  the 
sceptre  of  Jesus. 

But  were  we  to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  the  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  after  the  fall  and  overthrow  of  the  apos- 
tate city  and  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  we  should  have  to  launch 
upon  a  wide  and  tempestuous  ocean,  for  which  our  slender  bark  is 
not  at  this  time  sufficiently  equipped.  This  may  yet  deserve  the  con- 
struction of  a  large  vessel  in  a  more  propitious  season.  Meanwhile, 
the  original  gospeJ  is  extensively  proclaimed,  and  many  thousands 
are  preparing  for  the  day  of  the  Lord;  and  these  are  taught  by  the 
"Faithful  and  True  Witness"  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a 
thief  in  the  night,  and  that  their  happiness  and  safety  alike  consist 
in  being  prepared  for  his  second  advent. 

ADDRESS    TO   THE    CITIZENS    OF   THE   KINGDOM. 
Fellow-Citizens: 

Your  rank  and  standing  under  the  reign  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
have  never  been  surpassed— indeed,  have  never  been  equalled  by  any 
portion  of  the  human  race.  You  have  visions  and  revelations  of  God 
—his  being  and  perfections— developments  of  the  depths  of  his  wis- 
dom and  knowledge,  of  the  counsels  of  his  grace,  and  the  purposes  of 
his  love,  which  give  you  an  intellectual  and  moral  superiority  above 
all  your  predecessors  in  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish  ages  of  the  world. 
Secrets  of  God.  which  were  hid  from  ages  and  generations,  have  been 
revealed  to  you  by  the  Apostles  of  the  Great  Apostle  and  High  Priest 
of  your  confession.  What  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Moses.  David. 
Isaiah.  Daniel,  and  all  the  Prophets,  down  to  John  the  Harbinger, 
rejoiced  to  anticipate,  you  have  realized  and  enjoyed.  The  intellectual 
pleasures  of  the  highest  and  most  sublime  conceptions  of  God  and  of 


266  THE    MILLENJSIIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Christ  vouchsafed  to  you,  so  far  transcend  the  attainments  of  the 
ancient  people  of  God,  that  you  are  comparatively  exalted  to  heaven, 
and  may  enjoy  the  days  of  heaven  upon  earth.  You  have  a  book 
which  contains  not  only  the  charter  of  your  privileges,  but  which 
explains  a  thousand  mysteries  in  the  antecedent  administrations  of 
God  over  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In  it  you  have  such  interpreta- 
tions of  God's  past  providences  in  the  affairs  of  individuals,  families, 
and  nations,  as  open  to  you  a  thousand  sources  of  rational  and  senti- 
mental enjoyment  from  incidents  and  things  which  puzzled  and  per- 
plexed the  most  intelligent  and  highly  favored  of  past  ages.  Moun- 
tains are,  indeed,  levelled;  valleys  are  exalted;  rough  places  are  made 
plain,  and  crooked  ways  straight  to  your  apprehension;  and  from 
these  data  you  are  able  to  form  more  just  conceptions  of  the  present, 
and  more  lofty  anticipations  of  the  future,  than  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
most  highly  favored  subjects  of  preceding  dispensations.  And, 
indeed,  so  inexhaustible  are  the  deep  and  rich  mines  of  knowledge 
and  understanding  in  the  Christian  Revelations,  that  the  most  com- 
prehensive mind  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  might  labor  in  them  dur- 
ing the  age  of  Methusaleh,  constantly  enriching  itself  with  all  knowl- 
edge and  spiritual  understanding,  and  yet  leave  at  last  vast  regions 
and  tracts  of  thought  wholly  unexplored. 

But  this  decided  superiority  over  the  most  gifted  saints  of  former 
ages  you  unquestionably  enjoy.  Among  all  the  living  excellencies 
with  which  they  were  acquainted,  they  wanted  a  perfect  model  of  all 
human  excellence.  Bright  as  were  the  virtues  and  excellencies  of  an 
Abraham,  a  Joseph,  a  David,  there  were  dark  spots,  or,  at  least,  some 
blemishes  in  their  moral  character.  They  failed  to  place  in  living 
form  before  their  contemporaries,  or  to  leave  as  a  legacy  to  posterity, 
every  virtue,  grace,  and  excellence  that  adorn  human  nature.  But 
you  have  Jesus  not  only  as  "the  image  of  the  visible  God,"  "an  efful- 
gence of  his  glory,  and  an  exact  representation  of  his  character," 
but  as  a  man  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  sin,  exhibiting 
in  the  fullest  perfection  every  excellence  which  gives  amiability,  dig- 
nity, and  glory  to  human  character.  You  have  motives  to  purity  and 
holiness,  a  stimulus  to  all  that  is  manly,  good,  and  excellent,  from  what 
he  said,  and  did,  and  suffered  as  the  Son  of  Man,  which  would  have 
added  new  charms  and  beauties  to  the  most  exemplary  of  all  the 
saints  of  the  olden  times. 

Means  and  opportunities  of  the  highest  intellectual  and  moral 
enjoyments  are  richly  bestowed  on  you,  for  which  they  sighed  in  vain; 
God  having  provided  some  better  things  for  Christians  than  for  Jews 
and  patriarchs.  Shall  we  not,  then,  fellow-citizens,  appreciate  and 
use,  as  we  ought,  to  our  present  purity  and  happiness,  to  our  eternal 
honor  and  glory,  the  light  which  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  has  shed 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED  267 

so  richly  and  abundantly  on  us?  Remember  that  we  stand  upon 
Apostles  and  Prophets,  and  are  sustained  by  Jesus  the  light  of  the 
world,  and  the  interpreter  and  vindicator  of  all  God's  ways  to  man, 
in  creation,  providence,  and  redemption.  All  suns  are  stars;  and  he 
that  is  now  to  us  in  this  life  "the  tiun  of  Righteousness,"  in  respect, 
of  the  future  is  "the  bright  and  Morning  Star."  Till  the  day  of  eter- 
nity dawn,  and  the  day  star  of  immortality  arise  in  our  hearts,  let  us 
always  look  to  Jesus. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  felicity  of  superior  heavenly  light,  though 
that  is  most  delectable  to  our  rational  nature,  which  distinguishes 
you  the  citizens  of  this  kingdom;  but  that  personal,  real,  and  plenary 
remission  of  all  sin,  which  you  enjoy  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
of  God,  bestowed  on  you  through  the  ordinances  of  Christian  immer- 
sion and  confession  of  sins. 

The  Jews,  indeed,  had  sacrifices  under  the  law,  which  could,  and 
did  take  away  ceremonial  sins:  and  which  so  far  absolved  from  the 
guilt  of  transgressing  that  law,  as  to  give  them  a  right  to  the  con- 
tinued enjoyment  of  the  temporal  and  political  promises  of  the 
national  compact;  but  farther  Jewish  sacrifices  and  ablutions  could 
not  reach.  This  benefit  every  Jew  had  from  them.  But  as  respected 
the  conscience,  Paul,  the  great  commentator  on  Jewish  sacrifice, 
assures  us  they  had  no  power.  "With  respect  to  the  conscience, '  says 
he,  "they  could  not  make  him  who  did  the  service  perfect." 

The  entrance  of  the  law  gave  the  knowledge  of  sin.  It  gave  names 
to  particular  sins,  and  "caused  the  offense  to  abound."  The  sacrifices 
appended  to  it  had  respect  to  that  institution  alone,  and  not  to  sin  in 
the  general,  nor  to  sin  in  its  true  and  proper  nature.  The  promise 
made  to  the  patriarchs  and  the  sacrificial  institution  added  to  it. 
through  faith  in  that  promise,  led  the  believing  to  anticipate  a  real 
sin-offering;  but  it  appears  the  Jewish  sacrifices  had  only  respect  to 
the  Jewish  institution,  and  excepting  their  typical  character,  gave  no 
new  light  to  those  under  that  economy,  on  the  subject  of  a  true  and 
proper  remission  of  sins,  through  the  real  and  bloody  sacrifice  of  Christ. 

The  patriarch  and  the  believing  Jew,  as  respected  a  real  remission 
of  sins,  stood  upon  the  same  ground;  for,  as  has  been  observed,  the 
episode  institution,  or,  as  Paul  says,  "the  supervening  of  the  law," 
made  no  change  in  the  apprehensions  of  remission  as  respected  the 
conscience.  But  a  new  age  having  come,  (for  "these  ordinances  for 
cleansing  the  flesh  were  imposed  only  till  the  time  of  reformation,") 
and  Christ  having,  by  a  more  perfect  sacrifice,  opened  the  way  into 
the  true  holy  plaros.  has  laid  the  foundation  for  perfecting  the  con- 
science by  a  real  and  full  remission  of  sins,  which,  by  the  virtue  of 
his  blood,  terminates  not  upon  the  flesh,  but  upon  the  conscience  of 
the  sinner. 


268  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

John,  indeed,  who  lived  at  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  preached 
reformation  with  an  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins;  saying  that 
"they  sliould  believe  in  him  that  was  to  come  after  him."  Those  who 
believed  John's  ^gospel  and  reformed,  and  were  immersed  into  John's 
reformation,  had  the  remission  of  sins  through  faith  in  him  that  was 
to  come:  but  you,  fellow  citizens,  even  in  respect  of  the  enjoyment  of 
remission,  are  greatly  advanced  above  the  disciples  of  John.  You 
have  been  immersed,  not  only  by  the  authority  of  Jesus,  as  Lord  of 
all,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  into  the  death  or  sacrifice  of  Christ.  This  no  disciple  of 
Moses  or  of  John  knew  anything  about.  This  gives  you  an  insight 
into  sin,  and  a  freedom  from  it,  as  respects  the  conscience — a  peace 
and  a  joy  unutterable  and  full  of  glory,  to  which  both  the  disciples  of 
Moses  and  of  the  Harbinger  were  strangers.  So  that  the  light  of 
the  risen  day  of  heaven's  eternal  Sun  greatly  excels,  not  only  the 
glimmerings  of  the  stars  in  the  patriarchal  age,  and  the  faint 
light  of  the  moon  in  the  Jewish  age,  but  even  the  twilight  of  the 
morning. 

Your  new  relation  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
into  which  you  have  been  introduced  by  faith  in  the  Messiah  and 
immersion  into  his  death,  verifies,  in  respect  of  the  sense  and  assur- 
ance of  remission,  all  that  John  and  Jesus  said  concerning  that  supe- 
riority of  privilege  vouchsafed  under  the  Messiah  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  You  can  see  your  sins  washed  away  in  the  blood  that  was 
shed  on  Mount  Calvary.  That  which  neither  the  highly  favored  John 
nor  any  disciple  of  the  Messiah  could  understand,  till  Jeus  said,  "It  is 
finished,"  you  not  only  clearly  perceive,  but  have  cordially  embraced. 
You  can  feel,  and  say  with  all  assurance,  that  "the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  now  cleanses  you  from  all  sin;"  and  that  by  faith  you  have 
access  to  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Institution,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling  which  speaks  glad  tidings  to  the  heart.  You  have  an  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  and  when  conscious  of  any  impurity,  coming  to 
him  by  God,  confessing  your  sins,  and  supplicating  pardon  through  his 
blood,  you  have  the  promise  of  remission.  You  now  know  how  God 
is  just  as  well  as  merciful  in  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and 
sin. 

But  superior  light  and  knowledge,  and  enlarged  conceptions  of 
God,  with  such  an  assurance  of  real  and  personal  remission  as  pacifies 
the  conscience  and  introduces  the  peace  of  God  into  the  heart,  are 
not  the  only  distinguishing  favors  which  you  enjoy  in  the  new  relation 
to  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  into  which  you  are  intro- 
duced under  the  Reign  of  Heaven;  but  you  are  formally  adopted  into 
the  family  of  God,  and  constituted  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Father  Almighty. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  269 

To  be  called  "the  friend  of  God"  was  the  highest  title  bestowed  oa 
Abraham;  to  be  called  the  friends  of  Christ,  was  the  peculiar  honor  of 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  to  whom  he  confided  the  secrets  of  his  reign; 
but  to  be  called  "the  children  of  God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, ' 
ia  not  only  the  common  honor  of  all  Christians,  but  the  highest  honor 
which  could  be  vouchsafed  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  earth.  Such 
honor  have  you,  my  fellow  citizen,  in  being  related  to  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  Cod:  "For  to  as  many  as  received  him  he  gave  the  privilfge 
of  becoming  the  sons  of  God."  These,  indeed,  were  not  descended  from 
families  of  noble  blood,  nor  genealogies  of  high  renown;  neither  are 
they  the  offspring  of  the  instincts  of  the  flesh,  nor  made  the  sons  of 
God  "by  the  will  of  man,"  who  sometimes  adopts  the  child  of  another 
as  his  own;  but  they  are  "born  of  God"  tHrough  the  ordinances  of  his 
grace.  "Behold  how  great  love  the  Father  has  bestowed  on  us  that 
we  should  be  called  children  of  God!"  "The  world,  indeed,  does  not 
know  us,  because  it  did  not  know  him.  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  chil- 
dren of  God.     It  does  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be!" 

"Because  you  are  sons,  God  has  sent  forth  the  spirit  of  his  Son  into 
your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father."  And  if  sons,  it  follows  "you  are 
heirs  of  God  through  Christ,"  the  Heir  of  all  things.  Is  this,  fellow 
citizens,  a  romantic  vision,  or  sober  and  solemn  truth,  that  you  are 
children  of  God,  possessing  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  constituted  heirs 
of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ  of  the  eternal  inheritance!  What 
manner  of  persons,  then,  ought  you  to  be!  How  pure,  how  holy,  and 
heavenly  in  your  temper;  how  just  and  righteous  in  all  your  ways; 
how  humble  and  devoted  to  the  Lord;  how  joyful  and  triumphant  in 
your  King! 

Permit  me,  then,  to  ask,  Wherein  do  you  excel? — nay,  rather,  you 
will  propose  this  question  to  yourselves.  You  will  say.  How  shall  vre 
still  more  successfully  promote  the  interest,  the  honor,  and  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom?  Is  there  anything  we  can  do  by 
our  behaviour,  our  morality,  our  piety,  by  our  influence,  by  all'  the 
earthly  means  with  which  God  has  furnished  us?  Is  there  anything 
we  can  do  more  to  strengthen  the  army  of  the  faith,  to  invigorate  the 
champions  of  the  kingdom,  to  make  new  conquests  for  our  King?  Can 
wo  not  increase  the  joy  of  the  Lord  in  converting  souls — can  we  not 
furnish  occasions  of  rejoicing  to  the  angels  of  God — can  we  not  gladden 
the  hearts  of  thousands  who  have  never  tasted  the  joys  of  the  children 
of  God? 

In  the  present  administration  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  during  the 
absence  of  the  King  he  has  said  to  the  citizens,  "Put  on  the  armor  of 
light" — "Contend  earnestly  for  the  faith" — "Convert  the  world" — 
"Occupy  till  I  come" — "Let  your  light  shine  before  men,  that  they, 
seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify  your  Father  in  heaven" — "That 


270  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  Gentiles  may,  by  your  good  works,  which,  they  shall  behold,  glorify 
God  in  the  day  of  visitation."  He  has  thus  entrusted  to  the  ctiizens 
the  great  work  for  which  he  died — the  salvation  of  men.  Let  us, 
then,  brethren,  be  found  faithful  to  the  Lord  and  to  men,  that  he  may 
address  us  at  his  coming  with  the  most  acceptable  plaudit,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servants;  enter  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord!" 

Great  as  the  opposition  is  to  truth  and  salvation,  we  have  no  reason 
to  despond.  Greater  are  our  friends  and  allies,  and  infinitely  mora 
powerful  than  all  our  enemies.  God  is  on  our  side — Jesus  Christ  is 
our  King — the  Holy  Spirit  is  at  his  disposal — angels  are  his  minister- 
ing servants — the  prayers  of  all  the  prophets,  apostles,  saints,  and 
martyrs  are  for  our  success — our  brethren  are  numerous  and  strong — 
they  have  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  shield  of  faith,  the  helmet  of 
salvation,  the  breastplate  of  righteousness,  the  artillery  of  truth — the 
arguments  of  God,  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace — our  Com- 
mander and  Captain  is  the  most  successful  General  that  ever  entered 
the  field  of  war — he  never  lost  a  battle — he  is  wonderful  in  counsel 
excellent  in  working,  valiant  in  fight — the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name. 
He  can  stultify  all  the  machinations  of  our  enemies,  control  all  the 
powers  of  nature,  and  subdue  all  our  foes,  terrestrial  and  infernal. 
Under  his  conduct  we  are  like  Mount  Zion  that  can  never  be  moved. 
Indeed,  under  him  we  are  come  to  Mount  Zion,  the  stronghold  and 
fortress  of  the  kingdom,  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jeru- 
salem— to  myriads  of  angels — the  general  assembly  and  congregation 
of  the  first  born,  enrolled  in  heaven — to  God  the  judge  of  all — to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect — to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  New 
Constitution — and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  which  speaks  such  peace, 
and  joy,  and  courage  to  the  heart.  Ought  we  not,  then,  brethren,  "to 
be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might"?  If  in  faith, 
and  courage,  and  prayer,  we  put  on  the  heavenly  armor,  and  march 
under  the  King,  sounding  the  gospel  trumpet,  the  walls  of  Jericho  will 
fall*  to  the  ground,  and  the  banners  of  the  Cross  will  wave  over  the 
ruins  of  Paganism,  Atheism,  Skepticism,  and  Sectarianism — 

Nil  desperanchim,  te  diicc  Christe. 
If  a  Roman  could  say,  "Nothing  is  to  be  feared  under  the  auspices  of 
Cesar,"   may   not   the   Christian   say,   There   is  no   despair  under   the 
guardianship  of  Messiah  the  King? 

But,  fellow  citizens,  though  clothed  with  the  whole  panoply  of 
heaven,  and  headed  by  the  Captain  of  Salvation,  there  is  no  success 
in  this  war  to  be  expected  without  constant  and  incessant  prayer. 
When  the  Apostles  began  to  build  up  this  kingdom,  notwithstanding 
all  the  gifts  they  enjoyed,  they  found  it  necessary  to  devote  themselves 
to  prayer  as  well  as  to  the  ministry  of  the  word.  And  when  Paul 
describes  all  the  armor  of  God,  piece  by  piece,  in  putting  it  on,  he  says. 


Tin:    MILLEXMAL    HARBINOEli    AURIDGED.  271 

"Take  the  sword  of  the  Spirit — with  all  supplication  and  deprecation, 
pray  at  all  seasons  in  spirit,  watch  with  all  perseverance  and  suppli- 
cation for  all  the  saints." 

This  was  most  impressively  and  beautifully  pictured  out  in  tho 
wars  of  ancient  Israel  against  their  enemies.  While  Moses  lifted  up 
his  holy  hands  to  heaven,  Israel  prevailed;  and  when  he  did  not, 
Amalok  prevailed.  So  it  is  now.  When  the  disciples  of  Christ,  tho 
heaven-born  citizens  of  tho  kingdom,  continue  instant  in  prayer  and 
watchfulness,  the  truth  triumphs  in  their  hearts  and  in  the  world. 
When  they  do  not,  they  become  cold,  timid,  and  impotent  as  Samson 
shorn,  and  the  enemy  gains  strength  over  them.  Then  the  good  cause 
of  the  Lord  languishes. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  understand  how  prayer  increases 
our  zeal,  our  wisdom,  our  strength,  our  joy,  or  how  it  gives  success 
to  the  cause,  any  more  than  that  we  should  understand  how  our  food 
is  converted  into  flesh,  and  blood,  and  bones.  It  is  only  necessary 
that  we  eat;  and  it  is  only  necessary  that  we  should  pray  as  we  are 
taught  and  commanded.  Experience  proves  that  the  outward  man  is 
renewed  day  by  day  by  our  daily  bread;  and  experience  proves  that 
the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day  by  prayer  and  thanksgiving. 
The  Lord  has  promised  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  in  truth; 
and  is  it  not  necessary  to  their  success?  If  it  be  not  necessary  to 
give  new  revelations,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  those  already 
given,  and  to  bring  the  word  written  seasonably  to  our  remembrance. 
Besides,  if  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  necessary  to  the  success  of 
Gideon  and  Barak,  and  Samson  and  David,  and  all  the  great  warriors 
of  Israel  according  to  the  flesh,  who  fought  the  battles  of  the  Lord 
with  the  sword,  the  sling,  and  the  bow;  who  can  say  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  those  who  draw  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  and  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith?  In  my  judgment  it  is  as  necessary  now  as  then:  neces- 
sary I  mean  to  equal  success — necessary  to  the  success  of  those  who 
labor  in  the  word  and  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ — and  necessary  to 
those  who  would  acquit  themselves  like  men  in  every  department  in 
the  rank  of  the  great  army  of  the  Lord  of  hosts. 

Though  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  spiritual. 
they  are  mighty,  (only,  however,  through  God,  to  the  overturning  of 
strongholds,)  to  the  overturning  of  all  reasonings  against  the  truth, 
and  every  high  thing  raised  up  against  the  knowledge  of  God.  and  in 
leading  captive  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  Let  us,  then, 
fellow  citizens,  whether  as  leaders  or  as  private  soldiers,  abound  in 
prayer  and  supplications  to  God  night  and  day.  If  sincere,  and  ardent, 
and  incessant  prayers  to  God  for  everything  that  he  has  promised; 
for  all  things  for  which  the  Apostles  prayed,  were  offered  up  by  all 
the  congregations,  and  by  every  disciple  in  his  family  and  in  his  closet 


272  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

for  the  triumphs  of  the  truth,  then  would  we  see  the  army  of  the  Lord 
successful  in  fight  against  atheism,  infidelity,  and  sectarianism — then 
would  we  see  disciples  gi-owing  in  knowledge  and  in  favor  with  God 
and  man.  And  is  not  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  our  own  eternal 
salvation,  infinitely  worthy  of  all  the  effort  and  enterprise  in  man. 
seeing  God  himself  has  done  so  much  in  the  gift  of  his  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit,  and  left  for  us  so  little  to  do^ — nothing,  indeed,  but  what  is  in 
the  compass  of  our  power?  And  shall  we  withhold  that  little,  espe- 
cially as  he  has  given  us  so  many  and  so  exceedingly  great  and  precious 
promises  to  stimulate  us  to  exertion?  Has  not  Jesus  said,  "The  con- 
queror shall  inherit  all  things"? — that  he  "will  not  blot  his  name  out 
of  the  book  of  life"? — that  he  will  confess  it  before  his  Father  and  his 
holy  angels? — that  he  will  place  him  "upon  his  throne,  and  give  him 
the  crown  of  life  that  shall  never  fade  away"? 

Rise  up,  then,  in  the  strength  of  Judah's  Lion!  Be  valiant  for  the 
truth!  Adorn  yourselves  with  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  of  God! 
Put  on  the  armor  of  light;  and,  with  all  the  gentleness,  and  meekness, 
and  mildness  there  is  in  Christ — with  all  the  courage,  and  patience, 
and  zeal,  and  effort  worthy  of  a  cause  so  salutary,  so  pure,  so  holy, 
and  so  divine,  determine  never  to  faint  nor  to  falter  till  you  enter  the 
pearly  gates — never  to  lay  down  your  arms,  till,  with  the  triumphant 
millions,  you  stand  before  the  throne,  and  exulting  sing,  "Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
might,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing!" — "To  him  who  sits  upon 
the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb  be  blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
strength  forever  and  forever!"     Amen. 

A  WORD  TO  FRIENDLY  ALIENS. 

Whether  to  regard  you  in  the  light  of  Proselytes  of  the  Gate,  who 
refused  circumcision,  but  wished  to  live  in  the  land  of  Israel,  to  be  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  to  keep  some  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  God,  without  becoming  fellow  citizens 
of  that  kingdom;  or  whether  to  regard  you  as  the  Samaritans  of  old, 
who  built  for  themselves  a  temple  of  God  upon  Mount  Gerizim,  held 
fast  a  part  of  the  ancient  revelation  of  God,  and  rejected  only  such 
parts  of  it  as  did  not  suit  their  prejudices — worshipped  the  God  of 
Israel  in  common  with  the  idols  of  the  nations  from  which  they  sprang 
— I  say,  whether  to  regard  you  in  the  light  of  the  one  or  the  other  of 
those  ancient  professors  of  religion,  might  require  more  skill  in  casu- 
istry than  we  possess — more  leisure  than  we  have  at  our  disposal — and 
more  labor  than  either  of  us  have  patience  to  endure.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, is  obvious),  that  if  under  the  Reign  of  Heaven  it  behooved  so  good 
a  man  as  Cornelius  ("a  man  of  piety,  and  one  that  feared  God  with 
all  his  house,  giving  also  much  alms  to  the  people,  and  praying  to 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  273 

God  continually,")  to  "hear  words  by  which  he  might  be  saved,"  and 
to  put  on  Christ  by  immersion  into  his  death,  that  he  might  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  enjoy  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  hope  of  an 
inheritance  among  all  the  sanctified — certainly  it  is  both  expedient  and 
necessary  that  you  also  go  and  do  likewise. 

Every  sectarian  in  the  land,  how  honest  and  pious  soever,  ought  to 
bury  his  sectarianism  and  all  his  other  sins  of  omission  and  commis- 
sion in  "the  bath  of  regeneration."  It  is  a  high  crime  and  misde- 
meanor in  any  man,  professing  to  have  received  the  Messiah  in  his 
proper  person,  character,  and  office,  to  refuse  allegiance  to  him  in 
anything;  and  to  substitute  human  inventions  and  traditions  in  lieu 
of  the  ordinances  and  statutes  of  Prince  Immanuel.  Indeed,  the  keep- 
ing up  of  any  dogma,  practice,  or  custom,  which  directly  or  indirectly 
supplants  the  constitution,  laws,  and  usages  of  the  kingdom  over  which 
Jesus  presides,  is  directly  opposed  to  his  government,  and  would  ulti- 
mate in  dethroning  him  in  favor  of  a  rival,  and  in  placing  upon  his 
throne  the  author  of  that  dogma,  practice,  or  usage  which  supplants 
the  institution  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

It  is  to  you,  then,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  King,  are  changing  his 
ordinances  and  substituting  your  own  expedients  for  the  wisdom  and 
authority  of  the  Judge  of  all,  we  now  propose  the  following  consider- 
ations: 

Every  kingdom  has  one  uniform  law  or  institution  for  naturalizing 
aliens;  and  that  institution,  of  whatever  sort  it  be,  is  obligatory  by 
the  authority  of  the  government  upon  every  one  who  would  become  a 
citizen.  We  say  it  is  obligatory  upon  him  who  desires  to  be  a  citizen 
to  submit  himself  to  that  institution.  But  does  not  your  practice  and 
your  dogma  positively  say,  that  it  is  not  the  duty  of  an  alien  to  be 
born  again,  but  that  it  is  the  duty  of  his  father  or  guardian  to  have 
him  naturalized?  Now,  although  many  things  are  in  common  the  duty 
of  brother,  father,  and  child,  yet  those  duties  which  belong  specifically 
to  a  father  can  not  belong  to  his  child,  either  in  religion,  morality,  or 
society.  If  it  be  the  father's  duty  to  "offer  his  child  to  the  Lord."  to 
speak  in  your  own  style,  it  is  not  the  duty  of  the  child  to  offer  himself. 
It  was  not  Isaac's  duty  to  be  circumcised,  but  Abraham's  duty  to  cir- 
cumcise him.  If,  then,  it  was  your  father's  duty  to  have  made  you 
citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  it  is  not  your  duty  to  become  citi- 
zens, unless  you  can  produce  a  law,  saying,  that  in  all  cases  where  the 
father  fails  to  do  his  duty,  then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  child  to  do 
that  which  his  father  neglected. 

Again — if  all  fathers,  like  yours,  had  upon  their  own  responsibility, 
without  any  command  from  the  Lord,  baptized  their  children,  there 
would  not  be  one  in  a  nation  to  whom  it  could  be  said.  "Repent  and 
be  baptized" — much  less  could  It  be  said  to  every  penitent,  "Be  bap- 


274  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

tized,  every  one  of  you,  by  the  authority  of  the  Lord,  for  the  remission 
of  sins."  These  remarks  are  only  intended  to  show  that  your  insti- 
tutions do,  in  truth,  go  to  the  subversion  of  the  government  of  Christ, 
and  to  the  entire  abolition  of  the  institutions  of  his  kingdom.  On  this 
account  alone,  if  for  no  other  reason,  you  ought  to  be  constitutionally 
naturalized,  and  be  legally  and  honorably  inducted  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  It  is  a  solemn  duty  you  owe  the  King  and  his  government- 
and  if  you  have  a  conscience  formed  by  the  Oracles  of  God,  you  can 
have  no  confidence  in  God,  nor  real  peace  of  mind,  so  long  as  you  give 
your  support — your  countenance,  example,  and  entire  infiuence  to  break 
down  the  institutions  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  open  his  kingdom  to  all  that 
is  born  of  the  flesh,  and  to  prevent  as  far  as  you  can  every  man  from 
the  pleasure  of  choosing  whom  he  shall  obey — of  confessing  him  before 
men — of  taking  on  his  yoke — of  dying,  being  buried,  and  raised  with 
Christ  in  his  gracious  institution.  If  Jesus  himself,  for  the  sake  of 
fulfilling  all  righteousness,  or  of  honoring  every  divine  institution, 
though  he  needed  not  the  reformation  nor  the  remission  which  John 
preached,  was  immersed  by  John — what  have  you  to  say  for  yourselves 
— you  who  would  claim  the  honors  and  privileges  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  refusing  to  follow  the  example  of  Jesus,  and  who  virtually 
subvert  his  authority  by  supporting  a  system  which  would,  if  carried 
out,  not  allow  a  voluntary  agent  in  all  the  race  of  Adam  to  do  that 
which  all  the  first  converts  to  Christ  did  by  authority  of  the  commis- 
sion which  Jesus  gave  to  all  his  Apostles? 

Again — whatever  confidence  you  may  now  possess  that  you  are 
good  citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  that  confidence  is  not 
founded  upon  a  "thus  saith  the  Lord,"  but  upon  your  own  reasonings, 
which  all  men  must  acknowledge  may  be  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
things,  fallacious.  Jesus  has  said,  "He  that  believes  and  is  immersed 
shall  be  saved;"  and  Peter  commanded  every  penitent  to  be  immersed 
for  the  remission  of  his  sins.  Now  he  who  hears  the  word,  believes  it, 
and  is  on  his  own  confession  immersed,  has  an  assurance,  a  confidence, 
which  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  have. 

Let  me  add  only  another  consideration,  for  we  are  not  now  arguina; 
the  merits  of  your  theory,  or  that  of  any  party:  it  is  your  duty,  as  you 
desire  the  union  of  (what  you  call)  the  church,  and  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  forthwith  to  be  immersed  and  be  born  constitutionally  into 
the  kingdom;  because  all  Protestants,  of  every  name,  if  sincere 
believers  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ,  irrespective  of  every  opinion  found 
in  any  human  creed,  could,  if  they  would,  honor  and  obey  his  insti- 
tutions, come  into  one  fold,  and  sit  down  together  under  the  reign  of 
the  Messiah.  If  all  would  follow  your  example,  this  would  necessarily 
follow;  if  they  do  not,  you  have  done  your  duty.  In  being  thus 
immersed,  all  the  world,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  admit  that  you  are 


THE    MILLENMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  275 

truly  and  Scripturally  baptized;  for  all  admit  that  an  immersed  peni- 
tent is  constitutionally  baptized  into  Christ:  but  only  a  part  of  the 
professing  world  can  admit  that  rite  of  infant  affusion  on  which  you 
rely,  as  introducing  you,  without  previous  knowledge,  faith,  or  repent- 
ance, into  the  family  of  God.  Acquit,  then,  your  conscience;  follow 
the  example  of  Jesus;  honor  and  support  his  authority;  promote  the 
union  and  peace  of  the  family  of  God;  do  what  in  you  lies  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world;  enter  into  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  confessing  the  ancient  faith,  and  by  being 
immersed  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  remission  of  sins.  Then  you 
may  say  as  Jesus  said  to  the  Samaritan  woman.  Although  the  Samari- 
tans have  a  temple  on  Mount  Gerizim,  a  priesthood,  and  the  five  books 
of  Moses,  "salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  Although  the  sects  have  the 
Oracles  of  God,  human  creeds,  many  altars,  priests,  and  religious 
usages,  the  enjoyment  of  salvation  is  among  them  who  simply  believe 
what  the  Apostles  wrote  concerning  Jesus,  and  who,  from  the  heart, 
obey  that  mould  of  doctrine  which  the  Apostles  delivered  to  us. 

In  so  doing  you  will,  moreover,  most  wisely  consult  your  own  safety 
and  security  from  the  signal  calamities  that  are  every  day  accumu- 
lating, and  soon  to  fall  with  overwhelming  violence  on  a  distracted, 
divided,  alienated,  and  adulterous  generation.  If  you  are  ''the  people 
of  God,"  as  you  profess,  and  as  we  would  fain  imagine,  then  you  are 
commanded  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  "Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that 
you  partake  not  of  the  sins  of  mystic  Babylon,  and  that  you  receive 
not  a  portion  of  her  plagues."*  If  affliction,  and  shame,  and  poverty, 
and  reproach  were  to  be  the  inalienable  lot  of  the  most  approved  serv 
ants  of  God,  it  is  better,  infinitely  better  for  you  to  suffer  with  them, 
than  to  enjoy  for  a  season  all  that  a  corrupted  and  apostate  society  can 
bestow  on  you.  Remember  who  it  is  that  has  said.  "Happy  are  they 
who  keep  his  commandments,  for  they  shall  have  a  right  to  the  tree 
of  life,  and  they  shall  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city!" 

ADDRESS   TO   THE   BELLIGERENT   ALIENS. 

To  him  who,  through  the  telescope  of  faith,  surveys  your  camp, 
there  appears  not  on  the  whole  map  of  creation  such  a  motley  group. 
such  a  heterogeneous  and  wretched  amalgamation  of  distracted  spirits, 
as  are  found  in  actual  insurrection  and  rebellion,  in  a  mad  and 
accursed  alliance  against  the  reigning  Monarch  of  creation.  In  your 
lines  are  found  every  unclean  and  hateful  spirit  on  this  side  the  fath- 
omless gulf,  the  dark  and  rayless  receptacle  of  fallen  and  ruined  intel- 
ligences, who,  in  endless  and  fruitless  wailings.  lament  their  own  fol- 
lies, and  through  an  incessant  night  of  despair  anathematize  themselves 

'Rev.  xviii.  4,  5. 


276  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  their  coadjutors  in  the  perpetration  of  their  eternal  suicide.  Yes, 
in  your  ranks  are  found  all  who  wilfully  reject  the  Son  of  God,  and 
will  not  have  him  to  reign  over  them;  whether  they  are  styled  the 
decent  moralist,  the  honest  deist,  skeptic,  atheist,  infidel,  the  specu- 
lating Sadducee,  the  boasting  Pharisee,  the  supercilious  Jew,  the 
resentful  Samaritan,  or  the  idolatrous  Gentile.  All  ranks  and  degrees 
of  men  in  political  society — the  king  and  the  beggar — the  sage  phil- 
osopher and  the  uneducated  clown — the  rich  and  the  poor,  who  disdain 
the  precepts  of  the  Messiah,  unite  with  you  in  this  unholy  alliance 
against  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  You  may  boast  of  many  a  decent  fel- 
low soldier  in  the  crusade  against  Immanuel;  many  who.when  weighed 
in  the  balances  of  the  political  sanctuary,  are  not  found  wanting  in 
all  the  decencies  of  this  present  life;  but  only  look  at  the  innumerable 
crowds  of  every  sort  of  wretches,  down  to  the  filthiest,  vilest  matricide, 
who  in  yonr  communion  are  fighting  under  your  banners — stout- 
hearted rebels! — leagued  with  you  in  your  attempts  to  dethrone  the 
I.i0rd's  Anointed.  If  you  boast  of  one  Marcus  Aurelius,  you  must  frar 
ternize  with  many  a  Nero,  Domitian,  Caligula,  and  Heliogabulus.  It 
you  rejoice  in  the  virtues  of  one  Seneca,  you  must  own  the  vices  of 
ten  thousand  murderers,  robbers,  adulterers,  drunkards,  profane 
swearers,  and  lecherous  debauchees,  who  have  rejected  the  counsels  of 
heaven,  because  the  precepts  of  righteousness  and  life  forbade  their 
crimes. 

If,  then,  my  friends,  (for  I  now  address  the  most  honorable  of  your 
community,)  you  boast  that  you  belong  to  a  very  large  and  respectable 
synagogue,  remember,  I  pray  you,  that  to  this  same  synagogue  in 
which  you  have  your  brotherhood,  belongs  everything  mean,  and  vile, 
and  wretched,  in  every  land  where  the  name  of  Jesus  has  been 
announced.  What  a  group!  Have  you  so  much  of  the  reflex  light  of 
the  gospel  falling  upon  your  vision  as  to  flush  your  cheek  with  the 
glow  of  shame  when  you  look  along  the  line  of  your  alliance,  and 
survey  the  horrible  faces,  the  ragged,  and  tattered,  and  squalid,  and 
filthy  wretches,  your  companions  in  arms — members  toith  you  in  the 
synagogue  of  Satan — and  confederates  against  the  Prince  of  Peace  f 
If  you  can  not  blush  at  such  a  spectacle,  you  are  not  among  them  to 
whom  I  would  tender  the  pearls  of  Jesus  Christ. 

What  do  you  then  say?  "I  am  ashamed  of  such  an  alliance — of 
such  a  brotherhood;  and  therefore  I  have  joined  the  Temperance 
Society — I  belong  to  the  Literary  Club — and  I  carry  my  family  regu- 
larly to  church  on  every  Sunday."  And  do  you  think,  O  simpleton! 
that  these  human  inventions,  which  only  divide  the  kingdom  of  Satan 
into  castes,  and  form  within  it  various  private  communions,  honorable 
and  dishonorable  associations,  learned  and  unlearned  fraternities, 
moral  and  immoral  conventicles,  change  the  state  of  a  single  son  of 


Tin:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  271 

Adam  as  respects  the  Son  of  God  I !  Then  may  Whig  and  Tory,  Masonic 
and  Antimasoni<r  clubs  and  conclaves — then  may  every  political  cabal, 
for  the  sake  of  elevating  some  demagogue,  change  the  political  relations 
in  the  state,  and  make  and  unmake  American  citizens  according  to 
fancy,  in  despite  of  constitution,  law,  and  established  precedents.  No, 
sir;  should  there  be  as  many  parties  in  the  state  as  there  are  days  in 
a  month,  membership  in  any  one  of  these  affects  not  in  the  least  the 
standing  of  any  man  as  a  citizen  in  relation  to  the  United  States,  or  to 
any  foreign  power.  And  by  parity  of  reason,  as  well  as  by  all  that  is 
written  in  the  New  Testament,  should  you  join  all  the  benevolent  socie- 
ties on  the  chequered  map  of  Christendom,  and  fraternize  with  every 
brotherhood  born  after  the  icill  of  man,  this  would  neither  change  nor 
destroy  your  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  of  Satan — still  you  would  be 
an  alien  from  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah — a  foreigner  as  respects  all 
its  covenanted  blessings — and,  in  the  unbiased  judgment  of  the  uni- 
verse, you  would  stand  enrolled  amongst  its  enemies. 

In  character  there  are  many  degrees  as  respects  any  and  every 
attribute  which  enters  into  its  formation;  but  as  respects  state  there 
are  no  degrees.  In  the  nature  of  things  it  is  impossible.  Every  man  is 
either  married  or  single,  a  brother,  a  master,  a  citizen,  or  he  is  not. 
Every  man  is  either  Christ's  or  Belial's;  there  is  no  middle  power,  and 
therefore  no  neutral  state.  Hence  the  King  himself,  when  on  the 
present  theatre  of  war,  told  his  companions  to  regard  every  man  as 
his  enemy  who  w^as  not  on  his  side.  Amongst  his  professed  friends 
they,  who  in  works  deny  him,  are  even  counted  as  enemies. 

What  a  hopeless  struggle  is  that  in  which  you  are  engaged!  Dis- 
comfiture, soon  or  late,  awaits  you.  Have  you  counsel  and  strength 
to  oppose  the  Sovereign  of  the  Universe?  Do  you  think  you  can  frus- 
trate the  counsels  of  Infinite  Wisdom  and  overcome  Omnipotence? 
Your  master  is  already  a  prisoner — your  chief  is  in  chains.  The  fire 
of  eternal  vengeance  is  already  kindled  for  Satan  and  all  his  subjects. 
Mad  in  his  disappointed  ambition,  and  implacable  in  his  hatred  of 
him  against  whom  he  rebelled,  he  only  seeks  to  gratify  his  own  malice 
by  involving  with  himself  in  irremediable  ruin  the  unhappy  victims 
of  his  seduction.  He  only  seeks  to  desolate  the  dominions  of  God, 
and  to  ruin  forever  his  fellow  creatures.  WMU  you,  then,  serve  your 
worst  enemy  and  war  against  your  best  friend? 

But  your  rebellion  can  effect  nothing  against  God.  His  arm  is  too 
strong  for  the  whole  creation.  You  can  not  defeat  his  counsels  nor 
stay  his  almighty  hand.  The  earth  on  which  you  stand  trembles  at 
his  rebuke;  the  foundations  of  the  hills  and  mountains  are  moved  and 
shaken  at  his  presence.  You  fight  against  yourselves.  God's  detes- 
tation of  your  course  arises  not  from  any  apprehension  that  you  can 
injure  him;  but  because  you  destroy  yourselves.     Every  triumph  which 


278  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

your  inordinate  desires  and  passions  gain  over  the  remonstrances  of. 
reason  and  conscience,  only  precipitates  you  into  deeper  and  deeper 
misery,  matures  you  for  perdition,  and  makes  it  essential  to  the  good 
order  and  happiness  of  the  universe  that  you  should  suffer  an  "ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of 
his  power." 

What,  then,  infatuates  you,  that  you  should  choose  death  rather 
than  life,  and  prefer  destruction  to  salvation?  "I  am  not  sure  that  the 
gospel  is  true;  I  love  my  companions,  and  I  can  not  see  any  criminality 
in  gratifying  those  passions  and  appetites  which  my  Creator  has 
planted  in  my  constitution." 

You  admit  there  is  a  God  your  Creator,  but  you  doubt  whether  the 
gospel  is  true!  What  an  abuse  of  reason  and  evidence!  Can  you 
infer  from  any  premises  in  your  possession,  that  He,  whose  creation 
man  is,  who  has  exhibited  to  the  eye  and  ear  of  man  so  much  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness  in  all  his  grand  designs  already  accomplished, 
and  daily  accomplishing,  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth,  teaching 
man  to  sustain  the  present  life,  to  anticipate  the  future,  and  to  provide 
for  it,  has  never  intelligibly  addressed  him  on  a  subject  of  incom- 
parably more  importance — his  own  ultimate  destiny!  That  God  should 
have  been  at  so  much  pains  to  elevate  man  in  nature — to  furnish  him 
with  such  an  organization — to  bestow  on  him  reason  and  speech, 
admirably  qualifying  him  to  acquire  and  communicate  instruction  on 
all  things  necessary  to  his  present  animal  enjoyments;  and  at  the 
same  time  to  have  never  communicated  to  him  any  thing  relative  to 
his  intellectual  nature — never  to  have  addressed  him  on  the  themes 
which,  as  a  rational  creature,  he  must  necessarily  most  of  all  desiro 
to  know;  to  have  done  everything  for  his  body  and  for  the  present, 
and  nothing  for  his  mind,  nor  for  the  future,  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
the  most  improbable  conceit  that  the  most  romantic  fancy  can  enter- 
tain. 

That  the  Creator  could  not  enlighten  him  on  these  topics  is  wholly 
inadmissable.  That  he  could,  and  would  not,  is  directly  contrary  to 
every  analogy  in  creation — contradictory  to  every  proof  we  have  of  his 
benevolence,  an  inexplicable  exception  to  the  whole  order  of  his  gov- 
ernment: for  he  has  provided  objects  for  every  sense — objects  for  every 
intellectual  power — objects  for  every  affection,  honorable  passion, 
appetite,  and  propensity  in  our  constitution;  but  on  your  hypothesis 
he  has  only  failed  in  that  which  is  infinitely  more  dear  to  us,  more 
consonant  to  our  whole  rational  nature,  and  most  essential  to  our  hap- 
piness!!    'Tis  most  contrary  to  reason.. 

But  the  folly  of  your  skepticism  is  still  more  glaring  when  we  open 
the  book  of  the  gospel  of  salvation.  In  the  history  of  Jesus  you  have 
the    fulfillment    of    a    thousand    predictions,    expressed    by    numerous 


THE    MILLESMAL    JJARBINGEK    ABRIDGED.  279 

prophets,  for  1,500  years  before  he  was  born.  These  recorded  prophe- 
cies were  in  the  possession  of  his  and  our  most  bitter  enemies  when  he 
appeared,  and  are  still  extant  in  their  hands.  How  can  you  dispose 
of  these?  All  antiquity  confirms  the  existence  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  i  i 
the  times  of  Augustus  and  Tiberius  Cesar.  No  contemporary  opponent 
denied  his  miracles:  they  explained  them  away,  but  questioned  not 
the  wonderful  works  which  he  wrought.  His  character  was  the  only 
perfect  and  unexceptionable  one  the  world  ever  saw,  either  in  print 
or  in  real  life;  and  yet  you  imagine  him  to  have  been  the  greatest  liar 
and  most  infamous  impostor  that  ever  lived.  You  must  admit  him  to 
have  been  the  teacher  of  everything  moral,  and  pure,  and  gocTTrke — to 
have  lived  the  most  exemplary  life — to  have  employed  his  whole  lifi 
in  doing  good — while,  to  countenance  your  skepticism,  you  must 
imagine  him  to  have  been  the  greatest  deceiver  and  most  blasphemous 
pretender  the  world  ever  saw!     Truly,  you  are  fond  of  paradox! 

His  Apostles,  too,  for  the  sake  of  being  accounted  the  offscourings 
of  the  world  and  the  filth  of  all  society — for  the  sake  of  poverty, 
contumely,  stripes,  imprisonment,  and  martyrdom,  you  imagine  trav- 
eled over  the  earth  teaching  virtue  and  holiness — discountenancing 
every  species  of  vice  and  immorality,  while  telling  the  most  impudent 
lies,  and  that,  too,  about  matters  of  palpable  fact,  about  which  no  man 
having  eyes  and  ears  could  be  mistaken!  How  great  your  credulity! 
How  weak  your  faith! 

And  to  consummate  the  whole,  you  admit  that  in  the  most  enlight- 
ened age,  and  amongst  the  most  disputatious  and  discriminating  popu- 
lation, both  Jewish,  Roman,  and  Grecian,  in  Jerusalem  itself,  the  very 
theatre  of  the  crucifixion  of  the  Chief,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  Samaria, 
and  in  all  the  great  towns  and  cities  of  the  whole  ancient  Roman 
Empire,  Eastern  and  Western,  these  rude  and  uncultivated  Galileans 
did  actually  succeed  in  persuading  hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons, 
of  all  ranks,  sexes,  ages,  and  intellects,  to  renounce  their  former  opin- 
icns  and  practices — to  encounter  proscription,  confiscation  of  goods, 
banishment,  and  even  death  itself  in  numerous  instances,  through 
faith  in  their  testimony,  while  everything  was  fresh,  and  when  the 
detection  of  any  fiction  or  fraud  was  most  easy! 

Now  if  it  were  possible  to  place  your  folly  in  an  attitude  still  more 
Inexcusable,  I  would  ask  you  to  show  what  there  is  in  the  gospel  that 
Is  not  infinitely  worthy  of  God  to  bestow,  and  of  man  to  receive' 
And  where  under  the  canopy  of  the  skies,  in  any  country,  language, 
or  age  of  time,  is  there  anything  that  confers  greater  honor  on  man, 
or  proposes  to  him  anything  more  worthy  of  his  acceptance  than  the 
gospel ? 

Could  there  have  been  a  more  acceptable  model  proposed,  after 
which  to  fashion  man,  than  that  after  which  he  was  originally  created? 


280  THm]    millennial    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

When  he  was  beguiled  and  apostatized  from  God,  could  there  have 
been  deputed  a  more  honorable  personage  to  effect  his  reconciliation 
to  God,  than  his  only  begotten  and  well  beloved  Son?  And  could  there 
even  be  imagined  a  more  delectable  destiny  allotted  to  man  than  an 
immortality  of  bliss  in  the  palace  of  this  vast  universe,  in  the  presence 
of  his  Father  and  his  God  forever  and  forever?  Now  with  all  these 
premises,  will  you  object  to  this  religion  that  it  requires  a  man 
to  be  pure  and  holy,  in  order  to  his  enjoyment  of  this  eternal 
salvation?  Then  lay  your  hand  upon  your  face,  and  blush,  and  be 
ashamed  forever! 

But  you  say  you  love  your  companions!  And  who  are  they?  Your 
fellow  rebels,  foolish  and  infatuated  as  yourselves.  The  drunkard,  the 
thief,  the  murderer,  love  their  companions,  the  partners  of  their  crimes. 
Conspirators  and  partisans  in  any  undertaking,  kindred  spirits  in 
guilty  and  daring  enterprise,  confirm  each  other  in  their  evil  machin- 
ations, and  either  from  mutual  interest  or  from  some  hateful  affinity 
in  evil  dispositions,  coalesce  and  league  together  in  bands  of  malicious 
depredation.  A  Cataline,  a  Jugurtha,  Robespierre,  had  their  confeder- 
ates. The  rakes,  the  libertines,  the  freebooters  of  every  color,  form 
their  own  fraternities  and  have  a  liking  of  some  sort  for  their  com 
panions.  But  wherein  does  your  attachment  to  your  companions  differ 
from  theirs?  A  congeniality  of  disposition,  a  similarity  of  likings  and 
dislikings,  all  springing  from  your  love  of  the  world  and  your  dislike 
of  the  authority  of  the  Messiah.  And  will  not  a  change  of  circum- 
stances convert  your  affection  into  hatred?  Soon  or  late,  if  you  do 
not  repent  and  turn  to  God,  you  that  are  leagued  in  the  friendships 
of  the  world,  those  friendships  arising  from  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  tha 
lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life,  will  not  only  become  enemies, 
but  mutual  tormentors  of  one  another.  Your  warmest  friends  in  your 
opposition  to  the  Son  of  God  will  become  King's  evidence  against  you, 
and  exasperate  the  flame  that  will  consume  you  forever  and  ever. 
Break  off,  then,  every  friendship,  alliance,  and  covenant  which  you 
have  formed  with  them  that  disdain  the  grace  of  God  and  contemn  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  and  form  an  everlasting  covenant  with  the  people 
of  God,  which  shall  never  be  forgotten.  Then,  indeed,  you  may  love 
your  companions  with  all  the  affection  of  your  hearts,  and  indulge  to 
the  utmost  every  sympathy  and  social  feeling  of  your  nature.  Then 
may  you  embrace,  in  all  the  ardor  of  fraternal  love,  those  kindred 
spirits  that  with  you  have  vowed  eternal  allegiance  to  the  gracious 
and  rightful  Sovereign  of  all  the  nations  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  Such  companions  are  worth  possessing,  and  their 
friendship  worth  cultivating  and  preserving  through  all  the  journey 
of  life;  for  it  will  be  renewed  beyond  the  Jordan,  and  flourish  with 
increasing  delight  through  the  countless  ages  of  eternity. 


THt:    AJILLI-JXMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  2iil 

But  you  have  said  that  the  gratification  of  all  the  impulses  and 
propensities  of  your  nature  must  l>e  innocent,  because  they  are  the 
creation  of  God,  and  were  sown  in  the  embryo  of  your  physical  consti- 
tution. If  under  the  control  of  that  light  and  reason  under  which  Go<l 
commanded  your  affections  and  appetites  to  move,  your  reasoning 
would  be  sound  and  safe;  but  if  they  have  usurped  a  tyranny  over 
your  judgment  and  captivated  your  reason,  they  are  not  to  be  gratified 
They  are  like  successful  rebels  that  have  dethroned  their  sovereign, 
and,  because  by  violence  and  fraud  in  possession  of  the  throne,  they 
plead  a  divine  right  to  wield  the  sceptre  over  their  dethroned  Prince. 
Such  is  the  meaning  of  the  plea  which  you  urge  in  favor  of  your  re- 
bellious affections.  When  man  rebelled  against  his  Creator,  the  beast? 
of  the  field,  till  then  under  his  dominion,  rebelled  against  him;  and 
all  his  passions,  affections,  and  propensities  partook  of  the  general  dis- 
order— of  that  wild  and  licentious  anarchy  which  ensued  upon  man's 
disobedience.  And  have  you  not  in  your  daily  observation — nay.  have 
you  not  in  your  own  experience,  irrefragable  evidence  that  the  uncon- 
trolled indulgence  of  even  the  instinctive  appetites,  as  well  as  the 
gratification  of  inordinate  passions  and  affections,  necessarily  issue  in 
the  destruction  of  the  physical  constitution  of  man.  Is  not  the  control 
of  reason,  is  not  the  exercise  of  discretion  in  the  license  of  every  animal 
indulgence  essential  to  the  health  and  life  of  man?  Then  why  crave 
an  exemption  from  the  universal  law  of  human  existence,  in  favor  of 
that  demoralizing  course  of  indulgence  which  you  fain  call  innocent 
in  morals,  though  in  physics  evidently  destructive  to  animal  organi- 
zation? 

When  reconciled  to  God  through  the  gospel,  the  peace  of  God  which 
passes  understanding  reigning  in  the  heart,  all  is  order  and  harmony 
within.  Then,  under  the  control  of  enlightened  and  sanctified  reason, 
all  the  passions,  appetites,  and  instincts  of  our  nature,  like  the  planets 
round  the  sun,  move  in  their  respective  orbits  in  the  most  perfect  good 
order,  preserving  a  perfect  balance  in  all  the  principles  and  powers 
of  human  action.  Pleasures  without  alloy  are  then  felt  and  enjoyed 
from  a  thousand  sources,  from  which,  in  the  tumult  and  disorder  of 
rebellion,  every  transgressor  is  debarred.  It  is  then  found  that  there 
is  not  a  supernumerary  passion,  affection,  nor  appetite  in  man^not 
one  that  adds  not  something  to  his  enjoyment — not  one  that  may  not 
be  made  an  instrument  of  righteousness,  a  means  of  doing  good  to 
others,  as  well  as  of  enjoying  good  yourselves.  Why  not,  then,  lay 
down  the  weapons  of  your  rebellion,  and  be  at  peace  with  God,  with 
your  fellow  creatures,  and  with  yourselves? 

"Admitting,  then,  that  the  gospel  is  true — that  in  my  present  state 
and  standing  1  am  an  alien  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  that  I 
wished  to  become  a  citizen,  where  shall  I  find  this  kingdom  of  heaven. 


282  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  how  shall  I  be  constituted  a  citizen  thereof?"  Well,  indeed,  may 
you  admit  the  gospel  to  be  true,  both  on  account  of  what  it  is  in  itself, 
and  the  evidence  which  sustains  it.  Only  suppose  it  to  be  false — 
extinguish  all  the  light  which  it  sheds  on  the  human  race — make  void 
all  its  promises — annul  all  its  hopes — eradicate  from  the  human  breast 
all  the  motives  which  it  imparts;  and  what  remains  to  explain  the 
universe,  to  develop  the  moral  character  of  God,  to  dissipate  the  gloom 
which  envelops  in  eternal  night  the  destiny  of  man,  to  solace  and 
cheer  him  during  the  incessant  struggle  of  life,  to  soothe  the  bed  of 
affliction  and  death,  and  to  countervail  that  inward  dread  and  horror 
of  falling  into  nothing — of  being  forever  lost  in  the  promiscuous  wreck 
of  nature — of  sinking  down  into  the  grave,  the  food  of  worms,  the 
prey  of  an  eternal  death? 

It  is  like  annihilating  the  sun  in  the  heavens.  An  eternal  night 
ensues.  There  is  no  beauty,  form,  nor  comeliness  in  creation.  The 
universe  is  in  ruins.  The  world  without  the  Bible  is  a  universe  with- 
out a  sun.  The  Atheist  is  but  an  atom  of  matter  in  motion,  belonging 
to  no  system,  amenable  to  none,  without  a  destiny,  without  an  object 
to  live  or  to  die.  He  boasts  there  is  none  to  punish  him:  but  then 
there  is  none  to  help  him — none  to  reward  him.  He  has  no  Father, 
proprietor,  or  ruler — no  filial  affection,  no  sense  of  obligation,  no 
gratitude,  no  comfort  in  reflection,  no  joy  in  anticipation.  If  he  can 
not  be  blamed,  he  can  not  be  praised — if  he  can  not  be  praised,  he 
can  not  be  honored — and  man  without  honor  is  more  wretched  than 
the  beasts  that  perish.    Unenviable  mortal! 

What  an  abortion  is  the  system  of  nature,  if  man  lives  not  again! 
'Tis  a  creation  for  the  sake  of  destruction.  'Tis  an  infinite  series  of 
designs,  ending  in  nothing.  'Tis  a  universe  of  blanks,  vdthout  a  single 
prize.  It  can  not  be.  The  Bible  is  necessary  to  the  interpretation  of 
nature.  It  is  the  only  comment  on  nature — on  proAadence — on  man. 
Man  without  it,  and  without  the  hope  of  immortality,  has  nothing 
to  rouse  him  into  action.  He  is  a  savage,  a  Hottentot,  a  cannibal,  a 
worm.  You  are  compelled,  then,  to  admit  that  the  gospel  is  true, 
of  Nature. 
unless  you  put  out  the  eye  of  Reason,  and  refuse  to  hear  the  voice 

But  is  it  not  a  happy  necessity  which  compels  your  belief  in  God, 
and  in  his  Son  the  renovator  of  the  Universe?  It  opens  to  you  all  the 
mysteries  of  creation,  the  arcana  of  the  temple  of  nature,  and  inducts 
you  to  the  fountain  of  being  and  of  bliss.  It  inspires  you  with  motives 
of  high  and  lofty  enterprise,  stimulates  you  to  manly  action,  and 
points  out  a  prize  worthy  of  the  best  efforts  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 
Is  it  not,  then,  "a  credible  saying,  and  worthy  of  universal  acceptance, 
that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief"? 


Tllh:    MlLLE2^NIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  283 

But  you  ask,  "Where  shall  the  kiugdom  of  heaven  be  found,  and 
how  may  you  be  constituted  a  citizen  of  it?"  The  Prophets  and  the 
Apostles  must  be  your  guide  in  deciding  these  great  questions.  Mosea 
in  the  law,  all  the  Prophets,  and  all  the  Apostles  point  you  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  takes  away  the  sin  of  the  world — the  Apostle  of  the 
Father  Almighty — the  divinely  constituted  Chief  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  He  has  submitted  his  claims  to  your  examination — he  has 
invited  you  to  test  all  his  pretensions — and  to  the  humble  and  docile 
he  has  tendered  all  necessary  assistance  in  deciding  upon  his  person 
and  mission. 

His  character  is  so  familiar,  so  condescending,  so  full  of  all  grace 
and  goodness,  that  all  may  approach  him.  The  halt,  the  maimed,  tho 
deaf,  the  dumb,  the  blind,  find  in  him  a  friend  and  physician  indeed. 
None  importunes  his  aid  in  vain.  His  ears  are  always  open  to  the 
tale  of  woe.  His  eye  streams  with  sympathy  on  every  object  of  dis- 
tress. He  invites  all  the  wretched,  and  repulses  none  who  implore 
relief.  He  chides  only  the  proud,  and  kindly  receives  and  blesses  thd 
humble.  He  invites  and  beseeches  the  weary,  the  heavy  laden,  the 
broken  hearted,  the  oppressed,  and  all  the  sons  of  want  and  misfortune 
to  come  to  him,  and  tenders  relief  to  all. 

In  his  official  dignity  he  presides  over  tlie  universe.  He  is  the 
High  Priest  of  God  and  the  Prophet  and  Messenger  of  Peace.  He  has 
the  key  of  David;  he  opens  and  shuts  the  Paradise  of  God.  He  is  thtj 
only  Potentate,  and  has  the  power  of  granting  remission  of  all  sins  to 
all  who  obey  him. 

To  receive  him  in  his  personal  glory  and  official  dignity  and 
supremacy,  as  the  Messiah  of  God,  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father — 
to  know  him  in  his  true  and  proper  character,  is  the  only  prerequisite 
to  the  obedience  of  faith.  He  that  thus  accredits  him  is  not  far  from 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

To  assume  him  as  your  Prophet,  your  High  Priest,  and  your  King; 
to  submit  to  him  in  these  relations,  being  immersed  into  his  death,  will 
translate  you  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Why  not,  then,  gladly  and 
immediately  yield  him  the  admiration  of  your  understanding  and  the 
homage  of  your  heart?  Why  not  now  enter  into  the  possession  of  all 
the  riches,  and  fullness,  and  excellence  of  the  kingdom?  He  com- 
mands all  men  to  repent — he  beseeches  every  sinner  whom  he  addresses 
in  his  word,  to  receive  pardon  and  eternal  life  as  a  gracious  gift. 

Can  you  doubt  his  power  to  save,  to  instruct  and  to  sanctify  you 
for  heaven?  Can  you  doubt  his  condescending  mercy  and  compa.sslon? 
Will  not  he  that  pitied  the  blind  Bartimeus.  that  condole^l  with  the 
widow  of  Nain,  that  wept  with  Mary  and  Martha  at  the  grave  of 
Lazarus,    that    heard    the    plea    of    the    Syrophenician    woman,    that 


284  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

cleansed  the  supplicating  leper,  that  compassionated  the  famishing  mul- 
titudes, and  looked  with  pity  (even  in  the  agonies  of  the  cross)  upon 
an  importuning  thief,  have  pity  upon  you  and  every  returning  prodigal 
who  sues  for  mercy  at  the  gate  of  his  kingdom? 

Is  there  in  the  universe  one  whom  you  can  believe  with  more  assur- 
ance than  the  Faithful  and  True  Witness,  who,  in  the  presence  of 
Pontius  Pilate,  witnessed  a  good  confession  at  the  hazard  of  his  life? 
Is  there  any  person  in  heaven,  on  earth,  or  under  the  earth,  more 
worthy  of  your  confidence  than  the  sinner's  friend — than  he  who 
always,  and  in  all  circumstances,  bore  testimony  to  the  truth?  When 
did  he  ever  violate  his  word,  or  suffer  his  promise  to  fail?  Who  ever 
repented  of  his  confidence  in  Jesus,  or  of  relying  implicitly  upon  his 
word?    Who  ever  was  put  to  shame  because  of  confidence  in  him? 

Who  can  offer  such  inducements  to  obedience  to  his  authority  as 
the  Saviour  of  the  world?  Who  has  such  power  to  bless?  He  has  all 
authority  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  He  has  power  to  forgive  sins,  to 
raise  the  dead,  to  bestow  immortality  and  eternal  life,  and  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead.  And  has  he  not  tendered  all  his  official  authority 
to  every  one  who  submits  to  his  government,  and  who  by  him  is 
reconciled  to  God?  If  he  have  wisdom  and  power  divine,  has  he  not 
pledged  these  to  the  relief,  guidance,  and  benefit  of  his  people?  Who 
can  injure  them  under  his  protection — condemn  whom  he  justifies — 
criminate  whom  he  pardons — or  snatch  out  of  his  hands  those  who 
betake  themselves  to  his  mercy? 

Was  there  ever  love  like  his  love — compassion  like  his  compassion 
— or  condescension  like  his  condescension?  Who  ever  couid — who  ever 
did  humble  himself  like  the  Son  of  God?  On  whose  cheek  ever  flowed 
tears  of  purer  sympathy  for  human  woe,  than  those  he  shed?  Whose 
bowels  ever  moved  with  such  compassion  as  that  which  dissolved  his 
heart  in  tender  mercies  for  the  afflicted  sons  and  daughters  of  men? 
Who  ever  for  his  friends  endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself;  submitted  to  such  indignities;  sustained  such  accumulated 
sorrows  and  griefs;  suffered  such  agonies  of  mind  and  body,  as  those 
which  he  endured  in  giving  his  life  an  offering  for  his  enemies?  For- 
saken by  his  God,  abandoned  by  all  his  friends,  deserted  of  every  stay, 
surrounded  by  the  fiercest  enemies,  the  most  implacable  foes,  whose 
hearts  were  harder  than  adamant,  insulting  the  very  pangs  which  they 
Inflicted,  he  expired  upon  the  accursed  tree!  The  heavens  blushed  at 
the  sight — the  sun  covered  his  face — the  earth  trembled — the  rocks 
split — the  veil  of  the  cemple  was  rent  from  top  to  bottom — and 
graves  opened.  All  nature  stood  horror-stricken  when  Roman  soldiers, 
instigated  by  blood-thirsty  priests,  nailed  him  to  the  cross — when  the 
chief  priests,  scribes,  and  elders  in  derision  said,  "He  saved  others;  can 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  283 

not  he  save  himself?"  The  person  wlio  perceives  not,  who  feels  not 
the  eloquence  of  his  love  consummated  in  hLs  death — the  tenderness  cf 
bis  entreaties  and  expostulations,  is  not  to  be  reasoned  with — is  not  to 
be  moved  by  human  power.  Will  you  not,  then,  honor  your  reason 
by  honoring  the  Son  of  God — by  giving  up  your  understanding,  your 
wills,  your  affections  to  the  teachings  of  the  Good  Spirit — to  the  g\iid- 
ance  of  his  love?  Then,  and  only  then,  can  you,  will  you  feel  yourselves 
safe,  secure,  and  happy. 

Need  you  to  be  reminded  how  much  you  are  indebted  to  his  long- 
suffering  patience  already — to  his  benevolence  in  all  the  gifts  and  Iwun- 
ties  of  his  providence  vouchsafed  to  you?  How  many  days  and  nights 
has  he  guarded,  sustained  and  succored  you?  Has  he  not  saved  you 
from  ten  thousand  dangers — from  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  dark- 
ness secretly,  and  from  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noon  day?  Who  can 
tell  but  he  has  lengthened  out  your  unprofitable  existence  to  tliis  very 
hour  that  you  might  now  repent  of  all  your  sins,  turn  to  God  with 
your  whole  heart,  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  your  past  transgres- 
sions, be  adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  yet  receive  an  inheritance 
among  all  the  sanctified?  Arise,  then,  in  the  strength  of  Israel's  God 
— accept  salvation  at  his  hands — enter  into  his  kingdom,  and  be  for- 
ever blessed.  You  will  not,  you  can  not  repent  of  such  a  step,  of  such 
a  noble  surrender  of  yourself  while  life  endures,  in  the  hour  of  death, 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  nor  during  the  endless  succession  of  ages  in 
eternity.     To-day,  then,  hear  his  voice:   to-morrow  may  be  forever  too 

late!     All  things  are  ready Come! Saints  on  earth,  and  angels 

in  heaven — apostles,  prophets,  and  martyrs  will  rejoice  over  you — and 
you  will  rejoice  with  them  forever  and  forever.    Amen! 


BOOK  yi. 

EELIGIOE"  AND    CHRISTIANITY. 


BOOK    YI. 

RELIGTOX    AND    CIirvISTIANITY. 

The  Harbinger  of  1835,  page  154,  et  seq.,  contained: 
RELIGION. 

Preparatory  to  our  new  series  on  the  reasons  of  our  faith  and  hope 
in  Cod,  we  present  our  readers  a  brief  view  of  Mahometanism,  Juda- 
ism, and  Christianity,  as  at  present  existing  in  the  world. 

MAHOMETANISM. 

Mahometanism,  or  Islamism,  is  the  religion  founded  upon  the 
Koran  of  Mahomet.  It  may  be  considered  a  mixture  of  Judaism  and 
Christianity,  with  some  fanciful  embellishments.  Mahometans  are 
divided  into  two  sects,  those  of  Omar  and  Ali.  The  former  prevails 
in  Turkey  and  Arabia,  the  latter  in  Persia.  There  is  a  fixed  hostility 
between  these  two  divisions  of  Mahometan  faith.  Absurd,  false,  and 
sensual  as  is  this  religion,  it  yet  exerts  its  influence  over  at  least  100,- 
000,000  of  people,  among  whom  are  the  inhabitants  of  Turkey,  Arabia, 
Persia,  Tartary,  and  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Africa.  There 
is  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  the  Mahometan  religion,  at  the 
present  time,  i.s  rapidly  declining  with  the  decline  of  power  in  those 
nations  who  have  hitherto  sustained  it. 

This  vast  company  of  religious  professors  take  their  name  from 
Mahomet,  who  was  born  at  Mecca,  a  city  in  Arabia  Felix,  in  571.  The 
circumstances  of  Mahomet's  early  life  were  such  as  presented  no  flat- 
tering prospects  of  grandeur,  and  no  probable  views  of  ambition  to 
his  future  life.  He  was  illiterate,  obscure,  and  very  poor,  till  he  mar- 
ried Cadigha,  a  widow  of  considerable  property,  for  whom  he  had 
acted,  for  a  number  of  years,  as  a  mercantile  agent,  so  much  to  her 
satisfaction,  that  she  in  return  gave  him  the  command  of  her  property 
and  person.  This  alliance,  which  took  place  in  the  25th  year  of  his 
age.  raised  him  to  an  equality  with  the  richest  citizens  in  Mecca,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  his  future  fortune;  and  from  this  i)eriod.  It  is 
supposed,  ho  began  to  meditate  those  schemes  which  raised  him  to 
eminence  and  power. 

Character  of  Mahomet. — This  is  differently  represented  by  different 
writers.  His  followers  of  course  consider  him  as  the  model  of  per- 
fection, and  as  superior  to  all  other  men  who  ever  lived  upon  the 
earth ;  a.s  the  chosen  and  favored  instrument  of  God  for  the  greatest 
good  to  mankind.     Some  describe  him  as  a  man  of  the  most  consum- 

289 


290  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

mate  policy,  and  possessing  the  most  fertile  genius  foi*  fixing  on  aux- 
iliaries for  the  accomplishment  of  his  ambitious  designs.  Others 
represent  him  as  a  wild  enthusiast,  whose  claims  to  celestial  visions 
were  like  those  of  many  hair-brained  pretenders  whose  schemes  have 
fallen  into  oblivion,  for  the  want  of  those  favorable  conjunctures 
which  led  on  the  Arabian  Prophet  to  authority  and  fame.  Mahomet 
was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  penetration  and  sagacity,  and  was  thor- 
oughly versed  in  all  the  arts  of  insinuation  and  intrigue.  He  made  a 
fine  personal  appearance,  and  was  fond  of  being  thought  to  look  like 
Abraham;  was  liberal  to  the  poor,  courteous  to  his  equals,  and  conde- 
scending to  his  inferiors.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  person  of  few 
words,  of  an  equal,  cheerful  temper,  and  very  pleasant  and  familiar  to 
his  friends.  As  to  learning,  he  had  none,  but  this  he  turned  to  a  useful 
account,  by  insisting  that  the  writings  he  produced  as  revelations  from 
God,  could  not  possibly  be  a  forgery  of  his  own.  And  his  followers, 
also,  instead  of  being  ashamed  of  their  master's  ignorance  of  literature, 
gloried  in  it  as  an  evident  proof  of  his  divine  mission,  and  scrupled 
not  to  call  him  the  illiterate  Prophet. 

His  fondness  for  women,  by  his  own  confession,  was  beyond  all 
bounds  of  moderation,  and  his  many  salvos  in  his  Koran  for  his  con- 
cupiscence and  concubinage,  are  disgusting  to  every  virtuous  mind. 
The  multiplication  of  his  wives,  and  his  fond  dalliance  with  female 
disciples,  settled  down,  in  his  later  years,  into  a  sensual  grossness, 
which,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  polygamy  of  the  times,  was  alto- 
gether incompatible  with  that  sainted  eminence  and  celestial  unction 
of  which  he  made  such  perpetual  and  ridiculous  boasts. 

Mahomet  limited  his  followers  to  the  number  of  four  wives — with 
the  liberty  of  keeping  as  many  concubines  as  they  could  maintain; 
while  he  himself  married  fifteen,  or,  as  others  say,  twenty-one  wives, 
besides  having  concubines.  Of  these,  five  died  before  him,  six  he 
repudiated,  and  ten  were  alive  at  his  death.  But  his  having  this  num- 
ber of  women  was  in  consequence  of  a  divine  indulgence  with  which 
a  God  of  infinite  purity  and  justice,  according  to  his  account,  had 
favored   him. 

Origin  and  Character  of  the  Koran. — It  was  not  till  Mahomet  wa? 
forty  years  old,  that  he  took  upon  him  the  title  of  the  Apostle  of  God, 
and  began  to  publish  the  revelations  which,  according  to  his  account, 
were  communicated  to  him  from  heaven  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  These 
celestial  communications  Gabriel  continued  to  make  to  him  for  thft 
space  of  twenty-three  years,  directly  from  the  archives  of  heaven, 
where  the  originals  were  deposited.  They  were  placed  in  the  chest  of 
his  Apostleship;  and  from  this  mass  of  revelations  the  Koran  was 
compiled  after  Mahomet's  death,  by  Abubeker,  one  of  his  earliest  and 
most  illustrious  disciples.     This  is  the  Mahometan  account  of  the  ori- 


THE    MILLi:\MAL    U AiUil SGlJIi    ABRIDGED.  291 

gin  of  the  Koran;  but  others  say.  that  instead  of  writing  the  chapters 
of  this  famous  book  by  the  dictation  of  Gabriel,  he  was  assisted  in 
their  composition  by  a  Persian  Jew  and  a  Christian  Monk,  by  whose 
aid  he  acquired  such  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian  religions. 

The  Koran  is  a  mixture  of  seriousness  and  levity;  of  moral  pre- 
cepts and  ceremonial  details;  of  sublime  descriptions  of  the  character 
of  God,  and  of  the  most  grovelling  and  frivolous  illustrations  of  the 
duty  of  man:  in  one  passage  we  read  of  the  exalted  attributes  of 
Jehovah,  and  of  the  terrors  of  the  day  of  judgment;  and  in  the  next 
We  meet  with  some  ridiculous  and  offensive  directions  for  Mussulmans 
to  adjust  collisions  among  their  concubines  and  wives.  Well  might 
Gibbon  say  of  the  Mahometan  Oracles,  that  "they  sometimes  crawl  in 
the  dust,  and  at  other  times  are  lost  in  the  clouds." 

The  professed  object  of  the  Koran  was  to  replant  the  true  and 
ancient  religion  professed  by  Adam,  Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  Jesus,  and 
ail  the  Prophets;  to  destroy  the  idolatry  of  the  Pagan  Arabs,  and  the 
superstitions  of  Jews  and  Christians.  A  mixture  of  all  these  religions 
are  discoverable  in  this  book.  Much  is  said  in  it  of  the  principal 
characters  and  events  contained  in  the  Scriptures;  but  both  Jews  and 
Christians  are  called  idolators;  the  Patriarchs  and  Apostles,  according 
to  the  Koran,  were  Mahometans;  the  angels  worshipped  Adam;  and 
the  fallen  angels  were  driven  from  heaven  for  not  doing  so;  Christ 
was  neither  God  nor  the  Son  of  God,  and  assured  Mahomet  of  this 
in  a  conference  with  the  Almighty  and  himself;  and  it  furthermore 
asserts  that  Christ  was  not  crucified  on  Mount  Calvary,  when  he 
appeared  to  suffer,  but  that  another  person  was  crucified  in  his  stead, 
while  God  took  him  to  himself. 

Doctrines  of  the  Koran. — The  two  grand  principles  of  the  Mahom- 
etan religion  are  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  divine  mission  of  Mahomet. 
There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mahomet  is  his  Prophet,  are  familiar 
sayings  among  his  people;  idolatry  and  image  worship  of  every  kind 
are  offensive  to  them;  they  made  awful  havoc  with  the  temples  of  the 
heathen  gods,  and  all  the  trumpery  of  paganism  wherever  they  car- 
ried their  victorious  arms.  The  Catholics  have  ever  found  them  subtle 
and  difficult  opponents  on  account  of  the  show  of  image  worship  in 
their  religious  rites.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  the  Mahometans 
reject  in  terms  of  the  greatest  disdain,  being  forbidden  in  a  number 
of  places  in  the  Koran  to  believe  it.  The  doctrine  of  predestination 
they  carry  to  a  downright  fatalism,  and  the  merit  of  good  works,  oa 
the  other  hand,  they  magnify  in  the  highest  strains. 

According  to  the  Koran,  Paradise  is  adorned  with  everything 
costly  and  magnificent — there  the  faithful  shall  enjoy  the  most  beau- 
tiful women  who  shall  not  cast  an  oyo  on  anv  but  themselves,  with 


292  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

whom  they  shall  enjoy  the  continual  pleasures  of  love  to  all  eternity; 
they  shall  drink  the  most  delicious  liquors,  and  the  most  pleasant 
wines.  There  will  not  only  be  marriage,  but  servitude  in  the  next 
world,  and  the  very  meanest  in  Paradise  will  have  eighty  thousand 
servants,  and  seventy-two  wives  of  a  celestial  kind,  besides  the  wives 
he  had  in  this  world:  he  will  have  a  tent  erected  for  him  of  pearls, 
hyacinths,  and  emeralds.  And  to  crown  the  whole,  if  the  faithful  in 
Paradise  are  desirous  of  issue,  it  shall  be  conceived,  bom,  and  grow 
up  in  the  space  of  an  hour.  These  are  a  few  of  the  descriptions  of  the 
joys  of  that  Paradise  to  which  the  millions  of  Mahometans  look  for- 
ward with  the  utmost  confidence  and  delight. 

Spread  of  the  Mahometan  Religion. — This  at  first  was  effected  by 
argument  and  persuasion;  but  after  the  Prophet  arrived  at  power, 
these  gentle  methods  were  exchanged  for  those  of  conquest  and  war. 
And  the  terror  of  his  arms,  together  with  the  fascinating  allurements 
of  the  fancied  Paradise  of  the  Koran,  conspired  to  give  the  most  unex- 
ampled rapidity  to  the  spread  of  the  new  religion;  so  that  in  less  than 
a  century,  Mahomet  and  his  succeeding  Generals  had  subdued  a  far 
greater  extent  of  territory  than  the  Romans  conquered  in  eight  hun- 
dred years. 

In  addition  to  the  agreeableness  of  his  doctrines  to  the  corrupt  pro- 
pensities of  human  nature,  this  warlike  Prophet  taught  his  followers 
that  "a  drop  of  blood  shed  in  the  cause  of  God,  or  a  night  spent  in 
arms,  is  of  more  avail  than  two  months  of  fasting  and  prayer.  Who- 
soever falls  in  battle,  his  sins  are  forgiven  at  the  day  of  judgment;  his 
wounds  shall  be  as  resplendent  as  vermillion,  and  odoriferous  as 
musk;  and  the  loss  of  his  limbs  shall  be  supplied  by  wings  of  angels 
and  cherubim." 

The  first  disciples  of  Mahomet  were  called  Saracens,  and  among 
them  were  some  of  the  most  famous  warriors  in  the  world. 

Mahometanism  distributes  itself  into  two  general  parts — faith  and 
practice:  the  former  contains  six  branches,  viz.:  belief  in  God;  in  his 
angels;  in  his  Scriptures;  in  his  Prophets;  in  the  resurrection  and 
final  judgment,  and  the  divine  decrees.  In  the  second  part  are 
included  prayer  with  washing,  alms,  fasting,  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and 
circumcision.  Among  the  negative  precepts  of  this  religion,  are  the 
prohibitions  of  wine,  by  which  are  meant  all  strong  drinks,  gaming, 
usury,  the  eating  of  blood  and  swine's  flesh,  and  whatever  dies  of 
itself,  etc.,  etc. 

Friday  is  observed  by  the  Mahometans  as  their  Sabbath,  because 
they  believe  it  was  on  that  day  that  Mahomet  fled  from  Mecca  ta 
Medina. 

They  defer  the  circumcision  of  their  children  till  they  can  distinctly 
pronounce  the  two  leading  articles  of  their  faith — "There  is  no  God 


TUB    MILLEXXIAL    HAnBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  293 

but  God.  and  Mahomet  is  his  Prophet;"  or  till  any  convenient  time 
between  the  age  of  6  and  IG. 

The  Mahometans  have  an  established  priesthood  and  a  numerous 
body  of  clergymen;  their  spiritual  head  in  Turkey,  whose  power  is 
not  inferior  to  the  Roman  Pontiff,  is  regarded  as  the  oracle  of  sanctity 
and  wisdom.  Their  houses  of  worship  are  denominated  mosques,  many 
of  which  are  very  magnificent,  and  very  richly  endowed. 

The  Mahometan  priests  who  perform  the  rites  of  their  public  wor- 
ship are  called  Imams;  and  they  have  a  set  of  ministers  called  Shekhs. 
who  preach  every  Friday,  much  in  the  manner  of  Christian,  preachers. 
The  Mahometans,  like  the  Christians,  are  divided  and  subdivided 
into  many  sects  and  parties;  but  the  two  leading  sects  are  the  Sonnites 
and  Schiites,  who,  notwithstanding  they  both  believe  in  the  Prophet 
and  his  religion,  yet  anathematize  each  other  as  abominable  heretics, 
and  as  farther  from  the  truth  than  either  Christians  or  Jews.  The 
Schiites  are  the  followers  of  Ali,  who  reside  chiefly  in  Persia;  the 
Sonnites  are  the  disciples  of  Abubeker,  among  whom  are  the  Turks, 
Arabians,  etc. 

This  religion  obliges  its  disciples  to  pray  five  times  a  day.  anl 
imposes  upon  them  a  burdensome  ritual,  which  all  devout  Mussulmans 
scrupulously  observe.  They  are  obliged  to  fast  the  whole  of  the  month 
Ramadan  or  Ramazan,  from  early  in  the  morning  until  the  evening 
twilight. 

JUDAISM. 

Judaism  is  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  and  is  divided  into  two  sects, 
the  Karaites,  who  acknowledge  as  divine  only  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament;  and  the  Rabbinists,  who  attribute  an  authority  almost 
divine  to  the  collection  known  under  the  name  of  the  Talmud.  The 
Jews  are  scattered  throughout  Europe,  and  many  parts  of  Asia.  Africa, 
and  America.     Their  whole  number  is  supposed  to  be  about  3.000.000. 

As  this  persecuted  race,  who  were  formerly  continually  wasted  and 
destroyed,  have  lived  in  a  state  of  tranquility  for  a  century  past,  some 
writers  suppose  their  present  number  at  six  or  seven  millions. 

This  people  constitute  one  of  the  most  singular  and  interesting 
portions  of  mankind;  for  about  three  thousand  years  they  have  existed 
as  a  distinct  nation,  and  what  is  remarkable,  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  this  time  they  have  been  in  bondage  and  captivity. 

The  calling  of  Abraham,  the  father  and  founder  of  this  nation;  the 
legislation  of  Moses;  the  priesthood  of  Aaron;  the  Egyptian  bondage; 
the  conquest  of  Canaan;  the  history  of  the  Jews  to  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah;  and  their  cruel  and  injurious  treatment  of  this  august  and 
innocent  personage,  are  facts  which  the  Scriptures  disclose,  and  with 
which  it  is  presumed  every  reader  is  well   acquainted. 


294  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  siege  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  the  Roman  Gen- 
eral, was  one  of  the  most  awful  and  distressing  scenes  that  mortals 
ever  witnessed,  and  the  details,  as  given  by  Josephus,  are  enough  to 
make  humanity  shudder.  During  the  siege,  which  lasted  nearly  five 
months,  upwards  of  eleven  hundred  thousand  Jews  perished;  John  and 
Simon,  the  two  Generals  of  the  Hebrews,  who  were  accounted  the  ring- 
leaders of  the  rebellious  nation,  with  seven  hundred  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  vigorous  of  the  Jewish  youth,  were  reserved  to  attend  the 
victors'  triumphal  chariot.  The  number  taken  captive  during  this 
fatal  contest,  amounted  to  ninety-seven  thousand;  many  of  whom  were 
sent  into  Syria  and  the  other  provinces  to  be  exposed  in  public  theatres 
to  fight  like  gladiators,  or  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  The  number 
of  those  destroyed  in  the  whole  war,  of  which  the  taking  of  the  holy 
city  was  the  bloody  and  tremendous  consummation,  is  computed  to 
have  been  one  million  four  hundred  and  sixty  thousand. 

For  about  eighteen  hundred  years,  this  wonderful  people  have 
maintained  their  peculiarities  of  religion,  language,  and  domestic 
habits,  among  Pagans,  Mahometans,  and  Christians;  and  have  suf- 
fered a  continued  series  of  reproaches,  privations,  and  miseries,  which 
have  excited  the  admiration  and  astonishment  of  all  who  have  reflected 
on  their  condition. 

False  Messiahs. — The  constant  and  fond  expectations  of  the  Jews 
of  a  coming  Messiah,  who  shall  deliver  them  from  bondage  and  cap- 
tivity, and  lead  them  in  triumph  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  their  ancient 
favorite  abode,  has  involved  them  in  a  succession  of  the  grossest  impo- 
sitions, and  most  calamitous  disappointments.  An  account  of  all  the 
false  Messiahs  since  the  true  one  was  cruelly  and  wickedly  rejected, 
would  fill  a  volume.  The  strange  infatuation  of  this  nation  has  led 
them  in  many  cases  to  rally  round  the  standards  of  the  most  impious 
and  hair-brained  pretenders  to  the  high  office  of  the  Messiahship. 

The  history  of  this  people  certainly  forms  a  striking  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  divine  revelation.  They  are  a  living  and  perpetual  miracle 
continuing  to  subsist  as  a  distinct  and  peculiar  race  for  upwards  of 
three  thousand  years,  intermixed  among  almost  all  the  nations  of  the 
world — flowing  forward  in  a  full  and  continued  stream,  like  the  waters 
of  the  Rhone,  without  mixing  with  the  waves  of  the  expansive  lak<» 
through  which  the  passage  lies  to  the  ocean  of  eternity. 

CHRISTIANITY. 

Christianity  is  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  in  the 
world  more  than  1,800  years  ago,  and  by  the  most  astonishing  miracles 
gave  evidence  that  his  mission  was  divine. 

Strictly  speaking,  none  are  Christians  but  those  who  are  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  Christ,   agreeably  to  the   declaration  of  Scripture, 


THE    illLLENNIAL    IJAJUUSGER    ABRIDGED.  295 

"If  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  liis"  (Rom. 
viii.  'J).  But  there  is  another  sense  in  which  whole  nations  are 
denominated  Christians,  viz.:  where  Christianity  is  the  received  relig- 
ion, in  opposition  to  all  other  religions.  In  this  sense  we  shall  use 
the  term  in  treating  of  the  various  religions  of  the  earth  in  this 
department  of  our  work. 

Christianity  is  divided  into  three  portions — the  Greek  church, which 
is  established  by  law  in  Russia,  prevails  in  Greece,  Hungary,  and  part 
of  Turkey,  and  embraces  70.000,000  people.  The  Roman  Catholic, 
Latin,  or  Western  church,  maintains  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  pre- 
vails in  many  parts  of  Europe,  and  has  a  considerable  number  of  fol- 
lowers in  North  America.  In  some  of  the  West  India  islands,  in 
Mexico,  Guatemala,  and  South  America,  it  is  the  established  religion. 
The  whole  number  of  Catholics  may  be  estimated  at  116.000,000.  The 
Protestants  are  those  who  protest  against  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  take  the  Bible  as  their  guide.  They  may  be  comprised  under 
eleven  general  heads,  aa  follows: — Lutherans,  Episcopalians,  Presby- 
terians, Congregationalists,  Moravians,  Baptists,  Methodists,  Friends 
or  Quakers,  Universalists,  Swedenborgians,  and  Shakers.  These  gen- 
eral divisions  are  subdivided  into  forty  or  fifty  smaller  divisions.  The 
Protestant  religion  in  its  various  forms  prevails  in  the  United  States, 
England,  Scotland,  Wales,  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Norway,  Prus- 
sia, etc. 

The  following  table  shows  the  estimates  of  Hassel  and  Malte-Brun 
of  the  various  religions: 

ACCORDING    TO   HASSEL. 

Pagans 561,829.300 

Christians 252,565,700 

Mahometans 1 20,105,000 

Jews 3,930,000 

Total.     938,421,000 

DIVISIONS    OF    CHRISTIAX.S. 

Roman  Catholics 134,732,000 

Greek  Church 56,011.000 

Protestants 55,791.000 

Monophysites 3.865.000 

Armenians 1.799.000 

Nestorians,  etc 367.000 


Total,     252.565,700 
In  1837,  page  87,  we  have  the  following: 


296  THI]    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

THE  POWER  OP  RELIGION. 

Every  object  of  contemplation  may  be  viewed  in  various  attitudes 
and  relations,  because  no  created  thing  exists  only  for  its  own  sake. 
There  are  as  many  dependencies  as  creatures  in  the  universe,  and  con- 
sequently as  many  relations.  The  mighty  whole  is  but  the  aggregate 
of  innumerable  parts;  and  of  all  these  there  is  not  one  independent  of 
the  rest,  or  unrelated  to  them.  This  is  not  more  true  or  more  worthv 
of  observation  in  the  material  than  in  the  intellectual  system. 

Religion,  therefore,  of  all  subjects  the  most  comprehensive  and  sub- 
lime, is  capable  of  being  placed  in  many  points  of  view  before  the 
mind,  and  of  being  regarded  in  reference  to  every  human  relation  and 
circumstance.  A  clear  and  full  perception  of  this  great  truth  is  one  of 
the  best  antidotes  against  a  narrow,  illiberal,  and  dogmatic  spirit. 

"We  occasionally  read  and  speak  of  a  theory  of  religion  and  of  the 
practice.  We  have  religion  objectively  and  subjectively  discussed.  We 
have  the  substance  and  the  form,  the  matter  and  the  spirit,  the  attri- 
butes and  the  accidents  of  religion.  We  have  also  the  doctrines,  the 
precepts,  and  the  promises — the  laws,  the  statutes,  and  the  ordinances 
of  religion.  In  other  words,  religion  is  capable  not  so  much  of  divi- 
sions and  subdivisions  of  this  sort,  as  of  being  contemplated  and 
regarded  in  all  these  bearings  upon  the  individual  and  society.  We  are 
at  this  time,  however,  only  intent  on  viewing  religion  in  reference  to 
its  power  in  forming  character — to  its  influence  upon  the  heart  and 
upon  the  life  of  man.  That  distinction,  therefore,  expressed  by  the 
Apostle  in  his  second  letter  to  Timothy  between  "the  form'"  and  "the 
power  of  godliness,"  is  more  apposite  to  our  present  design  than  any 
other. 

We  do  not  intend  to  regard  the  form  and  the  power  of  godliness  as 
antagonist,  or  in  the  slightest  degree  opposed,  to  each  otlier.  They 
are  distinct,  but  not  contradictory  terms,  or  ideas,  or  conditions  of  the 
same  thing.  The  form  without  the  power  is  conceivable;  but  the  power 
without  the  form  is  impossible.  The  power  of  an  instrument  to  keep 
time,  and  the  form  of  that  instrument,  are  easily  distinguished;  but 
how  often  do  we  see  the  form  of  such  instrument,  clock  or  watch, 
without  this  power;  but  who  ever  saw  this  power  without  a  form! 

Ever  since  Satan  seduced  and  polluted  our  first  progenitors,  and 
alienated  their  affections  from  the  Lord  their  Creator,  our  heavenly 
Father,  from  a  due  regard  to  his  own  dignity  and  the  other  portions  of 
his  immense  empire,  hid  his  face  from  us,  and  is  no  longer  visibly 
present  in  these  his  lower  works.  Yet  in  the  deep  and  unfathomable 
mines  of  the  unsearchable  riches  of  his  manifold  wisdom  and  love,  he 
has  instituted  on  earth  a  system  of  remedies  adapted  to  the  whole 
nature  and  genius  of  man,  and  to  the  preternatural  complexion  of  his 


THE    MILLIJXMAL    IIARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  2'Jl 

Circumstances.  This  is  what  the  master  spirits  of  Protestantism  call 
"the  religion  of  the  Bible;"  an  institution  which,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
most  splendid  conceptions  of  the  Infinite  Intelligence,  bears  deeply 
Imprinted  upon  its  surface,  and  infused  into  its  essence,  the  glorious 
attributes  of  its  author.  But  in  our  intellectual  and  moral  imbecilities 
we  are  apt  to  take  both  feeble  and  partial  views  of  its  divine  excellency, 
and  often  to  be  wholly  engrossed  with  one  of  its  attributes  or  accidents,' 
to  the  disparagement,  neglect,  or  forgetfulness  of  all  the  rest.  Hence 
how  often  is  the  power,  and  purity,  and  holiness  of  the  gospel  forgotten 
or  overlooked  in  the  fierce  and  hosUle  controversies  about  its  forms, 
Its  precepts,  and  its  ordinances. 

The  form  of  godliness,  as  well  as  its  power,  just  as  "the  form  of 
truth"  in  the  Decalogue,  and  the  truth  itself,  is  indeed  celestial  and 
divine.  True  religion,  whether  in  mode  or  substance,  in  matter  or 
spirit,  in  form  or  power,  is  a  native  of  the  skies.  It  is  heaven-born, 
heaven-descended,  and  heaven-destined.  It  came  from  God,  and  it  lea;ls 
to  God.  It  is  therefore  the  wisdom,  the  grace,  and  the  power  of  God 
in  every  person  who  embraces  it.  Yet  in  all  our  zeal  and  contentions 
for  the  simplicity,  appropriateness,  and  excellency  of  its  forms,  we 
should  never  forget  the  purity,  the  mildness,  the  gentleness,  and  the 
holiness  of  its  spirit  and  its  power. 

Religion  printed  on  paper,  religion  existing  in  the  percepUons  of 
the  understanding,  religion  flowing  from  the  lips  and  floating  in  the 
air,  and  religion  dwelling  in  the  heart,  and  living  and  breathing  in 
every  thought,  and  word,  and  action,  are  very  different  and  distinct 
conceptions  and  predicaments.  Religion  printed  upon  paper  is  the 
work  of  human  science  and  art,  which  can  be  performed  as  well  by 
the  mechanical  skill  of  the  atheist  as  by  that  of  the  Christian.  Relig- 
ion existing  in  the  perceptions  of  the  understanding  is  as  natural  and 
easy  as  the  theory  of  astronomy  or  electricity,  and  can  be  obtained  by 
the  same  talent  and  application  which  master  any  branch  of  mental  or 
moral  philosophy,  and  is  ofien  one  of  the  literary  and  scientific  accom- 
plishments of  the  most  grossly  immoral  and  profane  spirits  of  the  age. 
Religion  flowing  from  the  lips,  or  falling  upon  the  ear,  differs  in  no 
respect  from  the  enunciations  of  our  vocal  powers  on  other  themes; 
and  therefore  preachers,  orators,  lawyers  of  good  lungs  and  distinct 
articulation,  may  equally  entertain,  amuse,  or  terrify  their  audience, 
according  to  all  the  varieties  of  times,  subjects,  and  circumstances. 

But  religion  dwelling  in  the  heart,  rooted  in  the  feelings  and  affec- 
tions, is  a  living,  active,  and  real  existence.  It  purifies  the  fountain 
of  moral  life  and  health.  It  animates,  inspires,  controls,  and  gives  a 
new  impulse  to  our  active  powers.  It  imbues  the  soul  with  a  divine 
life,  and  plants  the  incorruptible  seeds  of  a  glorious  immortality  In 
man.    This  is  religion;  all  the  rest  is  machinery  or  imagery.    Language 


298  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  all  its  signs,  oral  and  written;  ordinances  and  all  their  forms,  as 
types,  and  paper,  and  ink,  are  but  the  means  or  channel  through,  which 
the  quickening  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  plants  or  waters  the  unde- 
caying  germ  of  an  eternal  life  in  the  intellectual  and  moral  nature  of 
man. 

Religion  in  the  Bible,  in  the  understanding,  in  the  lips,  and  in  th  ? 
heart,  may  be  pictured  out  to  the  child  of  nature  by  that  life-giving 
light,  which,  while  it  emanates  from  the  sun,  is  not  in  the  sun,  nor  in 
the  rays  nor  undulations  from  the  sun,  nor  in  the  air  through  which 
it  passes,  nor  in  the  eye  which  sees  it;  but  which,  while  it  paints  the 
images  of  things  upon  the  retina,  by  its  control  of  other  agencies  sets 
in  motion  the  animal  machinery,  imparts  warmth  and  vigor,  and  strikes 
life  into  the  man. 

Such,  in  part,  are  the  phenomena  of  that  animal  life  which  man  in 
common  with  other  animated  beings  receives  from  the  laws  of  Nature, 
arranged  and  directed  by  the  Supreme  Intelligence.  That  vital  spark 
which  enlivens  the  animal  creation,  like  that  stricken  from  the  flint 
by  the  touch  of  steel,  is  distinct  equally  from  the  hand  that  guides, 
from  the  steel  in  contact,  and  the  flint  that  is  stricken  by  it;  yet 
without  this  economy  and  collision,  that  spark  which  now  beams  light 
and  cheerfulness  around  the  social  hearth  had  never  begun  to  be. 

It  is  indeed  impossible  fully  to  depict  in  colors  incapable  of  con- 
fusion, that  wonderful  process  by  which  either  animal  or  spiritual  life 
is  infused  into  man.  The  microscope  with  all  its  powers  can  not  detect 
the  delicate  touches  of  the  hand  of  Nature  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  its 
sublime  operations.  No  more  can  language  explain,  or  faith  appre- 
hend, that  agency  of  truth  or  of  grace  which  quickens  the  soul,  sets 
in  motion  its  powers  and  gives  them  a  bias  to  the  skies.  But  that  the 
thing  is  done,  and  that  man  is  morally  and  spiritually  a  new  creation 
is  as  clearly  taught  and  as  faithfully  propounded  to  our  acceptance 
as  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  author  of  an  eternal  salvation  to  all  that 
obey  him. 

Types  we  have,  and  beautiful  figures  innumerable;  but  our  preju- 
dices and  other  malign  influences  around  us  interpose  and  veto  the  use 
of  Nature's  own  imagery  and  her  analogies,  from  the  persuasion  that 
the  more  unapproachable  and  mysterious  the  wonders  of  creation, 
providence,  and  regeneration,  the  better  for  the  interests  of  religion 
and  morality.  Although  we  can  not,  ex-anim^,\  subscribe  to  this  dictuw. 
of  the  untaught  and  unteachable,  still  we  can  bear  with  that  fastidi- 
ousness which  forbids  the  help  of  one  of  God's  volumes  to  illustrato 
and  explain  the  other;  provided  only,  we  may  not  be  registered  amongst 
the  chief  of  heretics  and  schismatics;  because,  in  imitation  of  the  great 
Author  of  our  religion,  we  sometimes  throw  our  eyes  over  the  volume 
of  Nature  for  a  simile  or  a  comparison,  by  the  help  of  which  to  set 


Tin-:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  295 

forth  more  intelligibly  and  vividly  our  conceptions  of  the  revealed 
secrets  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

To  return:  Religion  in  the  heart,  or  rooted  in  the  moral  nature  of 
man,  transfuses  itself  through  the  whole  frame  and  identity  of  it-; 
happy  and  holy  subject.  It  crystalizes  everything  in  human  nature 
that  can  be  immortalized,  and  sheds  a  divine  gracefulness  over  all  the 
workings  of  the  human  soul.  It  distils  the  dews  of  heaven  upon  the 
heart — it  breathes  a  delicious  odor  on  society,  and  imbues  with  a  heav- 
enly sweetness  the  temper  and  conversation  of  the  happy  spirits  who 
cherish  its  divine  and  holy  influence  by  submitting  to  all  its  sacred 
ordinances  and  requisitions.  Its  active  power  never  shines  with  more 
splendor  than  when  most  oppressed.  Hindrances,  difficulties,  dangers, 
but  increase  its  momentum  and  impart  a  peculiar  lustre  and  heroism 
to  all  its  efforts  and  enterprises.  The  more  it  is  oppressed  the  more 
it  aspires  towards  heaven  whence  it  descended,  and  the  more  efficiently 
it  struggles  with  every  weight  and  entangling  influence  which  would 
retard  its  flight  to  the  supreme  object  on  which  cluster  all  its  pure  and 
holy  affections. 

There  is  no  exaggeration  here.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  subject  it 
will  more  and  more  appear  that  Christian  faith,  hope,  and  love  are  a 
three-fold  cord  of  more  than  earthly  strength — a  mainspritg  incom- 
parably superior  to  all  the  other  springs  of  human  action — the  power 
of  God  stirring  up  the  divinity  that  is  within  us,  urging  man  to  H 
conquest  of  more  glory  than  ever  adorned  an  earthly  triumph  It  will 
appear  that  there  is  no  hyperbole  in  saying  with  the  Apostle  John, 
that  faith  conquers  the  world,  and  that  the  Christian  is  the  only  hero 
that  shall  wear  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  aw^ay. 

If  there  be  strength  in  the  everlasting  hills — if  there  be  power  in 
the  laws  that  bind  the  earth  together — if  there  be  might  in  the  hand 
that  launched  the  universe,  and  that  grasps  its  various  powers;  then, 
indeed,  is  there  power  in  that  moral  system  of  redemption  which 
almighty  love  contrived  and  infinite  compassion  vouchsafed  for  the 
recovery  of  a  ruined  world.  It  is  moreover  intended  by  the  benevolent 
Author  of  this  religion,  that  this  new  power,  moral  and  divine,  should, 
with  the  scheme  which  it  originated  and  perfected,  be  translated  into 
the  human  heart,  and  that  there  it  should  unfold  and  gloriously  disi)lay 
its  almightiness  in  disenthralling,  renewing,  re-creating,  and  saving  not 
only  the  soul,  but  the  man,  from  the  overwhelming  train  of  physical 
and  moral  evils  consequent  upon  his  apostacy  from  God. 

Every  truth  in  this  divine  system  is  animated  and  quickened  by  its 
intimate  relation  to  the  Spirit  of  the  universe;  and  when  written  upon 
the  heart,  vitalizes  the  soul  with  a  life  forever  new,  forever  fair,  and 
forever  blessed.  This  eternal  life  harmoniously  pulsates  with  the 
supreme  moral  power,  and  uncreated  fountain  of  all  the  life  and  all 


300  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  felicity  known  and  enjoyed  through  all  the  ranks  of  existence, 
celestial  and  terrestrial.  Religious  truth,  sometimes  called  "the  word 
of  life,"  not  only  enlightens,  but  it  also  enlivens  the  soul.  The  admis- 
sion of  it  into  the  heart  not  only  gives  light,  but  it  imparts  life:  "The 
law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul;  the  testimony  of  the 
Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple;  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  are 
right,  rejoicing  the  heart;  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure, 
enlightening  the  eyes."  There  is,  then,  an  enlightening,  animating, 
sanctifying,  vivifying  power  in  religion,  both  objectively  and  subjec- 
tively considered. 

Take,  for  example,  the  truth  which  proclaims  the  omniscience,  and 
consequent  omnipresence  of  our  God  and  Father;  contemplate  this 
truth  as  it  stands  related  to  us  and  to  all  other  truths  in  the  evan- 
gelical economy.  Man,  with  all  the  glory  he  assumes,  and  all  the  power 
and  grandeur  which  he  can  appropriate  from  his  admiring  contempo- 
raries, ever  feels,  and  in  all  his  lucid  and  sober  intervals  must  confess, 
that  he  is  an  imbecile,  frail  and  helpless  creature.  He  shrinks  within 
himself  in  the  presence  of  ten  thousand  dangers,  and  feels  that,  as  a 
moth,  he  may  be  crushed  every  moment  by  various  antagonist  forces 
over  which  he  can  have  no  control.  He  fears  not  only  the  falling  moun- 
tain, the  fierce  volcano,  the  earthquake,  the  mad  tornado,  the  forked 
lightning,  or  the  ravenous  beasts  of  prey;  but  he  fears  the  insensible 
malaria,  the  invisible  miasmata,  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  dark- 
ness secretly,  the  asp,  the  spider,  and  the  gnat,  which  may  poison  life 
at  its  fountain,  or  sting  him  to  death  in  an  instant,  amid  all  his  watch- 
fulness and  care.    All  this  he  perceives  and  fears. 

Awakened  from  the  sleep  of  death  and  roused  into  thought,  perceiv- 
ing the  character  of  a  revealed  God  and  Saviour,  he  finds  among  tho 
attributes  of  his  glory  one  that  ineffably  charms  and  strengthens  him. 
It  is  the  thought  that  this  self-existent,  omnipotent,  omniscient  One, 
whose  countless  excellencies  and  glories  no  angelic  tongue,  no  cherubic; 
eloquence  can  unfold,  is  omnipresent.  On  this  splendid  discovery,  he 
breaks  forth  into  the  enrapturing  soliloquy — "Whither  shall  I  go  from 
thy  Spirit!  Whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence!  If  I  ascend  into 
heaven,  thou  art  there.  If  I  make  my  bed  in  hades,  thou  art  there.  If 
I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  sea,  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold 
me.  If  I  say,  Surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me,  even  the  darkness 
shall  be  light  about  me;  yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee;  but 
the  night  shineth  as  the  day:  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike 
to  thee." 

This  discovery  disarms  danger  of  all  its  terrors,  dispels  ten  thou- 
sand fears,  and  gives  an  impulse  to  the  soul  stronger  than  the  fear  of 
death — stronger  than  the  love  of  mortal  existence.     But  it  is  not  the 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  301 

isolated  thought  that  God  is  omnipresent  that  so  invigorates  an-l 
delights  the  soul:  for  no  truth  is  solitary,  no  single  attribute  of  God 
is  abstract  and  independent  of  himself,  or  of  his  other  excellencies; 
but  it  is  the  thought,  the  transporting  thought  that  this  God  is  my  God, 
my  Father,  my  strength,  my  life,  my  bliss;  that  through  the  mediation 
of  his  Son,  the  Lord  Jesus,  all  his  adorable  perfections  are  pledged  and 
promised  to  my  defense,  deliverance,  and  rescue  from  all  evil.  Boasting 
In  this,  the  saint  exclaims — 

"  How  arc  tliy  svrvunls  blofts'd,  O  L<jril  I 
How  sure  is  tlioir  (lefciico  t 
Eternal  Wisdom  i.s  their  g-uide; 
Their  help,  (JiiiiiipuU'iici-!  " 

Feeble  though  I  am,  says  the  Christian,  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  my 
strength;  he  is  my  shield  and  my  defense.  Weak  is  my  arm,  but  strong 
is  his  right  hand.  Short  and  indistinct  my  clearest  vision;  but  he 
dwells  in  light:  his  eye  irradiates  the  universe,  illumines  eternity,  and 
watches  over  all  his  saints.  He  slumbers  not,  nor  sleeps.  His  angels 
encamp  around  the  dwellings  of  the  righteous,  and  minister  to  the 
heirs  of  salvation.    At  his  command, 

"An  an>?el's  arm  can  snatch  me  from  the  pravc." 

And  when  my  time  of  deliverance  comes — when  the  time  of  redemption 
draweth  near, 

'•  Lofjions  of  angels  can't  confine  me  there.' 

Embraced  by  the  everlasting  arms,  the  feeblest  lamb  in  David's  flock 

is  strong  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.     Thus  the  Christian  Is 

forever  safe  in  the  Lord,  and  strong  in  the  power  of  his  might. 

The  power  of  this  single  conception  of  God  to  beautify  the  soul, 

has  never  yet  been  adequately  expressed.     Time  is  "too  short  to  utter 

all   its  praise."     But  it  is  not  only  precious  because  of  its  soothing 

and  consoing  power 

—"To  the  stranger  in  distress, 
The  widow  and  the  fatherless," 

but  its  sanctifying  and  restraining  efficacy  Is  equal  to  those  preliba- 

tions  of  future  bliss  to  which  it  elevates  those  in  whose  hearts  it  has 

a  constant  abiding.     The  thought  that  "thou  God  always  seest  me" — 

that, 

"  One  glance,,  of  thine.  Almighty  Lord, 
Pierces  all  natui'o  through; 
Nor  heaven,  nor  earth  itself,  nor  hell, 
Can  shelter  from  thy  view. 

"The  mighty  whole,  each  smaller  part, 
At  once  before  thee  lies; 
And  ev'ry  thought  of  ev'i-y  lu'art 
Is  open  to  thine  eyes." 

This  thought.  I  say,  is  a  sovereign  gtiard  against  impiety  and  immo- 
rality, as  it  is  the  oil  of  joy  and  the  unction  of  peace  to  all  the  sons  and 


302  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

daughters  of  distress.  Like  the  burning  cherubim  that  guarded  the 
tree  of  life,  so  this  consciousness  of  the  Omnipresent  Father,  when 
healthy  and  vigilant,  bids  Satan,  and  temptation,  and  evil  passion  to 
stand  aloof.  It  sanctifies  and  animates  every  place,  and  sheds  a  cheer- 
fulness and  delight  wherever  we  place  our  foot. 

Amongst  that  class  of  licensed  murderers,  called  heroes,  but  one 
is  said  to  have  conquered  the  world.  That  world,  however,  which  he 
conquered,  finally  conquered  him;  for  his  conquest  was  but  the  momen- 
tary triumph  of  one  ambitious  spirit  over  other  ambitious  spirits, 
equally  daring,  but  less  fortunate  than  himself.  Like  a  splendid  meteor, 
thundering  as  it  shines,  his  noisy  flight,  though  brilliant,  was  short 
and  soon  past;  and  to  the  midnight  revel  the  victor  becomes  a 
victim  and  vanishes  from  the  wonder,  rather  than  the  admiration  of 
humankind.  The  Macedonian  Chief,  though  often  the  derision  of 
the  sage  and  the  grave  moralist,  is  fortunately  enshrined  amongst 
the  most  instructive  monuments  of  the  weakness  of  earth's  proudest 
conquerors  in  the  appalling  conflict  between  reason  and  passion;  or 
rather,  as  in  this  case,  between  the  love  of  glory  and  the  love  of 
wine. 

In  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  the  world,  however,  as  indicative 
of  all  those  artificial  creations,  the  root  and  offspring  of  human  passion 
and  appetite;  or,  as  defined  by  an  inspired  writer,  the  compound  of 
"the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life,  which 
is  not  of  the  Father,  but  of  the  world;"  I  say  the  world,  in  its  Biblical 
import,  never  was  vanquished  by  any  person  destitute  of  the  faith  of 
God's  elect.  On  the  contrary,  all  unbelieving  men  are  overcome  by  it. 
In  some  of  its  ten  thousand  forms  it  lays  in  wait  for  them;  and,  adapted 
as  it  is,  to  all  the  corrupt  and  selfish  workings  of  the  human  heart,  it 
finds  in  every  human  being  a  sympathy  with  it,  or  a  taste  for  it,  in 
some  of  those  respects  in  which  it  opposes  God,  and  Christ,  and  heaven; 
and  thus  by  its  allurements  and  fascinations  all  are  captivated  who 
are  not  of  the  faith,  or  amongst  the  expectants  of  another  and  a  better 
world,  suited  to  beings  of  a  more  elevated  character — of  a  purer  and 
holier  order. 

All,  indeed,  are  not  subdued  by  the  same  arguments  or  adaptations. 
All  are  not  the  victims  of  ambition,  the  devotees  of  avarice,  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  gaiety  and  pleasure.  Nor  are  the  immense  groups 
that  worship  in  any  of  these  temples  of  one  general  or  catholic  com- 
munion. Amongst  the  ambitious  there  are  perhaps  a  thousand  sects. 
There  are  those  ambitious  of  ecclesiastic  as  well  as  political  honors, 
and  of  ecclesiastic  hoflors  of  every  description;  ambitious  of  the  honors 
of  a  Churchman  or  a  Dissenter;  of  a  Calvinist  or  an  Arminian;  of  a 
Baptist  or  a  Pedobaptist — an  Episcopalian  or  a  Presbyterian — an  Eras- 
tian  or  an  Independent 


THE    AIILLEXXIAL    HARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  303 

Of  political  honors  there  are  as  many  castes  as  there  are  kinds  of 
human  government,  and  officers  and  grades  in  those  governments. 
Here  the  proud  autocrat  disdains  the  limited  monarch,  and  there  the 
supercilious  aristocrat  is  contemned  by  the  more  humble  democrat 
The  ambition  of  every  aspirant  after  political,  literary,  or  ecclesiastis 
honors  is  not  placed  on  the  same  object,  nor  gratified  with  the  same 
eminence.  Here  a  Curate's  charge,  and  there  a  Bishop's  diocess;  here 
a  Cardinal's  cap  and  there  a  Pope's  mitre,  fill  the  horizon  of  certain 
individuals,  as  fully  as  the  magistracy  of  a  county,  or  the  presidency 
of  a  state,  as  the  regalia  of  a  nation,  or  the  imperial  honors  of  a  con- 
tinent sate  the  aspirations  of  the  various  incumbents  of  these  particu- 
lar stations. 

Society  seems  to  have  cast  itself  into  an  endless  variety  of  moulds 
for  the  sake  of  baiting  the  hook  by  which  to  gull  the  thoughtless  mul- 
titude of  worshippers  in  the  temple  of  Ambition.  The  names  of  places 
and  of  offices  in  the  literary,  political,  and  religious  world — in  the 
peace  and  war  establishments — the  sea  and  land  armies — the  occupa- 
tions, callings,  and  pursuits  honorable,  more  honorable,  most  honorable, 
would  fill  a  dictionary  larger  than  the  Bible;  and  then  of  the  three 
just  mentioned — the  ambitious,  the  avaricious,  the  voluptuous,  but  tho 
first  would  stand  in  full  array  before  us. 

I  can  not  speak  of  the  slaves  of  avarice,  the  sects  of  philosophy,  nor 
of  the  mighty  hosts  whose  god  is  their  appetites — whose  only  end  and 
aim  are  sensual  gratifications  of  one  or  more  of  a  thousand  varieties. 
But  all  these,  of  each  and  every  class,  may  be  as  fully  sold  to  the 
world,  and  enslaved  by  it,  as  was  Alexander,  or  Csesar,  or  Hannibal,  or 
Napoleon.  Every  Mammonite  becomes  not  a  Croesus,  a  Girard,  or  a 
Rothschild;  every  rhymester  becomes  not  a  Pope,  a  Goldsmith,  or  a 
Byron;  every  orator  becomes  not  a  Demosthenes,  a  Cicero,  or  a  Sheri- 
dan; every  student  becomes  not  a  Bacon,  a  Locke,  or  a  Newton;  nor 
every  voluptuary  a  Boniface,  or  a  Belshazzar:  yet  they  may  be  as 
sincere,  ardent,  and  devoted  to  this  worship  as  the  most  successful 
laborers  in  their  respective  avocations;  for  success  is  not  the  fruit  of 
sincerity,  else  amongst  the  worshippers  of  Mammon  what  multitudes 
would  have  been  rich  who  are  yet  poorl ! 

But  one  thing  is  certain,  that  "his  servants  we  are  whom  we  obey," 
and  that  every  one  is  conquered  by  that  icMch  controls  7iim;  and, 
therefore,  from  the  prince  to  the  beggar  all  may  be,  and,  in  many 
nations  and  tribes,  all  are  overcome  by  the  world  in  some  way  or 
other — he  only  excepted  who  believes  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 

And  here  the  question  arises,  Hotv  does  faith  conquer  the  world f 
or.  What  in  the  belief  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  more  powerful  than 
the  world?  To  understand  this  we  must  first  understand  the  phrase 
"course  of  the  world."    This  apostolic  phrase  denotes  that  current  of 


304  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

earthly  affection,  lusts,  passions,  or  cares,  which  carry  the  soul  down- 
wards from  the  knowledge,  love,  and  admiration  of  God,  which  material 
nature  and  the  daily  providences  of  God  would,  in  subordination  to 
Revelation,  but  for  that  current,  greatly  promote.  For  I  would 
emphatically  say,  that  universal  being,  or,  as  some  would  express  it, 
universal  nature,  were  it  not  for  this  "course  of  the  world,"  would 
furnish  innumerable  arguments  and  motives  to  admire,  to  adore,  and 
delight  in  the  Author  of  this  stupendous  and  beautiful  frame  of  nature, 
which  seems  to  us  to  have  no  end  but  the  existence  and  happiness 
of  man. 

Such,  however,  is  the  power  of  present  objects  over  the  human  con- 
stitution, for  which  we  have  both  a  natural  and  acquired  taste  and 
appetite,  that  reason,  philosophy,  and  moral  suasion  assail  it  in  vain. 
Under  the  idolatries  and  philosophy  of  the  Pagan  world,  in  its  best 
forms,  this  power  was  supreme  and  irresistible.  The  brightest  names 
of  Grecian  and  Roman  fame  were  subject  to  the  supremacy  of  this 
influence;  and,  therefore,  not  one  of  them  could  stem  the  current  or 
course  of  this  world,  or  make  a  successful  effort  to  overcome  it.  The 
secret,  then,  in  pursuit  of  which  we  have  instituted  this  inquiry,  is. 
that  all  systems  of  human  philosophy  or  wisdom  furnished  not  suitable 
or  competent  motives  to  oppose  this  current,  and  to  excite  and  enable 
men  to  wage  war  against  so  powerful  an  alliance  as  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  Satan. 

The  strength  of  every  moral  system  will  always  be  found  to  con- 
sist in  the  strength  of  the  motives  which  it  offers:  for  rational  beings 
can  not  act  without  motives;  and  they  must  always  act  in  accordance 
with  the  strength  or  force  of  the  motives  presented.  If,  then,  there 
are  two  classes  of  motives  offered,  human  nature  will  always  be  con- 
trolled by  the  most  powerful,  according  to  its  own  apprehension  of 
them.  Men  may  not,  indeed,  always  perceive  the  most  valuable  con- 
sideration, and,  therefore,  they  can  not  appreciate  the  weightier  mo- 
tive: for  it  is  not  enough  that  the  object  be  a  superior  one,  but  that 
the  mind  perceive  it  to  be  such.  In  the  science  of  motives  the  per- 
ception of  the  value  of  an  object  is  essential  to  its  becoming  an  argu- 
ment or  motive  to  action:  for  every  thing  must  act  as  it  is  when  all 
circumstances  are  considered,  and  therefore  if  different  objects  stand 
before  the  mind,  no  matter  which  of  them  be  intrinsically  greatest 
or  best,  that  which  under  all  circumstances  appears  to  be  such,  will 
become  a  motive  to  action,  and  control  the  percipient  to  the  dispar- 
agement of  that  which  may  be,  in  truth,  the  most  valuable,  though 
not  so  in  his  estimation. 

Our  conclusion,  then,  is,  that  human  nature  is  so  constituted  that 
it  must  act  in  unison  with  that  class  of  objects  or  motives  which 
appear  to  be  the  best  and  most  desirable  under  all  circumstances  of 


THE    MILLFXXTAL    TIARBIXGER    ABRIDGED.  305 

the  case.  Now  as  the  world,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
could  offer  no  objects  or  motives  beyond  itself,  but  such  as  were  a 
part  of  itself,  or  of  its  own  nature,  it  followed  that  all  mankind  so 
placed  must  be  ruled,  or  led  by  it,  in  some  one  or  more  of  its  ten 
thousand  motives  suited  to  the  ten  thousand  varieties  of  human  organ- 
ization and  circumstance.  Hence  all  mankind,  without  the  gospel,  are 
inevitably  the  slaves  of  the  world  and  are  conquered  by  it. 

But  still,  although,  a  new  world  is  revealed  and  a  future  life  dis- 
covered by  the  gospel;  if  that  gospel  be  not  believed,  that  future  world 
and  all  its  excellencies  and  charms  will  be  as  though  it  were  not;  and 
hence  the  possibility  of  still  being  governed  by  the  world  and  of  being 
enslaved  to  it,  although  life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light,  so 
long  as  that  gospel  is  not  understood  and  believed.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  faith.  It  is  in  the  philosophy  of  man  and  of  his  condition  necessary, 
not  as  a  quid  pro  quo,  a  valuable  condition,  but  as  a  means,  or  rather 
as  the  only  possible  medium,  of  acquaintance  with  another  class  of 
objects,  celestial  and  divine.  And  this  is  the  true  reason  why  faith 
conquers  the  world;  because  by  it,  as  through  a  telescope,  a  person 
sees  another  world  so  incomparably  superior,  that,  from  the  moment 
of  its  discovery,  he  lets  go  his  hold  on  the  present,  and  supremely 
devotes  himself  to  the  future.  The  new  objects  are  so  lovely,  excel- 
lent, and  overwhelming  as  to  control  all  the  objects  of  time  an*! 
sense,  and  to  set  the  mind  adrift  from  the  moorings  of  temporal  and 
perishing  things.  The  Christian  then,  indeed,  acts  the  philosopher, 
or,  in  other  words,  acts  most  rationally  in  "counting  all  things  but 
loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,"  and 
of  "treating  them  as  refuse  that  he  may  win  Christ,"  and  be  found 
in  his  party  in  the  day  of  rewards.  This  explains  the  conquests  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph,  I\Ioses,  and  all  that  class  in  every 
age  who  endured  all  pains  and  privations — "as  seeing  him  n-ho  is 
invisible" — "having  respect  to  the  recompense  of  the  reward" — "look- 
ing not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not 
seen" — "placing  their  affections  on  things  above,  and  not  on  things 
on  the  earth" — "walking  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight" — "an.riously 
desiring  the  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Lord;"  and  "striving  to  be  found 
in  him  without  spot,  unrebukable  at  his  appearing  and  his  glory." 

We  can  now  explain  the  whole  mystery  of  these  words,  "Who  is 
he  that  overcomes  the  world  but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah?"  because  he  is  the  only  person  who  has  the  distinct  vision 
of  another  world,  so  transcendant  and  so  glorious,  as  to  eclipse  all 
the  pleasures,  honors,  and  glories  of  earthly  things — of  "sceptres, 
monuments,  and  crowns;"  and  which  so  fully  adapts  itself  to  the 
vastness  and  grandeur  of  human  aspirations,  promising  with  infalli- 
ble   certainty    the    full    enjoyment    of   all    that    human    nature    in    Its 


306  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

most  cultivated  and  improved  condition  can  either  conceive  or  desire. 
The  class  of  objects  which  the  gospel  presents  to  one  "led  hy  the 
Spirit  of  God,"  affords  motives  so  much  stronger  than  all  earthly 
objects,  that  the  reason  of  this  victory  is  as  obvious  as  the  reason 
of  any  of  the  effects,  physical  or  moral,  of  which  human  science  treats. 

How  great  the  power  of  religion,  then,  when  faith  alone — the  sim- 
ple belief  of  the  gospel  facts,  as  they  are  set  before  us  by  the  demon- 
strations of  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  almighty  power,  is  more  than 
a  match  for  "all  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  and  the  glory  of  them"! 
Superadded  to  this  faith,  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  the  heart, 
and  the  living  hope  of  being  raised  incorruptible,  and  being  forever 
with  the  Lord,  render  exceedingly  efficacious  the  gospel  in  elevating 
and  adorning  human  character,  and  in  imparting  zeal,  courage,  forti- 
tude, and  devotion  to  all  who  clearly  understand  and  cordially  embrace 
it.  It  is,  indeed,  "the  power  of  God  unto  salvation"  to  all  those  that 
believe  it. 

Christian  heroes  are,  then,  the  brightest  and  most  illustrious 
victors  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  Through  faith  in  the  promises 
of  God,  they  have  "smbdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  strength  of  fire, 
escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  became  valiant  in  battle,  overturned 
the  camps  of  aliens — women  have  been  tortured  not  accepting  prof- 
fered deliverance  in  the  hope  of  a  better  resurrection;  and  others 
overcame  the  trials  of  mocking,  scourging,  bonds,  and  imprisonment 
— of  being  stoned,  sawn  asunder,  slain  by  the  sword — of  going  about 
in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins — being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented — 
wandering  about  in  deserts  and  mountains,  hiding  themselves  in 
caverns  and  caves  of  the  earth." 

As  this  picture  is  by  no  means  an  exaggeration,  let  us  compare 
ourselves,  and  ask.  What  lack  I  yet?  How  few  Christians,  does  any 
one  ask,  if  such  must  always  be  the  power  of  religion?  We  dare 
not  place  its  power  below  what  the  ancient  saints  achieved  in  the 
faith  of  the  better  promises  which  we  enjoy.  Its  power  is  certainly 
greater  than  all  the  powers  of  the  present  world;  for  if  any  one  has 
realized  "the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,"  he  is  certainly  more 
than  a  match  for  all  earthly  powers  that  can  be  arrayed  against  him. 

What  then  shall  we  say  of  those  Christian  ministers  who  have 
left  off  preaching  the  gospel  for  the  sake  of  a  more  lucrative  employ- 
ment!! This  is  a  question  reserved  for  future  and  farther  discus- 
sion; and  as  the  times  require,  we  shall  pay  this  class  of  victorious 
Captains  of  the  Christian  Army  a  more  respectful  attention. 

But,  nearly  akin  to  it,  is  another  question,  which  also  demands, 
at  the  hand  of  impartial  justice,  an  equally  grave  consideration.  It 
is  simply  this:     Under  what  head  of  the  power  of  religion  in  over- 


THH    MTL-LEyXIAL    HARlilXGEli    ABRIDOED.  307 

coming  the  world,  shall  we  place  those  Christians,  who,  while  amass- 
ing for  themselves  treasures  ou  earth,  are  preaching  to  preachers 
the  necessity  of  denying  themselves,  and  of  making,  or  of  keeping 
themselves  poor,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake;  that  they  may 
cut  off  occasion  of  mercenary  imputations  on  the  part  of  worldly 
Christians  who  would  rejoice  to  see  all  the  world  converted  by  a 
miracle  without  costing  them  a  penny.  I  will  acknowledge  before 
the  world  my  want  of  logical  discrimination,  when  any  person  proves 
to  me  that  he  would  lay  down  his  life  for  Christ  or  heaven,  or  that 
he  possesses  the  faith  which  conquers  the  world,  who  can  not,  while 
he  has  it  in  his  power,  lay  down  some  of  the  good  things  of 
time  and  sense,  either  for  the  sake  of  the  orphan,  the  widow, 
or  the  preacher  of  the  gospel  whom  the  Lord  has  specially  fore- 
ordained to  live  by  the  gospel,  temporally,  as  well  as  spiritually 
and  eternally. 

The  man  of  sense  and  the  man  of  faith  derive  their  controlling 
and  supreme  principles  of  action  from  two  different  worlds.  The 
man  of  sense  has  within  his  horizon  only  such  objects  as  excite  his 
appetites  and  passions,  those  strong  Impellant  forces  of  animal  effort 
and  enterprise;  whereas  the  man  of  faith  has  within  his  mental  vision 
objects  of  such  superlative  excellence  and  value  as  incomparably 
transcend  all  earth-born  objects  of  pursuit,  and  throw  into  the  shade, 
in  forms  the  most  diminutive,  the  largest  and  most  splendid  achieve- 
ments of  human  genius,  the  richest  and  the  noblest  trophies  of  mortal 
ambition.  Hence,  as  was  shown  in  a  former  essay,  the  power  of 
religion  in  overcoming  the  world. 

But  yet  it  is  asked,  Who  is  he  among  the  Christian  community 
that  overcomes  the  world?  Does  not  the  present  life,  with  all  its 
pleasures  and  its  pains,  its  cares  and  fears,  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its 
honors  and  rewards,  so  far  engage  the  hearts,  and  lips,  and  hands 
of  professors,  as  to  make  the  line  that  separates  them  from  the  mere 
man  of  sense  so  indistinct,  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  the 
Christian  from  the  worldling  in  the  common  routine  of  earthly  trans- 
actions or  of  temporal  affairs,  unless  we  follow  him  to  church  on  one 
day  in  the  week  or  month,  or  attend  with  him  some  of  the  more 
solemn  convocations  of  the  people?  Are  the  few  religious  services 
during  the  year,  or  the  poor  pittance  of  worldly  property  which  flows 
into  the  Lord's  treasury,  (so  reluctantly  given  too,  if  one  might  judg" 
from  actions.) — I  say,  are  these  the  irrefragable  evidences  of  heavenly 
mindedness,  the  all-convincing  proofs  that  the  Christian  overcomes 
the  world,  and  is  a  man  of  faith,  rather  than  a  slave  of  sense — th^^ 
expectant  of  a  l>etter  world,  rather  than  the  contented  and  firmly 
attached  tenant  of  the  present?  If  there  be  other  and  superior  argu- 
ments in   proof  of  this  power  of  religion   than   those   which    we   ordi- 


308  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

narily  see  in  the  lives  of  our  acquaintance,  do  let  us  see  them — not 
on  paper,  or  in  verbal  description;  but  let  us  see  the  Christian  living, 
moving,  acting  on  the  great  theatre  of  life,  as  one  who  plainly  con- 
fesses himself  in  pursuit  of  a  "better  and  a  more  enduring  substance. ' 
"I  admit,"  continues  the  Christian  sceptic,  "that  from  the  accounts 
given  and  read  in  the  New  Testament — from  the  lives,  sufferings, 
and  heroic  achievements  of  the  Christians  of  other  times,  there  if 
no  lack  of  evidence  that  the  sons  of  faith  could  overcome — nay, 
did  overcome  the  world.  But  on  whom  have  their  mantles  fallen? 
or  who  inherit  their  spirit  and  walk  in  their  bold  and  heavenward 
steps? 

It  ought  to  be  candidly  and  feelingly  acknowledged,  that  amongst 
the  multitudes  who  profess  the  faith  of  things  unseen  and  eternal, 
there  are  but  comparatively  few  who  appear  to  be  so  wholly  or  so 
supremely  devoted  to  religion — so  "diligent  to  make  their  calling  and 
election  sure,"  as  to  make  it  manifest  to  all  men  that  they  supremel'/ 
seek  the  heavenly  inheritance.  And  that,  out  of  the  immense  multi- 
tudes who  in  all  the  great  revivals  are  said  to  be  converted,  but  few 
continue  in  the  faith  and  "hold  fast  their  begun  confidence  unshaken 
to  the  end,"  is  a  matter  so  notorious  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
conceal  it,  did  we  most  ardently  desire  it.  That  there  are  many  erro- 
neous views  and  theories  of  religion  extant,  is  a  very  small  matter, 
in  our  judgment,  compared  with  the  fact  that  there  are  numerous 
delinquencies,  apostacies,  and  a  very  general  carnality,  selfishness, 
and  covetousness  manifest  amongst  the  most  Scriptural  and  intelli- 
gent professors  of  the  gospel.  This  is  the  most  alarming  character- 
istic of  the  age. 

A  form  of  godliness  without  the  power,  is  the  most  helpless  and 
the  most  hopeless  case  which  anj^  one  can  describe.  While  th:^ 
cholera  subdued  only  the  intemperate  and  the  vicious,  or  the  extremely 
feeble  and  aged  members  of  community,  the  young,  the  vigorous,  and 
the  temperate  had  little  to  fear  for  themselves  from  the  announce- 
ment of  its  rapid  progress  in  its  peregrinations  round  the  globe;  but 
when  it  was  ascertained  that  the  young,  the  healthy,  and  the  tem- 
perate frequently  became  victims  of  this  appalling  scourge — that  it 
seized  in  its  fatal  grasp  all  ages,  classes  and  conditions  of  lifer  then 
it  was  that  its  approach  spread  a  deep  and  melancholy  gloom  over 
the  whole  visage  of  society,  and  struck  a  dismaying  consternation  into 
the  hearts  of  all.  Thus  while  lukewarmness  and  indifference,  or  a 
carnal,  selfish,  covetous,  worldly  temper  followed  in  the  wake  of  error 
in  theory,  or  accompanied  the  promulgation  of  heretical  and  demoral- 
izing tenets,  those  who  were  zealous  for  sound  doctrine  and  devoted 
to  the  faith  and  sentiments  of  the  golden  age  of  Christianity,  felt  but 
little    alarm;    but    when    a    similar    temper    and    demeanor    begin    to 


THE    MJLLEXXIAL    HARBiyOER    ABRIDGED.  309 

appear  amongst  those  who  build  upon  a  better  foundation,  and  place 
their  acceptance  upon  the  consecrated  ground  of  apostolic  principles 
and  practice — then,  indeed,  have  all  professors  not  only  reasons  for 
self-examination  and  serious  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  this  fatal 
delinquency,  but  of  alarm  for  their  own  personal  safety,  lest  in  the 
epidemical  character  of  this  contagion  they  might  inhale  the  pesti- 
lential air  and  perish  from  the  way  of  life. 

An  age  of  persecution  for  righteousness'  sake,  or  of  public  calam- 
ities, is  always  a  prosperous  time  for  Christians  and  the  cause  of 
spiritual  and  eternal  things;  but  times  of  great  worldly  prosperity  are 
always  perilous.  "When  Christianity  or  the  cause  of  religion  is  in 
high  reputation,  flattered  and  complimented  by  all;  when  those  who 
are  the  most  religious  are  most  popular  and  sit  in  the  highest  places, 
then  indeed  it  behooves  Christians  "with  fear  and  trembling  to  work 
out  their  own  salvation;"  and  to  fear  lest  having  a  promise  of  the 
future  and  eternal  rest,  any  of  them  should  even  appear  to  fall  short 
of  it. 

This  is,  in  our  country  and  in  our  day,  the  present  condition  of 
the  church;  and  such  the  circumstances  by  which  the  Christian  pro- 
fession is  environed.  May  I  not,  then,  affirm  that  in  such  a  crisis 
the  advantage  in  every  conflict  is  a  hundred  fold  more  in  favor  of  the 
world  than  of  the  church?  That  the  Christian  now  enters  the  ranks 
having  the  most  fearful  odds  against  him,  and  that  to  overcome  in 
such  a  struggle  is  the  most  glorious  victory  that  can  be  achieved. 
To  see  a  person  voluntarily  forsaking  a  throne,  and  esteeming  the 
reproach  for  Christ  greater  treasures  than  all  the  riches  of  Egj'pt,  is 
a  more  illustrious  proof  of  the  power  of  faith,  than  to  see  one  in  the 
humbler  ranks  of  life,  in  times  of  persecution,  giving  himself  up  to 
the  flames,  or  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition,  for  the  sake  of  Christ 
and  heaven.  The  times,  then,  at  present,  call  for  all  the  power  of 
religion  to  sustain  the  church  against  the  sweeping  spring-tide  of 
prosperity  which  now  inundates  this  highly  favored  country.  Those 
of  weak  faith  can  not  possibly  stem  this  tide.  The  current  of  worldly 
favor  and  prosperity  will  surely  bear  them  down,  and  a  hundred 
chances  to  one  that  their  faith  will  fail,  and  they  will  sink,  not  like 
a  stone,  but  like  a  saturated  iceberg,  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Still  we  feel  a  good  degree  of  assurance  that  there  are  more  than 
seventy  times  seven  thousand  persons  who  have  not  bowed  themselves 
at  the  shrine  of  the  gods  of  this  world — that  have  not  had  their  ears 
bored  on  the  door-posts  of  the  temple  of  Mammon,  and  that  are  sup- 
plicating day  and  night  af  the  footstool  of  Divine  Mercy  in  behalf  of 
the  waste  and  desert  places  of  God's  professed  Zion.  In  all  this  class 
faith  triumphs,  and  the  power  of  religion  overcomes  the  power  of 
the  world. 


310  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

CHRISTIANITY  ADAPTED  TO  MAN. 

Christianity,  like  man,  has  its  object  and  its  subject.  God  himself. 
in  all  his  adorable  excellencies,  is  its  object.  It  attracts  and  allures 
the  human  soul  to  its  own  origin  and  fountain.  And  these  are  Jehovah 
himself. 

The  universe  is  his  temple.  He  fills  it  all,  he  animates  it  all,  he 
beautifies  and  adorns  it  all.  There  is  absolute  nothing  above  him, 
beneath  him,  beyond  him.  The  visible  heaven  and  the  heaven  of 
heavens  are  but  his  pavilion — the  tent  or  tabernacle  in  which  he  mani- 
fests his  eternal  majesty  and  godhead.  "Ascend  I  heaven!  Lo!  Thou 
art  there.  There  if  amongst  the  dead  I  lie."  "I  can  not  go  where 
universal  love  smiles  not  all  around."  Take  I  the  wings  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  on  "the  swift-winged  arrows  of  light"  flee  to  the  utmost  star 
I  see,  I  there  find  myself  yet  but  in  the  vestibule  of  the  pavilion  of 
the  great  King,  for  I  see  as  many  suns  and  systems  before  me  as  i 
left  behind  me.  And  could  I  continue  my  flight  for  ages  of  ages,  I 
would,  at  the  remotest  orb,  still  see  as  many  wonders  of  creative 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  above  me  as  under  me.  Hence,  eternity 
is  the  only  field  of  vision  and  of  bliss  that  meets  the  wants  and  the 
wishes  of  an  immortal  mind.  But  who  can  distinguish  between  "the 
Eternities  of  Israel,"  and  the  absolute  eternity  of  eternities? 

Yet  nothing  short  of  absolute  space,  absolute  being,  absolute  bless- 
edness, and  absolute  duration,  can  fill  the  vacuum  which  God  has 
himself  created  in  man,  in  angel,  and  in  spirit. 

The  mysteries  of  creation,  providence,  moral  government  and 
redemption,  all  launch  out  into  the  ocean  of  eternity — into  an  infinite 
past  behind  us,  and  an  infinite  future  before  us.  The  moral  pulsations 
of  our  moral  nature,  expand  or  contract  in  harmony  with  our  intellec- 
tual and  spiritual  garniture,  and  with  our  conceptions  of  him  whose 
most  sublime  position  is  comprehended  in  the  oracle — I  ah. 

But  who  can  comprehend  the  ineffable  sublimity  of  the  adorable 
I  AM?  And  yet  it  is  the  only  one  self-existent  impersonation  that 
gives  form  to  thought,  or  thought  to  form.  Annihilate  it,  and  yon 
have  annihilated  yourself.  You  are  a  mere  idea,  an  impression,  an 
imagination,  without  a  local  habitation  or  a  name. 

There  is  a  pleasure  in  being  bewildered  in  a  paradise;  in  being 
lost  in  a  rapture  of  glory;  or,  like  Paul,  in  not  knowing  "whether  in 
the  body  or  out  of  the  body;"  whether  in  the  first  or  in  the  seventh 
heaven,  in  the  heaven  of  heavens,  or  beyond  them  all. 

There  is  no  relation  between  the  finite  and  the  infinite,  and  yet 
neither  of  these  could  be  without  the  other.  There  are,  therefore,  but 
two  ideas  in  the  universe  of  the  genus  generalissimum — two  distinct 
conceptions,  and  yet  dependent  on  each  other  for  a  revelation  of  them- 
selves.    These  are  creature  and  creator. 


TIIK    MILLEXyiAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  311 

Father  and  child  aro  equally  dependent  on  each  other  for  their 
being  and  manifestation.  A  lather  without  a  child,  or  a  child  without 
a  father,  is  not  within  the  grasp  of  human  reason  or  of  angelic 
thought  We  may  aa  well,  then,  pause  here  as  go  any  farther  in  this 
direction.  For  all  the  philosophers  of  earth,  and  all  the  philosophies 
of  the  universe,  are  stranded  and  silenced  just  here,  because  of  the 
impotency  of  boasting,   boastful   reason. 

We  are,  because  God  Is.  And  God  is,  because  God  was,  and  God 
will  ever  be,  because  he  always  was,  the  one  only  self-existent,  und-i- 
rived,  unbegotten,  uncreated  One,  indicated  in  the  ineffably  sublime 
utterance,  I  a.m.  Thia  is  our  Rock  of  Ages.  And  in  speaking  of  the 
joys  and  pleasures  of  true  religion,  we  must  have  a  clear  and  clean 
arena  for  its  full  manifestation,  in  order  to  its  full  enjoyment 

Religion  (I  use  the  term  because  of  its  consecration  in  the  dialects 
of  earth)  being  wholly  of  a  remedial  character,  and  to  be  appreciated 
and  enjoyed  as  such,  must  be  adapted  to  man  as  he  now  exists  in  this 
world.  It  must,  therefore,  have  a  body,  a  soul,  and  a  spirit,  to  meet 
all  the  demands  of  his  being  and  of  his  well  being.  Hence,  Chris- 
tianity must  have  a  body,  a  soul,  and  a  spirit,  if  it  be  at  all  adapted  to 
the  conditions  of  a  lost,  bewildered,  and  ruined  world. 

In  heaven  and  in  hell  there  is  no  religion.  None  in  heaven,  because 
all  its  inhabitants  are  reconciled  to  God;  and  none  in  hell,  because 
its  inmates  are  not  under  a  remedial  dispensation.  The  whole  nee-l 
neither  a  physician  nor  his  medicine.  Neither  do  the  dead.  Religion, 
therefore,  is  for  man  in  the  flesh,  or  for  man  fallen  and  undone,  but 
yet  placed  under  a  remedial  system. 

Angels  or  spirits  in  no  realm  of  the  universe,  are  the  subjects  or 
the  objects  of  religion.  Adoration  and  praise  belong  only  to  those  in 
holy  communion  with  God;  and  these  in  heaven  constitute  natures 
on  earth,  they  are  the  fruit  of  religion,  or  reconciliation  to  God. 
Light  is  not  love,  neither  is  love  light  It  is  but  the  fruit  of  it. 
Before  we  admire  or  love  beauty,  we  must  see  it.  And  before  w-? 
can  love  God,  we  must  know  him  as  he  is — absolute,  supreme,  essen- 
tial beauty. 

But  in  this  lower  world,  and  in  all  its  mists  and  fogs  of  philosophy 
and  religion,  so  called,  there  is  a  vocabulary  as  frail,  and  feeble,  and 
erratic  as  man.  The  reason  is  clear — the  stream  can  not  rise  above 
its  fountain;  and  man  can  never,  at  one  glance,  see  himse'f.  There 
is,  of  his  senses,  not  one  that  can  recognize  its  own  acts.  The  eye 
sees  not  itself,  the  ear  hears  not  itself,  and  neither  of  these  can  take 
cognizance  of  any  one  of  the  other  senses,  nor  any  one  of  them  take 
cognizance  of  either  of  them.  The  gustatory  nervp,  the  olfactory 
nerve,  nor  any  nerve  of  sensation,  ran  take  any  coernizance  whatever 
of  Itself  or  of  the  acts  rf  its  fraternity.     Hence,  mind  and  spirit  are 


312  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

mysteries,  on  which  myriads  of  philosophers  have,  in  vain,  racked 
their  brains  for  thousands  of  years.  But  shall  the  eye  of  man  nullify 
its  own  being  because  it  never  saw  itself,  or  the  ear,  because  it  never 
heard  itself!  Talk  not  of  mirrors.  There  are  neither  eyes  nor  ears 
in  mirrors.  They  but  adumbrate  material  orbs  or  structures.  Senses 
have  no  shadows,  no  lights,  no  colors,  no  forms,  no  images  of  them- 
selves or  of  one  another.  Organs  are  not  senses.  But  if  they  were, 
not  one  of  them  could  recognize  another. 

So  of  all  the  inner  faculties  of  the  mind.  Indeed,  the  mind  and 
the  spirit  require  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to 
separate  them.  None  but  a  sword  manufactured  in  heaven,  can  dis- 
tinguish or  separate  these.  That  sword  is  the  Word  of  God.  Hence 
Paul,  who  saw  all  this  by  a  spiritual  intuition,  eloquently  declares 
that  "The  "Word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  [living  and  effectual,] 
sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  and  is  a  discerner  [or  a  detector] 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  Hence  the  metaphysical 
or  animal  man  never  did,  never  can,  discern  himself. 

No  mere  philosopher,  unaided  by  revelation,  in  writing  or  in  tra- 
dition, ever  knew  himself — his  origin,  his  relations  to  the  universe, 
his  ultimate  destiny.  So  reason  we,  and  so  affirms  Paul  by  a  plenary 
inspiration.  Now,  then,  after  this  excursion,  let  us  return  to  our 
theme. 

We  have  said  that  Christianity,  like  man,  has  its  subject  and  its 
object.  Man  himself  is  the  subject  of  it — man,  in  his  whole  being, 
constitution  and  character,  is  the  subject  of  this  Divine  institution. 
He  was  in  being  before  it  was  in  fact.  It  was  originated  and  con- 
summated for  him  as  a  fallen,  degraded,  ruined  being.  It  contem- 
plates his  entire  regeneration  in  body,  soul  and  spirit.  This  is,  there- 
fore, its  object.  This  consummated,  its  design  is  perfected.  This 
not  consummated,  he  dies  a  wretch  undone — lost,  ruined,  degraded 
forever.  It  is,  therefore,  the  greatest  subject,  or  theme,  within  the 
limits  of  human  thought,  of  human  aspiration.  Compared  with  it, 
the  physical  universe  is  an  atom  unappreciable.  Possessed  of  it,  and 
of  its  full  effect  upon  his  Intellectual  and  moral  constitution,  his 
whole  spiritual  being  is  the  most  sublime  spectacle  we  have  ever  seen, 
or  can  see,  by  the  light  of  this  world,  whether  we  call  it  physical, 
Intellectual,   or   spiritual   light. 

But  man  being  a  miniature  trinity — possessing  a  body,  a  soul,  and 
a  spirit — Christianity  assumes  a  similar  constituency,  and,  therefore, 
it  has  a  body,  a  soul,  and  a  spirit.  Its  body  is  the  ordinances  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Here  I  would  not  call  them  the  ordinances  of  relig- 
ion, for  religion  is  God's  one  grand  ordinance,  the  centre  of  which 
is  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  and  the  propitiatory  intercession — the 
latter  based  on,  and  emanating  from,  the  former.     The  sun  has  been 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  313 

turned  into  blood,  in  the  Son  of  God  having  become  a  slain  lamb. 
Blood  is  the  envelope  of  life,  the  mystery  of  mysteries,  in  the  organ i- 
za'aons  of  this  physical  and  moral  universe.  But  that  I.anib  of  God 
having  been  slain  a  siacrifice  for  us,  there  needs  no  more  sacrifice  for 
sin.  Hence,  this  blood  is  embalmed,  preserved,  and  shadowed  forth 
in  that  which  we  have  called  the  body  of  Christianity — its  ordinances. 
And  of  these,  there  are  three  distinct  embodiments.  These  are,  bap- 
tism, the  Lord's  supper,  and  the  Lord's  day.  These  are  pregnant 
institutions,  filled  with  the  grace  of  God.  Forms,  without  meaning, 
are  nothing.  Form  is  but  a  mode  of  l>eing.  It  is  not  being.  In 
Christian  baptism  there  is  more  than  words  and  water,  and  the  action 
of  immersion.  There  is  a  grace,  a  special  grace.  Baptism  is  valid 
grace,  and  no  more.  There  is,  indeed,  implied,  and  solemnly  expressed 
in  it,  a  death,  a  hurial,  and  a  new  life.  There  is,  too,  a  solemn  prepa- 
ration for  it.  There  is  a  spiritual  illumination  terminating  in  faith, 
a."?  preparatory  to  it,  or  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  spiritual  provisions. 
This  faith  itself  is  not  a  physical  impression  on  the  senses  or  the  soul 
of  a  man,  in  a  state  of  death  or  torpidity,  but  an  actual  giving  up  of 
the  heart,  the  conscience,  the  will,  to  the  Redeemer,  on  the  verity  and 
fidelity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  always  testifies  to  the  Divine  and 
moral  grandeur  of  the  Son — the  Incahxate  Wokd  of  the  Livixq  Goo. 
This  is  baptismal  faith,  terminating  in  a  literal  immersion  in 
water,  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Hence  its  inappreciability  to  insensible,  unappreciating  babes  and 
sucklings. 

There  is  then  a  resurrection  out  of  the  mystic  grave,  by  the  arm  of 
the  administrator — a  second  birth  into  a  new  world — the  church  or 
family  of  God.  Born  thus  of  the  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  a  new  and 
formal  life  begins.  Communion  with  the  Father,  and  with  the  Son. 
and  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  here  commences,  in  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
by  which  those  mystically  regenerated  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  crp, 
Abba,  Father! 

There  is.  also,  besides  the  quickening  of  the  Word  or  Spirit  of 
God.  the  resurrection  to  a  new  life,  not  only  in  the  symbolic  form  of 
emersion,  but  in  the  spiritual,  and  holy,  and  joyful  aspirations  of  th" 
soul  to  God,  in  the  pure  and  holy  spirit  of  personal  consecration  to 
the  service  and  the  honor  of  the  Lord  who  redeemed  us  by  his  own 
blood,  and  constituted  us  kings  and  priests  to  God.  This  sublime 
confession  of  our  faith  in  the  death,  burial,  resurrection,  and  ascen- 
sion of  the  Lord  Jesus,  is  followed  up  by  a  sacred  regard  to  the  other 
constituents  of  the  Christian  gospel— the  Lord's  day  and  the  Tx)rd'3 
supper. 

Christianity  is  pre  eminently  For^ial.  Hence  its  social  institutions. 
These  are  its  social   prayer  meetiagc   and   congratulations,   its  social 


ai4  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

praises,  its  social  thanksgivings,  its  social  communings,  its  social 
benedictions. 

Its  standing  occasions  and  festivals  are  ordained  for  this  purpose, 
for  the  cultivation  and  manifestation  of  a  spiritual  and  holy  union 
and  communion,  in  joint  participation  of  its  prospective  and  retro- 
spective ordinances  and  institutions. 

Hence  the  necessity  of  a  church  state.  A  Christian  can  no  more 
live  out  of  a  church  state  than  can  a  physical  man  live  out  of  a 
physical  universe.  He  as  much,  needs  the  Spirit  of  God  as  he  needs 
breath.  He  needs  the  bread  and  the  water  of  life  as  much,  as  his 
body  demands  for  the  sustenance  the  literal  bread  and  water  of  earth. 
Were  this  not  so,  the  church  and  its  institutions  would  be  unmeaning 
and  barren  appendages,  without  reason,  without  object,  without  good. 
They  are  silly  philosophers,  who  seek  to  live  without  physical  ele- 
ments; and  quite  as  silly  Christians,  who  dream  of  spiritual  life, 
spiritual  health,  or  spiritual  comfort,  without  the  ordinances  which 
God  has  instituted  for  the  life  spiritual  and  divine.  The  communion 
of  saints  is  the  exquisite  of  human  happiness.  Without  employment 
there  is  no  enjoyment,  and  no  enjoyment  without  employment. 
Heaven  is  not  a  mere  state  of  repose.  Its  raptures  and  ecstacies  of 
bliss  are  all  activities  of  the  soul,  in  wonder,  love  and  praise  expressed. 

A  philosophic  speculative  repose  is  a  state  of  soulless  apathy  and 
inactivity.  A  human  being  can  not  live  on  ether,  however  pure, 
unearthy,  and  unelementary  it  may  be  alleged  to  be.  There  are  ordi- 
nances of  worship  even  in  the  heavens.  And  there  are  worshipers 
there  who  unite  and  commune  in  the  full  radiation  and  fruition  of  the 
Divine  presence.  But  they  are  not  mere  thinking  Quakers,  specula- 
tive philosophers,  or  ranting  enthusiasts,  but  admiring,  worshiping, 
adoring  saints.  They  tune  their  golden  lyres  to  the  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb. 

It  is  not  only  in  the  apocalyptic  visions  that  we  read  of  "harpers 
harping  with  their  harps,"  in  rapturous  choirs  above;  but  there,  also, 
we  hear  of  the  "song  of  Moses"  repeated;  and,  better  still,  that  of 
the  slain  lamb  echoing  in  choral  symphonies  through,  all  the  vaults 
of  heaven. 

But  in  the  earthly  state  of  the  church  we  now  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  membership.  Its  social  ordinances  are,  one  and  all,  of  Divine 
appointment.  And  they  are  severally  and  collectively  designed  to 
instruct  and  to  comfort,  to  encourage  and  strengthen  us  for  the  work 
of  faith,  and  labor  of  love,  and  the  patience  of  hope. 

A  Christian  living  out  of  the  Church  of  Christ — unless  in  exile  on 
some  Patmos,  or  in  some  prison,  banished  from  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Lord — is  a  conception  so  far  out  of  my  premises,  that  comprehend  it 
I  can  not;  nor  do  I  envy  that  man  who  attempts  to  justify  it,  under 


Till':    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  315 

fjretense  of  liiRh  spiritualism,  or  because  of  some  canonize<T  shibbo- 
leth of  factitious  importance,  made  sacred  only  by  some  sectarian 
enactment  or  prescription. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  and  its  Divine  ordinances  are  now  the 
only  Bethel — the  only  social  antitype  of  the  tabernacle  of  Israel,  of 
the  temple  of  Solomon,  of  the  Mount  Zion  where  stood  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  the  citadel  of  the  great  King. 

Till-  foundutioiis  of  Zion  are  on  the  holy  mouiilaius. 

Ji'hovah  lovi'th  the  gates  of  Zion 

More  than  any  of  the  ilwcllings  of  Jacob. 

Glorious  things  are  spokt-u  of  thee,  City  of  GodI 

»•••••♦• 

Yt-a,  Concerning  Zion  it  shall  be  said, 

This  and  that  man  was  born  in  her! 

For  the  most  high  shall  himself  establish  her. 

la  the  records  of  peoples  Jehovah  shall  relate, 

This  man  was  born  there. 

They  shall  sing  as  those  leading  the  dance; 

Each  shall  say,  All  my  springs  are  in  thee.  [Psalm  rxxxvii. 

But  in  clearer  vision,  with  Paul  we  say  to  the  Christian  Church, 
and  to  its  holy  brotherhood — "You  are  come  to  Mount  Zion,  even  to 
the  city  of  the  Living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innu- 
merable company  of  angels;  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  sons  of  Cod,  who  are  enrolled  in  heaven,  and  to  the  Judge,  who 
is  God  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect;  to  Jesu.^, 
the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling, 
that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel." 

In  such  society  as  this 

My  weary  soul  would  rest; 
The  man  that  dwells  where  Jesus  is 

Must  be  forever  blest. 

What  a  contrast  between  a  citizen  of  Zion  and  a  mere  citizen  of 
any  state  or  empire  founded  in  blood,  usurpation,  tyranny,  or  on  any 
of  the  forms  of  philosophy  or  theology,  ancient  or  niodernl 

A.  c,  1854,  page  121. 

In  1832,  in  an  extra,  Mr.  Campbell  says  of 

THE  CHRISTIAN: 
73.  Q.  What  constitutes  a  Christian? 

A.  Faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  the  Son  of  God,  and  obedience  to 
him. 

76.  Q.  What  is  faith  in  Jesus? 

A.  An  assurance,  founded  on  the  testimony  of  Apostles  and  Proph- 
ets, that  he  is  the  Messia'i  t''''  Pon  of  God. 

77.  Q.  Does  not  thi.s  assurr.ncp  draw  mankind  to  him.  and  cause 
them  to  repose  confidence  in  him? 

A.  All  who  know  his  name  and  character  will  put  their  trust  in 
him. 


316  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED- 

78.  Q.  What  are  the  privileges  of  Christians  as  respects  this  life? 
A.  They  are  all  reconciled  to  God,  justified,  sanctified,  adopted  into 

the  family  of  God,  saved,  and  constituted  heirs  of  God  through  Christ. 

79.  Q.  Are  all  these  blessings,  honors,  and  hopes,  secured  to  ail 
in  Christ? 

A.  Yes,  by  the  promise  and  oath  of  God.  God  sware  to  Abraham 
that  he  would  bless  all  the  families  of  the  earth  in  his  So)i. 

80.  Q.  What  do  the  Scriptures  mean  by  being  reconciled  to  God? 

A.  Just  what  is  implied  in  being  reconciled  to  man.  When  a  mis- 
understanding, alienation,  or  enmity  exists  in  both  parties,  they  are 
said  to  be  reconciled  to  each  other,  when  the  causes  are  removed,  and 
when  they  are  restored  to  mutual  confidence,  love,  and  affection. 
When  alienation  exists  only  in  one  of  the  parties,  he  is  said  to  be 
reconciled  to  the  other,  when  his  alienation  or  the  causes  of  it  are 
removed. 

81.  Q.  Whether  do  the  Scriptures  represent  that  God  has  recon- 
ciled us,  or  that  we  have  reconciled  him? 

A.  "God  has  reconciled  us  to  himself,''  is  the  language  of  the  book. 

82.  Q.  How  did  God  reconcile  us  to  himself? 

A.  By  teaching  us  that  he  could  not  approve  or  delight  in  us  as 
sinners,  by  making  his  Son  a  sin-offering  for  us;  thereby  making  it 
every  way  honorable  and  gracious  in  himself  to  forgive  us  our  sins 
through  the  blood  of  his  well  beloved  Son,  whom  he  sent  forth  from 
his  own  bosom  in  proof  of  his  love  to  the  world. 

83.  Q.  What  is  meant  by  being  justified? 

A.  It  is  to  have  the  remission  of  all  our  sins,  and  to  stand  as 
righteous  persons  in  the  sight  of  God. 

84.  Q.  Is  it  not,  then,  equivalent  in  effect  to  being  pardoned? 

A.  It  is  so  used  by  the  Apostles:  "By  him  all  that  believe  are 
justified  from  all  things  from  which  no  one  could  be  justified  by  the 
law  of  Moses." 

85.  Q.  What  do  the  Scriptures  mean  by  the  word  sanctified? 

A.  To  be  sanctified  is  to  be  separated  to  God  as  respects  our  rela- 
tion to  him,  and  to  have  a  purification  of  heart  conformed  to  that 
state.  Thus  Christians  are  said  to  be  holy  as  respects  both  their 
state,  dispositions,  and  behavior. 

86.  Q.  What  do  the  Scriptures  mean  by  being  adopted? 

A.  Adoption,  or  receiving  into  the  relation  of  a  son,  is  the  same 
act,  whether  God  or  man  be  the  adopter.  On  as  many  as  receive  Jesus 
in  his  character  as  God's  Son,  he  bestows  the  honor  of  an  induction 
into  the  relation  of  children — of  sons  and  daughters  to  the  Lord 
Almighty.  And  more;  he  communicates  to  them  the  spirit  of  children, 
so  that  they  can,  with  feeling,  say,  "Abba,  Father!" 

87.  Q.  In  what  sense  are  Christians  caved  in  this  life? 


THE    JUILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  317 

A.  From  sin.  "He  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins;"  from 
the  guilt,  pollution,  and  dominion  of  sin  in  this  life,  and  from  its 
punishment  in  the  next. 

88.  Q.  In  what  consists  the  inheritance  or  heirship  of  Christians? 
A.  "All   things  arc  theirs."     Angels,   Apostles,  and   Prophets;    the 

world,  life,  death,  and  immortality;  Christ  himself,  "the  heir  of  all 
things,"  is  theirs,  and  they  are  his.  Their  inheritance  is  in  the 
heavens — "incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  unfading." 

89.  Q.  How  many  salvations  are  spoken  of  as  belonging  to  Chris- 
tians? 

A.  Three.  The  salvation  of  their  persons  from  all  the  dangers  of 
the  kingdom  of  nature;  the  salvation  of  their  souls  from  the  guilt, 
pollution,  and  power  of  sin;  the  salvation  of  their  bodies  from  the 
grave  and  from  all  the  punishment  of  sin.  God  is  the  saviour  of  all 
men,  especially  believers,  from  physical  dangers;  he  saves  the  souls 
of  them  that  fear  him  from  sin  and  Satan.  And  he  has  a  salvation 
to  be  revealed  at  the  last  day,  an  eternal  salvation  of  the  whole  person, 
of  which  all  who  are  found  faithful  to  death  shall  be  partakers. 

90.  Q.  What  are  the  chief  constituents  of  the  present  salvation? 
A.  The  remission  of  sins  and  the  Holy  Spirit.     Pardon  of  all  past 

sin  is  necessary  to  peace  of  conscience,  and  is  God's  free  and  first  gift 
through  faith  in  his  Son,  and  immersion  into  his  death  and  resurrec- 
tion. When  the  heart  is  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  the 
body  washed  with  cleansing  water,  ours  is  the  spirit  of  love,  joy, 
peace;  for  the  reign  of  God  is  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  th.? 
Holy  Spirit.  Thus  in  the  order  of  nature  the  reception  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  necessarily  subsequent  to  the  remission  of  our  sins. 

The  chief  promises  to  the  Christian  are: 

"I.  Come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  and  I  will 
receive  you,  and  you  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  says  the  Lord 
Almighty. 

"H.  I  will  be  their  God  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 

"HI.  My  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  and  make  our 
abode  with  him. 

"IV.  I   will  never  leave  you   nor  forsake  you. 

"V.  Christ  in  us  the  hope  of  glory." 

In   1844,   page  481,   the  llarhingcr   said: 

A  SYNOPSIS   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  following  synopsis  of  the  grand  outline,  elements,  and  design 
Of  Christianity,  was  written  by  Tiiom.vs  C.xmi-mkli.,  in  the  82d  year 
of  his  age.  He  desires  its  publication  as  the  result  of  all  his  thoughts 
on  the  great  subject — as  a  very  summary  view*  of  its  cardinal  features, 
sustained  by  a  very  liberal  collation  of  Scripture  quotations.     Its  chief 


318  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

object  is  to  demonstrate  that  Christianity  is  a  development  of  the 
infinite,  eternal,  and  immutable  love  of  God  to  man — of  that  love 
partially  exhibited  in  the  creation  of  man  and  in  the  providence  for 
his  w^ants;  but  perfectly  and  completely  displayed  in  his  eternal  re- 
demption from  sin  and  death. 

The  apparent  redundancy  of  quotations  and  proofs  in  all  his  essays 
is  the  effect  of  a  seventy  years'  devout  study  of  the  book,  until  it  has 
become  part  and  parcel  of  the  mind  of  the  writer.  Himself  an  old 
man,  he  is  fond  of  the  old  style  of  expressing  himself,  as  well  as  the 
ancient  and  commendable  custom  of  dealing  out  liberal  portions  of  the 
sacred  documents  in  explanation  as  well  as  in  confirmation  of  his 
views.  '  A.   c. 

CHRISTIANITY. 

Christianity  is  emphatically,  supereminently — yea,  transcendently, 
the  religion  of  love:  that  is,  of  affectionate  attachment,  benevolence, 
and  beneficence;  for  its  Divine  Author,  subject  matter,  and  effects,  are 
all  love  in  the  highest  possible  degree.  For,  first,  God  its  author,  is 
love.  (I.  John  iv.  8.)  So  are  all  its  grand  fundamental  facts,  the 
effects  of  divine  love.  Namely,  1st.  The  divine  assumption  of  our 
humanity  in  its  present  debased,  degraded  condition.  2.  The  personal 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  inhabit  our  nature,  thus  assumed.  3.  The 
deep  humiliation,  cruel  maltreatment,  tremendous  sufferings,  and 
ignominious  death  of  this  glorious  personage,  our  Divine  Emanuel. 

4.  His  glorious  resurrection  and  infinite  exaltation  above  all  heavens. 

5.  The  mission  and  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  disciples  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  to  dwell  in  them,  and  to  be  with  them  for  ever; 
and  likewise  in  and  with  all  them  that  should  believe  through  their 
word. 

Now,  as  those  five  fundamental  gospel  facts  are  all  transcendent 
effects  of  divine  love,  so  are  all  its  gracious  declarations,  invitations, 
and  promises,  effects  of  the  same  divine  principle;  for  they  are  not 
only  completely  adapted  to  our  wretched,  guilty,  polluted,  perishing 
condition — presenting  us  with  seasonable  redress  for  all  our  griev- 
ances, and  healing  for  our  diseases;  but  also — with  an  everlasting 
portion  of  glory,  honor,  and  immortality,  in  the  possession  of  an  inher- 
itance incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  unfading,  reserved  in  heaven  for 
them,  who,  through  the  belief  and  obedience  of  the  gospel  and  law  of 
Chris*,  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God,  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  prom- 
ised salvation,  which  is  yet  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time.  And  lastly, 
the  law  of  Christ,  which,  together  with  the  gospel,  constitutes  the 
subject  matter  of  Christianity,  is  also  pure  and  perfect  love. 

Now,  if  it  be  Scripturally  evident  to  demonstration,  from  the  above 
mentioned  facts  and  documents,  (as  we  humbly  presume  it  is.)  that 
our  holy  religion,  in  its  Divine  Author,  subject  matter,  and  effects,  is 


THE   JlilLLEKNIAL   HARBINGER   ABRIDGED.^  319 

pure  and  perfect  love;  what  remains,  then,  but  that  we  so  avail  our- 
selves of  it,  as  to  get  into  the  actual  possession  of  this  blissful  attain- 
ment? We  say  blissful  attainment — for  perfect  love  is  perfect  hap- 
piness; provided,  the  beloved  object  be  perfectly  adapted  to  the  lover's 
capacity  for  enjoyment;  and  such  is  really  and  perfectly  the  case  in 
the  subject  before  us. 

We  shall,  therefore,  proceed  to  a  Scriptural  investigation  of  this 
all-important  subject;  taking  every  item  in  the  order  of  the  above 
synopsia  We  have  assumed  that  our  holy  religion  is  emphatically, 
supereminently — yea,  transcendently,  the  religion  of  love.  Our  first 
argument  is  taken  from  the  revealed  character  of  its  Divinn  Author; 
all  whose  works  are  naturally  and  originally  works  of  love:  "For  God 
is  love."  (I.  John  iv.  8.)  Now,  the  history  of  the  divine  proceedings, 
from  the  very  beginning,  evinces  this  blissful  truth:  the  first  chapter 
of  which  is  the  work  of  creation,  of  which  we  have  a  particular  record 
in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  In  this  chapter  the  divine  intention 
is  emphatically  marked  by  a  seven-fold  repetition  of  the  word — good — 
applied  successively  to  the  various  productions  of  almighty  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness., and  expressive  of  the  divine  intention;  namely, 
the  happiness  of  all  his  sensitive  and  intelligent  creatures.  For  the 
term — good — embraces  the  whole  circle  of  enjoyment;  as  we  call  every 
thing  good,  that  gives  us  pleasure.  And  here  it  is  very  remarkablo, 
that  God,  upon  a  review  of  the  whole  creation,  pronounces  it  super- 
eminently GOOD.  See  verse  31st.  "And  God  saw  everything  that  h^ 
had  made;  and,  behold,  it  was  very  good."  That  is,  perfectly  adapted 
to  the  gratification  and  happiness  of  every  creature  capable  of  enjoy- 
ment. And,  last  of  all,  in  the  chapter  of  creation,  the  divine  benevo- 
lence is  most  eminently  manifested  in  man.  For,  "God  said.  Let  us 
make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness:  and  let  them  have  domin- 
ion," etc.  "So  God  created  man  after  his  own  image,  in  the  image 
of  God  created  he  him:  a  male  and  a  female  created  he  them.  And 
God  blessed  them,"  etc.  Now  is  it  possible  for  the  Creator,  in  his 
creative  process,  to  confer  a  greater  privilege  upon  a  creature,  than 
to  create  it  in  his  oicn  image,  after  his  own  likeness,  that  it  might 
not  only  thus  be  qualified  for  the  enjoyment  of  personal  intercourse 
with  its  Almighty  Creator,  but  also  with  a  conjoint  participation  with 
him  in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  his  terrestrial  creations?  Yea 
— of  everything  of  which  its  nature  was  thus  made  capable?  But  the 
creative  benevolence  does  not  yet  stop  here.  For.  "the  T^ord  God 
planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden;  and  there  he  put  the  man  whom 
he  had  formed.  And  out  of  the  ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow 
every  tree  that  is  plea.^ant  to  the  sight  and  good  for  food:  the  tree  of 
life  also  in  the  midst  o.f  the  garden,  and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil."     It  was  well  watered — and  "atiounded  in.  gold  and  pearls;" 


320  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

for  "there  was  bdellium  and  the  onyx  stone."  This  collection  and 
concentration  of  beauties  and  delicacies,  both  vegetable  and  mineral, 
might  well  be  called  "The  Garden  of  Eden;"  that  is,  of  pleasure  and 
delight.  But  to  consummate  the  divine  benevolence  in  those  original 
gifts  of  the  divine  love,  God  was  graciously  pleased  to  favor  and  to 
furnish  our  first  parent,  in  this  garden  of  delights,  with  the  blissful 
means  of  not  only  enjoying  the  unspeakable  gratification  of  manifest- 
ing, by  his  obedience,  his  love  and  gratitude  to  his  most  gracious  and 
benevolent  Creator;  but  also  of  securing  to  himself  and  his  heirs  the 
perpetual  enjoyment  of  his  present  happy  condition,  secured  to  him 
and  them  by  their  unrestricted  access  to  the  tree  of  life. 

Now,  had  man  continued  obedient,  would  not  uninterrupted  enjoy 
ment  have  been  his  continual  employment?  But  he  was  unnaturally 
excited  to  transgress;  and  thus  justly  forfeited  all  his  enjoyment.  And 
how  did  the  Lord  God  proceed  towards  his  guilty  creature?  He  pro- 
ceeded in  mercy  and  love.  For  he  respited  our  guilty  progenitors 
from  the  immediate  full  execution  of  the  sentence,  dismissed  them 
from  his  presence  and  the  blessed  garden,  under  the  sentence  of 
death:  but  not  without  the  hope  of  deliverance  from  the  power  of  the 
deadly  enemy,  that  had  maliciously  seduced  them.  Thus  were  they 
put,  typically,  (being  covered  with  the  spoils  of  death,)  under  the 
protection  of  a  remedial  dispensation,  through  sacrifice;  to  which 
they  were  to  have  continual  recourse,  as  the  divinely  appointed  means 
of  access  to  God,  and  of  acceptance  with  him.  Hence  we  find  animal 
sacrifice  practiced  in  the  family  of  Adam,  of  Noah,  of  Abraham,  etc., 
etc.,  and  so  on  till  the  death  of  Christ,  the  great  antitypical  sacrifice, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

Now  this  brings  us  up  to  the  great  gospel  facts  specified  in  our 
synopsis:  the  first  of  which  is,  the  divine  assumption  of  our  humanity, 
in  its  present  degenerate,  degraded  condition.  And,  surely,  if,  in  the 
first  instance,  it  was  a  transcendent  display  of  the  love  of  God  to 
man,  to  create  him  in  his  own  image,  after  his  own  likeness;  it  was 
transcendently  greater  to  assume  our  nature,  degraded  into  a  guilty, 
depraved,  perishing  condition,  and  thus  to  assimilate  himself  to  us — 
that  he  might  so  identify  himself  with  us,  that  our  iniquity  might  be 
laid  upon  him — that  by  his  stripes  we  might  be  healed.  (Isa.  liii.  5.) 
And  thus  put  away  our  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself.  (Heb.  ix.  26.) 
If  this  does  not  demonstrate  the  blissful  truth  that  "God  is  love" — 
what  could  do  it? 

The  second  great  gospel  fact  is,  the  personal  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  inhabit  cur  nature,  thus  assumed.  (Matt  iii.  16,  17.)  "Jesus,  when 
he  was  baptized,  went  up  straightway  out  of  the  water;  and,  lo,  the 
heavens  were  open  to  him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descending 
like  a  dove,   and  lighting  upon  him:    and,   lo,   a  voice  from  heaven, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    IIARDIXOER    ABRIDGED.  321 

saying,  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  pleased."  "For  Go.l 
giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him."  "For  the  Father  lovetU 
the  Son,  and  hath  tiven  all  tilings  into  his  hand."  (John  iii.  34,  35. j 
"And  of  his  fullness  have  all  we  received,  even  gi-ace  for  grace."  (John 
i.  IG.)  "For  it  pleased  the  Father,  that  in  him  should  all  fullness 
dwell.  For  in  him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  godhead  bodily, ' 
(Col.  1.  19;  ii.  9,  10.)  "And  ye  are  complete  in  him,  who  is  the  head 
of  all  principality  and  power."  Glory  to  God!  What  has  the  Lord 
done  for  the  salvation  and  exaltation  of  poor,  debased,  guilty,  per- 
ishing humanity,  in  the  person  of  our  glorious  Emanuel,  in  whom 
dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  divinity  substantially,  both  by  the 
personal  union  of  tlie  Logos,  and  the  inhabitation  of  the  Holy  Spirit! ! 
The  third  gospel  fact  in  our  synopsis,  is  the  deep  humiliation,  cruel 
maltreatment,  tremendous  sufferings,  and  ignominious  death  of  this 
glorious  personage.  It  appears  that  his  mother  was  a  poor,  dowerless 
virgin;  his  legal  father,  an  humble,  laborious  mechanic.  His  birth- 
place was  a  stable,  his  cradle  a  manger.  Shortly  after  his  birth,  his 
parents  had  to  flee  from  their  country  to  save  his  life.  Upon  their 
return,  they  located  in  the  infamous  Nazareth  (John  i.  46),  from 
whence  our  Saviour  took  his  local  name — "Jesus  of  Nazareth;"  where 
it  is  probable  he  wrought  with  his  father;  for  he  is  called  the  carpenter 
(Mark  vi.  2).  And  during  his  ministerial  labors  he  tells  us,  that  "the 
foxes  had  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  h£id  nests;  but  that  he,  the 
Son  of  Man,  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  But  not  only  was  he 
thus  the  subject  of  infantile  persecution,  local  infamy,  and  humble 
laborious  poverty;  but  also  of  blasphemous  reproach;  as  being  in  league 
with  Satan — a  glutton,  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners 
(Matt.  xi.  19).  Accordingly,  when  at  last  they  were  permittedtto  appre- 
hend him,  they  most  insultingly  abused  him:  for  having  led  him  away 
to  the  high  priest's  house,  who  condemned  because  he  confessed,  that 
he  was  the  Son  of  God.  For,  upon  answering  the  high  priest,  when 
first  interrogated,  one  of  the  officers  struck  him:  and  when  condemned 
by  the  high  priest  for  his  confession,  "the  men  that  held  Jesus  mocked 
him  and  smote  him,  and  spit  in  his  face;  and  when  they  had  blind- 
folded him,  they  struck  him  on  the  face,  saying.  Prophesy  who  it  iS 
that  smote  thee.  And  many  other  things  blasphemously  spake  they 
against  him."  (Luke  xxii.  63-65.)  And  when  they  brought  him  to 
Pilate,  they  accused  him  with  treasonable  practices,  claiming  to  be 
their  king:  who,  upon  hearing  that  he  was  a  Galilean,  sent  him  to 
Herod:  who,  with  his  men  of  war,  set  him  at  naught,  and  mocked 
him,  and  arrayed  him  in  a  gorgeous  robe,  and  sent  him  again  to 
Pilate  (Luke  xxiii.  6-11.)  But  when  Pilate,  upon  finding  nothing 
proved  against  him,  proposed  to  release  him;  availing  himself,  for 
this    purpose,    of    an    established    custom;     which    was    to    release    to 


322  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

them,  at  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  a  prisoner  at  the  request  of  the 
people;  they  reject  Jesus,  and  choose  Barabbas,  a  seditious  murderer. 
Jesua  being  thus  rejected,  and  the  murderer  preferred,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  priests  and  rulers,  Pilate  orders  Jesus  to  be  scourged, 
and  delivers  him  up  to  be  crucified.  (Matt,  xxvii.  26-50.)  "Then  the 
soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  into  the  common  hall,  and  gath- 
ered unto  him  the  whole  band  of  soldiers.  And  they  stripped  him, 
and  put  on  him  a  scarlet  robe.  And  when  they  had  platted  a  crown 
of  thorns,  they  put  it  upon  his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right  hand :  and 
they  bowed  the  knee  before  him,  and  mocked  him,  saying,  Hail,  King 
of  the  Jews!  And  they  spit  upon  him,  and  took  the  reed,  and  smote 
him  oo  the  head.  And  after  that  they  had  mocked  him,  they  took 
the  robe  off  from  him,  and  put  his  own  raiment  on  him,  and  led  him 
away  to  crucify  him.  And  as  they  came  out,  they  found  a  man  of 
Cyrene,  Simon  by  name:  him  they  compelled  to  bear  his  cross.  And 
when  they  were  come  unto  a  place  called  Golgotha,  this  is  to  say, 
A  Place  of  a  Skull,  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink,  mingled  with 
gall;  and  when  he  tasted  thereof,  he  would  not  drink.  And  they 
crucified  him,  and  parted  his  garments,  casting  lots;  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  Prophet,  They  parted  my  garments 
among  them,  and  upon  my  vesture  did  they  cast  lots.  And  sitting 
down,  they  watched  him  there:  and  set  up  over  his  head,  his  accusa- 
tion written,  THIS  IS  JESUS  THE  KING  OP  THE  JEWS.  Then 
were  there  two  thieves  crucified  with  him;  one  on  the  right  hand,  and 
another  on  the  left.  And  they  that  passed  by  reviled  him,  wagging 
their  heads,  and  saying,  Thou  that  destroyest  the  temple,  and  buildest 
it  in  three  days,  save  thyself.  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down 
from  the  cross.  Likewise  also  the  chief  priests  mocking  him,  with 
the  scribes  and  elders,  said,  He  saved  others,  himself  he  can  not 
save.  If  he  be  the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the 
cross  and  we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted  in  God;  let  him  deliver 
him  now,  if  he  will  have  him:  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God.  The 
thieves  also,  which  were  crucified  with  him,  cast  the  same  in  his 
teeth.  Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land 
unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabbacthani?  that  is  to  say.  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  Some  of  them  that  stood 
there,  when  they  heard  that,  said.  This  man  calleth  for  Elias.  And 
straightway  one  of  them  ran,  and  took  a  spunge,  and  filled  it  with 
vinegar,  and  put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink.  The  rest  said, 
Let  be,  let  us  see  whether  Elias  will  come  to  save  him.  Jesus,  when 
he  had  cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  yielded  up  the  ghost."  What 
insulting  cruel  maltreatment! !  What  tremendous  suffering! !  Is  it 
any  cause  of  wonder,  that  the  realizing  anticipation  of  such  c  horrid 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  323 

catastrophe  should  have  produced  that  soul-rending  agony  and  bloody 
sweat,  which  our  gracious  Lord  experienced  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane,  just  before  its  commencement?  0!  for  a  true  realizing  appre- 
hension of  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  so  we 
might  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God!      (Eph.  iii.  19.) 

But  we  now  proceed  to  the  fourth  item  in  our  synopsis,  namely,  his 
trimphant  resurrection  from  under  the  dominion  of  deaUi  and  the 
grave;  and  glorious  exaltation  far  above  all  heavens:  "For  he  that 
descended  first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,  is  the  same  who  also 
ascended  up  far  above  all  heavens,  that  he  might  fill  all  things." 
(Eph.  iv.  9,.  10.)  For,  aa  we  have  just  before  quoted,  "It  pleased  the 
Father  that  in  him  should  all  fullness  dwell."  Now,  this  most  gra^ 
clous  intention  was,  doubtless,  intended  for  the  ultimate  perfection 
of  his  people;   for  God  does  nothing  in  vain. 

This  all-important  event,   however,   took   place  very   early    in  the 
morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  being  the  third  day  after  his 
death  and  burial.    We  learn,  from  the  sacred  record,  that  some  of  his 
female  disciples,  who  were  present  at  their  Lord's  death  and  burial, 
had  agreed  to  meet  very  early  at  the  sepulchre,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  for  the  purpose  of  anointing  his  body,  came  accordingl:-, 
while  it  was  yet  dark,  and  found  the  sepulchre  empty;— that  about 
the  time  of  their  arrival  there  was  a  great  earthquake;   and  that  an 
angel  had  descended  from  heaven,  and  rolled  back  the  stone  and  sai 
upon   it— that  his  countenance  was   like  lightning,   and   his   raiment 
white  as  snow;— and,  that  for  fear  of  him,  the  keepers  did  shake,  and 
became  as  dead  men.  Thus  were  heaven  and  earth  actuated  and  affected 
at  the  resurrection  of  our  glorious  Emanuel:— a  most  eminent  display 
this,  of  the  approbation  and  love  of  his  heavenly  Father,  which  was 
afterwards  consummated  in  his  transcendent  exaltation.      (Ps.  ex.   1, 
2.)     And  which  will  yet  be  made  most  graciously  apparent  when  he 
shall  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,  accompanied  with  all  his  holy 
angels,  and  all  nations  assembled   before  him,  to   receive  their  final 
destiny  from  his  all  decisive  judgment.     "For  the  Father  judgeth  no 
one,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to  the  Son;   that  all  should 
honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father."  (John  v.  22,  23;   Matt. 
XXV.  31,  32.)     Now  can  any  possible  manifestation  of  the  divine  love 
equal  this,  much  less  exceed  it?    And  does  it  not  terminate  upon  our 
humanity  in  the  person  of  our  glorious  Emanuel,  without  which,  he 
could  not  be,  in  the  personal  sense  of  that  divine  epithet,  "God  with 
us."     How  great  is  the  love  of  God  to  man!!!— At  first  he  made  him 
but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor, 
and  set  him  over  the  works  of  his  hands  in  this  lower  world.     But  in 
his  redeeming  process,  he  has  exalted  our  humanity  above  the  whole 
creation,   by   a   most   gracious  act  of  his  own   sovereign   mercy  and 


324  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDQED. 

benevolence;  for  we  deserved  nothing  but  the  very  contrary,  as 
appears  most  evident  in  the  condition  of  those,  that  receive  the  due 
reward  of  their  iniquity.  (See  Rev.  xx.  15.)  Yet,  however,  in  the 
meantime,  the  person  of  our  glorious  Emanuel,  "God  manifested  in 
the  flesh,"  "is  exalted  far  above  all  heavens,  that  he  might  fill  all 
things."  (Eph.  iv.  10.)  "Angels,  autharities,  principalities,  and 
powers  being  made  subject  to  him."  (I.  Pet.  iii.  22.)  So  that  at 
his  official  name — Jesus — every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven, 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father.  (Phil.  ii.  10,  11.)  Thus  has  God  graciously  exalted  our 
nature  in  the  person  of  his  Son.  "Well,  therefore,  may  believers 
exclaim:  "Behold,  what  manner  of  love,  the  Father  hath  bestowed  on 
us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God!  For  when  Christ,  our 
life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  appear  with  him  in  glory.  For 
we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him — that  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is."  (Col.  iii.  4;  I.  John  iii.  2.)  How  astonishing 
the  love  of  God  to  man,  first  and  last! ! !  It  will  neither  admit  of 
comprehension  nor  comparison. 

But  after  all  this  vast,  transcendent  display  of  the  divine  love  to  our 
apostate,  guilty,  perishing  nature,  without  the  special  agency  and  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  quicken,  enlighten,  convert,  and  sanctify  us,  we 
must,  after  all,  ultimately  perish:  for  all  to  whom  the  gospel  comes, 
are  really  and  evidently  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins;  being  alienated 
from  the  life  of  God,  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  by  reason 
of  the  blindness  of  their  hearts.  (Eph.  iv.  18.)  "For  the  carnal  mind 
is  enmity  against  God;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither 
indeed  can  be."  So  that  they  who  are  under  its  infiuence,  can  not 
please  God.  And  this  is  the  case  with  all  that  have  not  the  Spirit 
of  Christ.  For  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none 
of  his — And  it  is  only  those  that  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  that 
are  the  sons  of  God.  (Rom.  viii.  7-14.)  And  no  man  can  (truly  and 
sincerely)  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  (I.  Cor. 
xii.  3.)  Therefore,  our  Lord,  when  about  to  leave  his  disciples  whom 
he  had  chosen  to  evangelize  the  world,  promised  them  the  assistance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  render  their  labors  successful.  (John  xvi.  7-11.) 
Wherefore,  all  true  believers  are  said  to  be  "born  of  the  Spirit" — born 
from  above — John  iii.  4-6 — to  be  begotten  by  an  act  of  the  divine  will 
with  the  word  of  truth,  that  they  might  be  a  kind  of  first  fruits  ot 
his  creatures.  (Jas.  i.  18.)  "Created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  to  good 
works,  which  God  before  ordained,  that  they  should  walk  in  them" 
(Eph.  ii.  10).  Consequently,  all  Christian  graces  and  virtues  are 
ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit:  For  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,    gentleness,    goodness,    faith,    meekness,    temper- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  325 

ance.  If  we  live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in  the  Spirit— (For  the 
fiuit  of  the  Spirit  is  in  all  goodness,  and  righteousness,  and  truth;) 
proving  what  is  acceptable  to  the  Lord.  (Gal.  v.  22,  23,  25;  Eph.  v. 
9,  10.)  These  things  being  so,  Christ  would  not  suffer  his  coramiS' 
sioned  disciples  to  commence  their  official  labors,  till  they  received 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit — on  the  day  of  Pentecost — on  which 
ever-memorable  day,  commenced  the  Gospel  Dispensation;  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  took  possession  of  the  Christian  church,  never  to  leave 
it  while  sun  and  moon  endure — never — till  the  whole  redeemed  family 
be  ultimately  presented  in  the  divine  presence,  in  the  perfection  of 
glory.  Thus  we  have  the  transcendent  love  of  the  Father  fillly  mani- 
fested in  the  gift  of  his  beloved  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  to  justify  and 
sanctify  depraved,  guilty,  perishing  sinners,  that  they  might  be  pre- 
pared for  the  eternal  enjoyment  of  the  supreme  felicity  above 
described.  All  these  things  being  really  so,  as  the  Scriptures  most 
evidently  declare;  is  it  not  demonstrably  evident — that  God  is  lovef 
But,  whilst  heaven  and  earth,  rejoice  in  this  blissful  and  glorious  truth, 
it  is  equally  evident  to  both,  that  God  is  as  just  as  he  is  benevolent 
and  gracious;  for  "he  will  by  no  means  acquit"  (Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7, 
with  Nah.  i.  3).  He  never  has  permitted,  nor  ever  will,  one  single 
transgression  to  pass  with,  impunity.  All  the  divine  attributes  are 
equally  infinite.  God  is  as  good  as  he  is  great — as  just  as  he  is  merci- 
ful. Wherefore,  that  he  might  justify  the  ungodly,  he  laid  on  his 
beloved  Son  the  punishment  due  to  their  iniquities.  (See  Isa.  liii.  5, 
with  Rom.  iii.  25,  26,  etc.)  So  that  although  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father  is  the  supreme  object  of  his  love,  and  although  he  takes 
infinite  delight  in  the  salvation  of  sinners;  yet,  rather  than  suffer  sin 
to  pass  with  impunity,  he  laid  on  him  the  punishment  due  to  the 
iniquities  of  all  that  shall  be  saved.  How  hateful,  then,  in  the  divine 
judgment,  must  be  that  abominable  thing  called  sin!  !!  (Jer.  xliv.  4.) 
Nevertheless,  it  is  true  of  all  believers,  that  "for  the  great  love  where- 
with. God  loved  them  dead  in  sins,  he  quickened  them  together  with 
Cnrist."  "For  you  hath  he  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins;  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked  according  to  the  course  of 
this  world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  Spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience:  among  whom  also 
we  all  had  our  conversation  in  times  past  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh, 
fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind;  and  were  by  nature 
the  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy, 
for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ  (by 
grace  ye  are  saved;)  and  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us 
sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus;  that  in  the  ages  to 
come  he  might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  his  grace,  in  his  kindness 


326  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus.  For  by  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith;  and  that  not  of  yourselves;  it  is  the  gift  of  God:  not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast.  For  we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that 
we  should  walk  in  them"  (Eph.  ii.  1-10).  Having  thus  briefly  con- 
sidered the  transcendent  display  of  the  divine  love — first,  in  creation; 
next,  in  the  grand  gospel  facts  divinely  intended  for  our  salvation; 
we  proceed  in  the  last  place  to  consider  the  gracious  declarations, 
invitations,  and  promises  of  the  blessed  gospel,  in  connection  with 
the  law  of  Christ;  the  belief  and  obedience  of  which,  connected  with 
the  belief  of  the  aforesaid  facts,  constitute  Christian  character. 

We  commence  this  all-important  part  of  our  deeply  interesting  sub- 
ject with  a  quotation  from  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis,  verse  15:  — 
"I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy 
seed  and  her  seed;  he  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his 
heel."'  This  divine  declaration  takes  the  lead,  it  is  the  root  of  the 
■whole  matter  now  before  us;  and  has  been  triumphantly  accomplished. 
Glory  to  God!  Upon  the  import  of  this  promise,  has  the  Lord  founded 
the  remedial  dispensation;  and  made  the  congenial  declaration  of  his 
great  name  to  Moses.  (Ex.  xxxiv,  6,  7.)  "And  the  Lord  passed  by 
before  him,  and  proclaimed.  The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth;  keep- 
ing mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgression,  and 
sin;  and  that  will  by  no  means  acquit,"  (that  is,  suffer  to  pass  with 
impunity:"  "for  the  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all"  (Isa.  liii. 
6);  "visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children,  and  upon 
the  children's  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation — (of 
them  that  hate  me.")  (See  chapter  xx.  5.)  These  two  quotations 
introduced,  seem  to  obviate  an  apparently  insuperable  difficulty.  For 
if  God  by  no  means  will  acquit  the  guilty,  then  no  sinner  can  be 
pardoned.  And  if  he  continues  to  visit  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  then  must  all 
generations  be  continually  suffering  for  their  parents'  sins.  But, 
obviating  this  difficulty,  we  have  here  a  most  gracious  and  blissful  dis- 
play of  the  remedial  character  of  God,  most  graciously  adapted  to  our 
gulity,  perishing  condition.  We  could  not  possibly  imagine  a  divine 
character,  better  suited  to  our  relief  and  deliverance.  It  goes  to 
obviate  all  our  fears  and  discouragements,  if  we  are  at  all  desirous 
to  be  saved  from  the  guilt,  the  love,  the  practice,  and  the  punishment 
of  sin.  But,  if  otherwise,  we  must  be  content  to  die  in  our  sins,  and 
be  damned. 

But  let  us  hear  him  again.  Isa.  xlv.  21,  22,  "Look  unto  me,  and 
be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none 
else;   a  just  God  and  a  Saviour:   there  is  none  beside  me."     Hearest 


THE    MILLENMAL    IIAJiBL\GER    ABRIDGED.  327 

thou  this,  0  my  soul!     Thou  hast  nothing  to  fear:   the  Lord  Invites 
thee  to  enjoy  his  salvation.     But  again,   Isa.   Iv.   1-3,  "Ho,  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the   waters,  and   he  that  hath   no   money; 
come  ye,  buy  and  eat;   yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money, 
and  without  price.     Wheiefore  do  ye  spend  money  for  that  which  is 
not  bread,  and  your  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not?    Hearken  dili- 
gently  unto  me,  and   eat  ye  that  which   is  good,   and   let  your   soul 
delight  itself  in  fatness.     Incline  your  ear  and  come  unto  me:   hear, 
and   your  soul   shall   live;    and   I   will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David."    Here  every  one  that  is 
desirous  of  happiness  is  divinely  invited  to  the  true  source  of  enjoy- 
ment,  and   all    mistakes  and    discouragements  obviated.     And   again, 
Rev.  xxi.  5,  and  xxii.  17,  the  blissful  invitation  is  not  only  repeated, 
but  importunately  urged.     "The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say.  Come;  and 
let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come;    and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come; 
and  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."      By  the 
"water  of  life,"  we  understand  the  fruits  and  effects  of  the  lifegiving 
Spirit,  as  expressed  in  the  gracious  declarations,  invitations,  and  prom- 
ises of  the  Blessed  Book,  which,  realized  by  faith,  works  by  love,  puri- 
fies the  heart,  and  so  fills  the  soul  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.     But,   it  may  be  asked.  How  are   we   to   attain  to  this?     The 
answer  is  obvious;    it  is  by  making  a   due  use  of  the   word   of  God 
and  prayer.    For,  saith  the  Great  Teacher,  "Search  the  Scriptures,  for 
in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life;  and  they  are  they  which  testify 
of  me"   (John  v.  39).     And  again — "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive;    seek, 
and  ye  shall  find;   knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you:   for  every 
one   that   asketh,    receiveth.      For   your   heavenly    Father    giveth    his 
Holy   Spirit  to   them   that  ask  him"    (Luke  xi.   9-13).     These   things 
being   so,   there    remains    neither   difficulty    nor   discouragement;    for 
whosoever  is  willing,  is  welcome.     And  the  way  to  the  Bible  and  to 
the  throne  of  grace  stands  open  night  and  day.     Moreover,  the  Great 
Teacher  has  given  us  special  directions,  how  to  proceed  with  success. 
(Matt.  xi.  28-30.)     "Come  to  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest:   take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me; 
for  I   am   meek  and  lowly   in   heart:    and  ye   shall   find   rest  to  your 
souls.    For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burthen  is  light"    By  yoke,  here, 
we  understand  his  precept  and  example — the  law  of  Christ — the  law 
of  love.      (See  Matt.   xxii.   37-40.)      Jesus  said,  "Thou   shalt  love   the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  ail 
thy  mind.    This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment.    And  the  second 
is  like  to  it:  Thou  shalt  love  thy  nedghbor  as  thyself.    On  these  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets."     The  third  and 
last  is  Christ's  own  new  and  special  command,  peculiarly  given  to  his 
disciples,  by  which  they  are  to  be  distinguished  from  all  other  people. 


328  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

(John  xiii.  34,  35.)  "A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  That 
you  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you;,  that  you  also  love  one 
another.  By  this  shall  all  men  know,  that  you  are  my  disciples." 
Hence  it  is  evident,  that  the  yoke  of  Christ  is  a  yoke  of  love;  than 
■which  nothing  can  be  more  pleasant,  profitable,  or  honorable.  For 
who  could  be  more  happy  in  himself,  or  conduce  more  to  the  happiness 
of  others,  or  be  more  highly  and  justly  esteemed,  than  the  possessor 
of  this  universal  love?  For  this  divine  love  is  the  natural  law  of  the 
universe,  and  had  never  been  interrupted,  had  not  sin  taken  place. 
Therefore,  he  that  dwells  under  the  influence  of  this  love,  must  be 
one  of  the  happiest  persons  in  the  universe;  for  he  that  dwells  in 
love,  dwells  in  God,  and  God  in  him;  "for  God  is  love." 

Now  the  first  of  these  three  all-comprehensive  commands  is  unlim- 
ited. For  we  are  commanded  to  "love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our 
heart,  and  with  all  our  soul,  and  with  all  our  mind,  and  with  all  our 
strength"  (Mark  xii.  30).  And  all  this  most  justly;  for  to  him  do  we 
owe  all  that  we  are  and  hava  The  second,  namely,  "Thou  shalt  lovo 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  the  Lord  explains  (Matt.  vii.  12),  saying, 
"All  things  whatsoever  ye  would,  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets."  The  third 
and  last  he  explains  (John  xv.  13),  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than 
this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  He  also  tells  us 
by  the  same  Apostle,  that  because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us,  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  life  for  tlie  brethren.  (L  John  iii.  16.)  Thus, 
this  comprehensive  compend  of  the  divine  law  is  so  well  defined,  that 
no  well  meaning  person  can  possibly  misunderstand  it.  These  things 
being  so,  if  we  desire  to  be  holy,  honorable,  and  happy,  let  us  walk  in 
love,  as  Christ  also  loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us  an  offering  and 
a  sacrifice  to  God  of  a  sweet-smelling  savor;  looking  for  that  blessed 
hope  of  eternal  life,  at  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might 
redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  so  purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, zealous  of  good  works.  (Eph.  v.  2  and  Tit.  ii.  13,  14.)  Who  has 
also  graciously  promised  to  all  such,  that  they  shall  sit  with  him  on 
his  throne,  even  as  he  also  overcame,  and  sat  down  with  the  Father 
on  his  throne.  (Rev.  iii.  21.)  Again — "Blessed  are  all  they,  that  do 
his  commandments;  that  they  may  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  [celestial]  city"  (Rev.  xxii. 
14).  And,  lastly,  to  complete  the  destiny  of  the  believing  and  obedi- 
ent, who  overcome  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil;  he  that  sit^ 
upon  the  throne  of  the  universe,  who  makes  all  things  new,  has  most 
graciously  promised,  saying,  "He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all 
things,  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son"  (Rev.  xxii.  14). 
Now  what  can  he  do  more  than  this?     Can  the  great  God,  the  pro- 


Till-:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  329 

prietor  of  the  universe,  give  more  than  himself,  and  all  that  he  has, 
to  any  portion  of  his  adopted  creatures!!! 

This  brief  Scriptural  view  of  Christianity  duly  considered,  who 
would  not  be  a  Christian?  Compared  with  this  incomprehensible,  all- 
comprehending  reward,  all  the  enjoyments,  sorrows,  and  sufferings 
of  a  present  life,  are  not  worthy  to  be  named.  But,  do  we  speak  of 
sufferings?  Why,  if  we  attain  not  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  promised 
blessings  of  Christianity,  we  must  endure  all  the  sufferings  denounced 
in  the  sacred  volume,  summed  up  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the 
Revelation  of  John — the  black  and  dismal  reverse  of  all  the  prom- 
ised glory.  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
to  the  churches." 

It  is  the  earnest  desire  and  hope  of  the  writer,  that  the  reader 
of  the  above  essay  upon  the  infinite  excellency  and  importance  of  the 
Christian  religion,  will  not  be  content  with  a  mere  superficial  perusal 
of  it,  but  that,  as  it  presents  the  "pearl  of  greatest  price,"  he  will 
therefore  give  the  greatest  diligence  to  avail  himself  of  it — without 
the  possession  of  it,  it  were  better  for  him  had  be  never  been  born. 

Thomas  Campbelx. 

EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 

In  1830  and  later  the  Harbinger  published  certain  letters  to 
Humphrey  Marshal,  written  by  Mr.  Campbell.  From  these  we  make 
the  following  extracts:  1830 — page  513. 

LETTER  I, 

I  have  no  doubt,  sir,  but  you  have  strong  objections  to  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion,  much  stronger  than  you  have  either  reason 
or  argument  to  sustain.  For  Free-thinkers  are  not  more  free  from 
prejudice  and  passion,  from  enthusiasm  and  infatuation,  than  those 
whom  they  denounce  as  dupes  and  impostors.  With  many  of  them, 
a  Free-thinker  is  one  who  is  free  to  form  opinions  as  despots  enact 
laws;  free  to  infer  without  premises;  free  to  conjecture  without  prob- 
ability; free  to  assert  and  to  decide,  not  only  without,  but  even  against, 
reason  and  well-established  testimony.  Those  who  are  not  so  free 
in  these  respects,  they  rank  amongst  impostors  and  dupes.  These 
they  honor  with  such  epithets  as  you  bestow  on  Paul.  In  your  style 
l*aul  was  a  "jack-with-the-lantern;"  the  Apostles  were  "cullies,"  and 
the  most  honorable  women  were  "gossips."  The  Christian  facts  are 
"abominable  falsehoods;"  and  the  writings  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John  are  "apostolic  romances."  In  this  style,  sir,  you  appear  not 
to  be  a  novitiate,  but  a  master. 

You  assert  in  the  following  words: — "I  say  that  Mary  Magdalene 
was   the  author   of  the   resurrection   of  Jesus   Christ,   by  making  tho 


330  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

first  suggestions  of  the  fact,  and  by  adding  to  it  circumstances  of  a 
marvelous  kind." 

Indeed,  sir,  you  appear  to  be  as  free  a  reasoner,  as  thinker,  or 
believer,  touching  all  matters  and  things  pertaining  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus.  The  freest  piece  of  reasoning,  which  I  recollect  to  have 
seen  from  the  pen  of  a  senator,  is  your  reasoning  about  the  robbery 
of  the  sepulchre.  At  the  conclusion  of  your  reasoning,  you  affirm — 
"I  have  now  shown  how,  or  by  whom,  the  body  of  Jesus  was  removed 
from  the  sepulchre."  Now  for  your  showing  by  testimony  and  reason. 
Nay,  indeed,  you  prove  a  fact,  historic,  too,  without  testimony.  For 
the  only  testimony  you  adduce  is  your  own  conjecture.  And  your 
deposition  is  to  the  following  effect: — "The  Apostles  were  hypocrites." 
Joseph  and  Nicodemus,  two  of  the  disciples,  stole  the  body.  This  is 
proved  from  the  fact  that  Joseph  and  Nicodemus  were  not  interro- 
gated about  its  absence.  The  Apostles  knew  they  had  stolen  it,  and 
therefore  would  not  have  them  interrogated;  and  they,  Joseph  and 
Nicodemus,  conscious  of  having  stolen  it,  did  not  interrogate  the  Apos- 
tles about  it.  Had  they  not  had  the  body  in  custody,  they  would 
doubtless  have  called  upon  the  Apostles  to  account  for  its  absence. 
And  how  is  it  proved  that  they  did  not  interrogate  the  Apostles' 
Because  it  is  not  recorded!  "The  fair  inference  from  this  silence  is 
as  strong  and  as  plain  as  the  loar-toned  trumpet,  in  affirming  that 
no  inquiry  was  made.  "And  that  in  like  manner  affirms,  that  know- 
ing how  the  body  was  disposed  of,  they  had  no  inquiry  to  make;  or 
rather  that  they  chose  not  to  write  it  down  if  they  made  any.  Such, 
had  it  been  told,  would  have  been  the  honest  truth."  Thank  you,  Mr. 
Marshal,  for  your  deposition.  But  this  is  more  than  your  testimony — 
it  is  your  reasoning  and  testimony  combined.  This  you  call  "show 
ing  by  whom  the  body  of  Jesus  was  removed."  I  know  of  no  Christian 
writer  who  ever  demanded  more  credulity  from  his  readers  than  you 
demand  in  this  instance.  This  vies  with  the  popish  transubstantia- 
tion!  Silence  has  not,  as  far  as  I  have  learned,  ever  before  been 
summoned  as  a  witness  in  any  case,  and  made  speak  "louder  than  the 
war-toned  trumpet."  This  is  a  new  court,  new  judges,  witnesses,  and 
jury — one  erected  by  Mr.  Marshal  for  his  own  use  and  behoof.  Now, 
sir,  think  you  that  a  sane  community  will  consent  to  such  a  tribunal, 
or  that  it  can  regard  that  man  as  possessing  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
body  who  would  attempt — I  say,  attempt  to  subvert  the  faith  of  the 
most  intelligent  portion  of  the  human  race  by  such  chimerical 
assumptions,  and  call  it  "showing  by  whom  the  body  of  Jesus  was 
removed"! ! 

I  shall  only,  in  these  introductory  notices,  attend  to  another  of 
your  proofs  that  the  body  was  stolen.  You  inform  us  that  Mary  Mag- 
dalene was  the  author  of  the  report  of  the  resurrection,  and  yet  the 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    AliRIDOED.  331 

same  writer  who  informs  you  of  Mary  Magdalene  affirms  that  her 
report  was  not  even  believed  by  the  disciples.  From  what  history, 
then,  sir,  do  you  learn  that  she  was  the  author  of  the  resurrection 
story?  But  your  records  inform  you  of  a  grand  "caucus"  neld  the 
night  between  the  first  and  second  days  of  the  report  and  of  the  week, 
touching  this  report.  The  proceedings  of  said  caucus  you  are  also 
apprized  of.  The  debates  you  have  read,  well  attested,  and  on  the 
question  "whether  to  suppress  or  to  propagate  the  idea  of  their  late 
Master's  resurrection,  the  latter  had  the  majority."  If  I  do  not  forget 
what  I  have  read  in  your  pamphlet,  I  think  you  talk  of  the  inductive 
philosophy,  and  the  rules  of  evidence,  testimony,  etc.  And  is  this 
your  application  of  them?  Is  it  by  such  reasonings,  assumptions,  and 
conjectures  you  propose  to  undermine  the  faith  of  Christendom?  If 
so.  indeed,  you  appear  to  have  as  much  underrated  the  intelligence 
and  the  intellect  itself  of  this  generation  as  you  have  the  evidences 
of  the  Christian  religion.  But  the  scoffer  will  rejoice  with  you  in  all 
the  puns,  witticisms,  and  scoffs  which  you  bestow  on  the  Author  of 
the  hope  of  immortality.  They  also,  whose  interest  it  would  be  that 
there  were  no  God,  will  say,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant. ' 
But  as  you  assume  to  reason  against  the  evidences  of  the  great  fact 
on  which  Christianity  rests,  and  as  you  make  a  great  ado  about  the 
contradictions  of  the  original  witnesses,  I  will  attend  to  the  marrow 
and  pith  of  your  reasonings,  to  show  that  the  original  witnesses  were 
wittingly  and  knowingly  a  pack  of  impostors,  lying  and  propagating 
lies  for  the  express  purpose  of  carrying  some  point,  which  you,  how- 
ever, can  not  name.  We  shall,  nevertheless,  calmly  and  dispassion- 
ately examine  your  "reasons,"  if  such  they  may  be  called,  by  which 
you  would  disprove  the  fact  of  Christ's  resurrection. 

You  seem  to  have  reasoned  yourself  into  the  conviction  that  you 
have  attacked  the  main  point  of  my  argument  in  support  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus.  This,  however,  is  not  the  fact.  You  have  not  even 
glanced  at  it.  The  testimony  of  the  original  witnesses  is  nowhere 
in  your  pamphlet  submitted,  presented,  nor  attacked  with  any  refer- 
ence to  that  which  gives  validity  to  the  whole  of  it.  You  rely  upon 
the  contradictions  which  you  have  imagined  you  have  found  in  the 
narratives  of  the  Evangelists.  And  because  they  did  not  tell  all  the 
same  incidents,  nor  those  which  they  relate,  in  the  same  words,  you 
prove  them  to  be  incredible  witnesses,  and  the  gospel  to  be  a  fiction. 
How  successful  you  have  been  in  finding  contradictions  the  sequel 
will  disclose. 

The  Christian  religion  has  been  attacked  and  defended  by  all  sorts 
of  intellects  and  by  all  sorts  of  men.  It  never  sustained  an  injury 
from  its  enemies  Its  friends — its  professed  friends,  have  always 
been  its  worst  enemies.     Its  real  friends  have  nothing  to   fear  from 


332  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

such  attacks  as  you  volunteer  in  the  pamphlet  before  me.  You  fail 
to  concole  even  the  Deists.  And  I  have  so  much  knowledge  of  human 
nature  as  to  authorize  me  to  say,  that  even  those  who  wield  as  able 
a  pen  as  yourself  are  unable  to  deface  from  their  own  minds  the 
fears  and  apprehensions  that  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead.  It  is  among 
the  most  common  phenomena  of  the  human  mind  to  find  persons 
pleading  a  cause  which  they  do  not  believe,  and  to  see  others  dis- 
crediting both  facts  and  pretensions,  which,  with  all  their  efforts,  they 
can  not  cordially  disbelieve  themselves.  How  far  this  may  be  true 
of  yourself  I  have  no  business  to  inquire.  You  have  in  your  old 
days,  at  the  close  of  a  pretty  long  life,  thought  good  to  leave  behind 
you  a  monument  of  your  hatred  against  the  Author  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  those  who  sustained  his  pretensions  at  the  hazard  of 
their  lives. 

It  is  a  consolation  which  you  promise  yourself  in  death,  the  most 
unenviable,  that  not  having  found  the  present  world  more  religious 
nor  moral  than  to  make  it  safe  to  live  in,  you  put  forth  all  your 
powers  and  all  your  influence,  your  last  and  best  efforts,  to  rob  the 
Christian  of  his  hope  in  God,  and  to  weaken  all  that  restrains  the  arm 
of  violence  and  the  heart  of  wickedness,  by  denying  the  facts  on 
which  that  purest  and  best  of  all  systems  of  morality  and  virtue 
rests;  and  by  offering  in  its  place  not  a  single  ray  of  light  or  infor- 
mation on  all  that  most  interests  man  to  know,  viz.:  what  he  is, 
whence  he  came,  and  whither  he  goes. 

LETTER    II. 

Sir: — No  two  writers,  as  far  as  I  have  read,  attack  the  Christian 
religion  in  the  same  manner,  nor  upon  the  same  principles.  The 
sceptics  are  very  far  from  being  agreed  among  themselves  as  to  the 
test  to  which  it  ought  to  be  subjected,  or  as  respects  the  tribunal 
before  which  its  pretensions  ought  to  be  tried.  It  is  true  they  all 
talk  about  its  being  "submitted  to  the  test  of  reason,"  and  some  add, 
"to  the  test  of  experience."  But  the  gentlemen  of  your  fraternity  are 
as  much  at  odds  on  the  subject  of  reason,  as  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
With  some  it  is  reasonable  to  try  Christianity  as  they  try  a  theorem 
in  mathematics;  with  others,  it  is  reasonable  to  examine  its  evidences 
as  though  it  were  a  question  of  metaphysics;  a  third  class  say  it  is 
reasonable  to  decide  upon  its  pretensions  on  the  principles  of  individ- 
ual experience;  and  a  fourth  will  have  it  tried  as  a  criminal  in  a 
court  of  law;  and  I  may  add,  there  are  not  a  few  who  deem  it  most 
reasonable  that  it  should  be  tried  before  all  these  tribunals  in  one 
general  confederation.  So  long,  then,  as  your  brotherhood  of  philos- 
ophers are  so  variant  on  what  reason  decides,  as  to  the  court  of 
inquiry  before  which  Christianity  is  to  be  examined,  it  is  not  strange 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  333 

that  among  sceptics  there  should  be  so  many  sects,  so  many  modes 
of  attack,  and  so  general  an   ignorance  of  what  Christianity  is. 

We  may  differ  as  mvich  about  reason  as  religion,  and  about  the 
manner  of  conducting  the  trial  as  about  the  thing  to  be  tried.  For 
my  part,  I  must  confess  that  I  esteem  it  unreasonable  in  the  highest 
degree  to  submit  the  pretensions  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  same  tri- 
bunal before  which  I  might  submit  a  poem,  a  fine  painting,  a  piece  of 
architecture,  a  question  in  algebra,  in  physics,  or  in  metaphysics. 
Neither  could  I  agree  to  have  it  tried  in  a  court  of  common  law,  nor 
in  a  court  of  chancery,  by  such  rules  as  litigated  questions  of  law 
and  equity  are  decided.  If,  however,  any  question  of  fact,  one  or  two 
thousand  years  since  asserted,  can  be  decided  before  such  canons,  1 
object  not  to  join  issue  with  you  on  the  premises,  that  by  all  the  same 
rules,  canons,  and  regulations  which  you  can  bring  to  bear  upon  any 
question  of  fact  on  record,  will  I  have  the  question  of  the  resurrec- 
tion tried.  In  whatever  court,  before  whatever  judges,  by  whatever 
laws  or  trial  you  would  ascertain  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Cromwell's 
protectorate,  or  the  Saxon  conquests,  of  the  ascension  of  the  Cesars 
to  imperial  power,  the  victories  of  Hannibal,  the  birth,  life  and  death 
of  Cyrus,  Alexander,  Alfred,  or  Queen  Elizabeth — in  the  same  court, 
before  the  same  judges,  and  by  the  same  laws  will  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  be  proved. 

This  /  call  reason.  You  may  call  it  what  you  please.  All  mathe- 
matical questions  I  submit  to  the  canons  of  Euclid — all  questions  in 
natural  philosophy,  to  experiment  and  analogy — all  questions  of 
common  law,  to  courts  of  law:  but  questions  of  fact,  historical  fact, 
to  that  tribunal  before  which  all  historical  facts  are  decided.  The 
error  on  which  your  objections  proceed  is,  that  you  will  try  historical 
facts  in  the  same  court  and  before  the  same  laws  by  which  you  would 
try  a  question  of  fact,  the  witnesses  to  which  are  all  living.  You  can 
not  elude  the  reasonableness  of  the  distinction  which  I  here  lay 
down,  by  telling  me  that  all  questions  of  fact  are  questions  respect- 
ing the  past,  and,  consequently,  so  far  historical,  and  therefore  all 
belong  to  one  and  the  same  chapter:  for  the  most  common  mind  will 
at  once  perceive  that  no  person  would  think  of  proving  the  truth 
of  Cataline'g  conspiracy  as  was  tried  that  of  Aaron  Burr.  No  person 
would  have  thought  of  proving  the  assassination  of  Col.  Sharp,  as 
he  would  prove  the  assassination  of  Julius  Cesar.  The  evidence 
necessary  to  convict  a  thief  or  a  murderer  in  our  courts  of  law,  differs 
essentially  from  that  which  is  necessary  to  prove  that  Columbus  was 
the  first  discoverer  of  America,  or  that  Cicero  wrote  his  Orations. 

Some  of  our  laughing  sceptics,  of  the  most  fashionable  schools, 
with  an  air  of  superior  wisdom,  inform  us  deluded  Christians  that 
we  could  not  recover  a  shilling  in  any  court  of  law  upon  such  testi- 


334  THE   MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

mony  as  we  have  to  offer  for  our  confidence  In  God  and  our  faith  in 
Jesus.  This  is  one  of  Miss  Frances  Wright's  finest  thoughts — one  of 
her  most  puissant  blows  at  the  Christian  faith.  Some  of  the  Deists, 
too,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Frankfort,  Ky..  likewise  triumph  in  their 
own  estimation  by  the  same  argument.  No  man,  say  they,  could 
prove  any  fact  in  court  upon  such  testimony  as  we  have  to  offer  for 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  This  may  all  be  true,  and  yet  the  gospel 
true.  I  would  ask  them  but  one  question  here:  Could  a  person  recover 
a  shilling  in  any  court  of  law  or  equity  upon  such  testimony  as  he 
has  to  offer  for  any  historic  fact  which  happened  from  the  Creation  to 
the  Year  of  Grace  1700?  Could  you,  sir,  recover  a  shilling  in  any 
court  in  the  United  States  by  such  testimony  as  you  have  to  offer 
for  your  belief  in  the  existence  of  such  persons  as  Newton,  Boyle, 
Bacon,  Locke,  Columbus,  or  any  other  person  or  event  of  whose  exist- 
ence you  are  assured?  If,  then,  you  could  not,  why  discredit  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  by  objections  drawn  from  such  reasonings — by 
conclusions  from  such  premises!  This  boast  of  other  sceptics,  for 
which  you  manifest  so  strong  an  inclination,  is  just  as  pertinent  to 
the  points  at  issue,  as  though  one  should  say,  "All  the  arguments  or 
evidences  you  have  to  oifer  for  yo'ur  belief  in  the  resurrection  would 
not  prove  that  a  triangle  has  three  sides  and  three  angles,  or  that 
things  that  are  equal  to  the  same  are  equal  to  one  another!" 

But,  sir,  if  there  be  any  historic  fact  which  happened  before  the 
Christian  era,  contemporaneous  with  it,  or  during  sixteen  hundred 
years  since,  which  you  believe,  name  it;  and  I  will  undertake  to  show 
that  you  have  better  reasons  to  believe  the  fact  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead  than  that  fact,  whatever  it  may  be.  The  only 
question  here  is,  Can  we  act  with  certainty  upon  any  testimony,  or 
is  testimony  of  any  character  capable  of  giving  us  assurance?  If 
you  say  No,  then  you  ought  not  to  object  to  the  testimony  because  of 
its  character,  because  all  testimony  would  then  be  inadequate.  If  you 
say  Yes,  then  it  behooves  you  to  show  that  the  apostolic  testimony, 
with  all  its  concomitants,  is  inferior  to  that  testimony  which  you  have 
to  offer  for  other  historic  facts  of  which  you  are  assured.  But  this  we 
presume  to  assert  you  can  not  do. 

Persons  may  reject  the  Christian  religion  on  the  ground  that  it  is 
the  subject  of  history — that  it  comes  to  us  through  human  testimony 
— that  it  is  based  on  facts,  which  facts  are  necessarily  to  us  matters 
of  belief.  In  one  word,  they  may  reject  Christianity  because  it  is 
first  of  all  a  matter  of  faith — because  they  suppose  it  incompatible 
with  their  views  of  Divinity  that  the  salvation  of  men  should  be  made 
dependent  on  that  which  does  not  always  produce  absolute  centainty. 
They  argue  that  it  is  unsafe,  and  consequently  unworthy  of  the  Author 
of  the  Universe,  to  make  salvation   directly  or  indirectly   dependent 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  335 

on  belief.  When  a  sceptic  candidly  avows  this  to  be  the  ground  of 
his  objection  to  the  Christian  religion,  we  know  how  to  address  him. 
We  are  prepared  to  show  that  this  power  we  have  of  proving  testi- 
mony to  be  true,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  this  power  which  we  have 
of  believing  testimony,  is  the  most  simple,  natural,  powerful,  and 
universal  principle  of  action  belonging  to  the  human  constitution,  and 
that  there  is  not  in  human  nature  a  principle  of  action  so  suitable,  so 
well  adapted  to  become  the  basis  of  religion  as  this  principle  of  faith. 
We  are  prepared  to  show,  if  we  have  not  already  showed,  that  it  is 
impossible  in  the  nature  of  things,  as  far  as  known  to  mortal  man, 
that  it  could  have  been  based  upon  any  other  principle.  Good  tes- 
timony, or  testimony  corresponding  with  the  nature  of  the  facts 
attested,  is  capable  of  producing  all  that  certainty  of.  assurance  neces- 
sary to  make  man  pure  and  happy:  and  that  is  enough-,  our  enemies 
themselves  being  judges.  If  the  facts  to  be  believed  are  supernatural 
facts,  the  testimony  is  supernatural  also,  and  supported  by  all  that 
nature  and  reason  can  contribute  to  sustain  any  testimony. 

But  I  have  not  found  in  your  pamphlet  that  you  make  such  an 
avowal.  You,  sir,  object  not  to  religion  because  founded  upon  testi- 
mony; but  the  uurthen  of  your  book  is  to  prove  that  the  testimony 
Is  incompetent,  contradictory,  or  some  way  incredible. 

As  you  have  chosen  your  own  course  in  objecting,  I  shall  choose 
mine  in  replying;  and  as  you  single  out  the  article  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus,  or  the  testimony  on  which  it  is  sustained,  as,  in  your 
judgment  incompetent,  I  will  first  turn  my  attention  to  that  testimony. 
Concerning  contradictions  of  Scripture,  Mr.  Campbell  wrote  to  Mr. 
Marshal,  Millouiial  Harbinger,  1831,  page  150,  et  seq.: 

One,  sir,  would  imagine,  from  the  frequency,  familiarity,  and  flu- 
ency of  your  allusions  to  "'the  contradictions"  found  in  those  sacred 
historians,  and  from  the  boldness  which  you  assume  and  evince,  at 
one  time,  in  challenging;  at  another,  in  ridiculing  their  preten- 
sions to  honesty  and  veracity,  that  you  had  amply  proved  their 
testimony  to  be  a  collection  of  palpable  fables,  a  bundle  of  con- 
tradictions; and  that  all  the  learned,  the  wise,  and  good  men  of 
ancient  and  modern  Christendom  were  a  pack  of  knaves,  or  a  set 
of  brainless  dolts. 

If,  sir,  you  could  find  only  one  real  contradiction  in  the  whole 
volume,  we  might  allow  you  to  presume  that  there  were  others.  But 
it  is  as  intolerable  on  our  part  to  hear  you  boast  of  "plenty  of  con- 
tradictions." as  it  is  weak  on  yours  to  appear  to  triumph  in  victories 
which  you  have  not  gained. 

Your  tongue  is  your  own,  and  so  is  your  pen,  and  you  may  call 
harmony,  discord;  consistency,  contradiriiov :  or  honesty,  knavery. 
You  may  call  virtues,  vices,  and  give  new  names  to  things,  or  you  may 


336  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

attach  meanings  to  words  not  only  differing  from,  but  in  opposition 
to,  general  usage  or  their  universal  acceptation. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  useful  to  you  and  profitable  to  others,  were 
we  to  attempt  to  define  and  establish  the  character  of  a  contradiction, 
before  we  proceed  to  examine  those  you  have  imputed  to  the  four 
Evangelists.  By  the  term  "contradiction,"  I  mean  not  merely  a  verbal 
difference,  nor  even  a  verbal  opposition,  but  an  irreconcilahle  con- 
trariety of  statement.  I  ought  not  to  presume  to  inform  you,  sir,  a 
judge  of  law,  evidence  and  fact;  for  doubtless  it  is  well  known  to 
you,  that  it  is,  in  most  instances,  a  very  difficult  matter  to  establish 
a  positive  contradiction.  A  seeming,  a  probable,  a  possible  contradic- 
tion is  one  thing,  and  a  real  contradiction  another.  The  former  con- 
victs no  person  of  falsehood,  accidental  or  intended;  the  latter  always 
does.    But  it  must  be  clearly  and  unequivocally  proved. 

That  there  are  seeming  contradictions  in  every  narrative  which 
I  have  read,  political,  religious,  or  common,  I  think  is  probable.  But 
in  almost  every  instance  these  seeming  contradictions  are  only  proofs 
of  my  ignorance  of  some  of  the  incidents,  and  not  of  the  falsehood  of 
the  narrator.  Often,  very  often,  these  seeming  contradictions  are  in 
more  perfect  coincidence  with  the  fact,  than  assertions  free  from  such 
appearances  could  have  been. 

But  a  contradiction  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  contradiction. 
It  is  not  a  seeming,  or  a  possible;  but  a  positive,  irreconcilable  con- 
trariety of  statement  which  constitutes  a  contradiction.  Of  this  there 
is  not  an   instance  in   the  New  Testament.     Remember,   sir,   I   have 

said,    NOT    ONE   INSTANCE. 

But  we  may,  on  the  subject  of  contradictions,  go  still  farther,  and 
affirm,  that  even  a  contradiction  in  terms  is  not  always,  nor  neces- 
sarily, a  contradiction  in  fact,  unless  the  terms  be  all  used  in  the 
same  sense.  Of  this  innumerable  instances  might  be  given.  For 
example;  a  Jew  affirms,  that  "Elihu  was  the  brother  of  Samuel;"  a. 
Grecian  affirms,  that  "Elihu  was  not  the  brother  of  Samuel."  This  is 
a  positive  contradiction  in  terms;  but  yet  it  is  not  a  contradiction  in 
fact.  Both  writers  speak  of  the  same  Elihu  and  of  the  same  Samuel, 
and  yet  both  declare  the  truth.  The  apparent  and  positive  contradic- 
tion in  terms  is  removed  when  it  is  ascertained  that  the  term  brother 
with  a  Jew  frequently  denotes  a  cousin,  but  never  with  a  Greek.  Now 
had  the  term  brother  been  of  the  same  acceptation  in  both  propositions 
there  would  have  been  a  contradiction  in  fact  as  well  as  in  terms.  It 
is  an  ambiguous  word,  not  only  because  in  the  instances  given  it  rep- 
resents different  natural  relations;  but  because  it  also  denotes  nat- 
ural, political,  and  religious  relations.  Even  among  us  persons  may 
be  natural,  and  neither  political  nor  religious  brothers;  they  may  be 
political,  and  neither  natural   nor   religious   brothers;    and  they  may 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  337 

be  religious,  and  neither  political  nor  natural  brothers.  How  many 
contradictions  in  terms,  and  not  in  fact,  might  be  framed  on  the 
ambiguity  of  this  very  definite  term  I  need  not  enumerate  for  your 
conviction. 

You  can  have  many  similar  instances  in  the  term  day.  The  Baby- 
lonians reckoned  a  day  from  one  sunrising  to  another;  the  Italians, 
from  one  sunsetting  to  another;  other  nations  reckoned  their  day 
from  noon  to  noon;  we,  from  midnight  to  midnight;  and  the  Jews, 
from  evening  to  evening.  Now  suppose  a  Chaldean  historian  had 
asserted  that  Cyrus  finished  the  destruction  of  Babylon  in  one  day; 
and  an  Italian  writer  affirms  that  Cyrus  did  not  finish  the  destruction 
of  Babylon  in  one  day;  we  would  have  a  contradiction  in  terms,  but 
none  in  fact.  In  our  own  acceptation,  the  term  day  is  ambiguous, 
for  in  our  civil  sense  a  day  is  twenty-four  hours.  It  sometimes 
includes  both  the  light  and  the  darkness — the  day  and  the  night;  at 
other  times,  it  is  used  in  contradistinction  from  the  night.  How 
many  contradictions  in  terms  concerning  the  incidents  of  a  single  day, 
without  a  single  contradiction  in  fact,  could  be  formed,  the  humblest 
capacity  may  apprehend.  It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  specifications 
— any  one  can  furnish  them  in  abundance.  To  constitute  a  contradic- 
tion in  fact,  it  appears  to  be  incontrovertible  that  all  the  terms  must 
be  used  in  the  same  sense,  and  that  the  statements  made  must  be 
irreconcilable  upon  every  conceivable  possibility.  From  all  of  which 
we  argue,  and  we  hope,  sir,  with  your  conviction  of  its  force,  that 
if  a  contradiction  in  terms  is  often  no  contradiction  iri  fact,  with 
how  much  caution  ought  we  to  speak  of  contradictions  in  fact,  when 
our  premises  are  only  mere  circumstantial  differences  of  statementi 

If  only  one  person  had  written  the  memoirs  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  world,  you,  it  seems,  would 
have  been  a  believer;  for  you  are  so  fond  of  consistency,  and  so  great 
a  lover  of  truth,  that  nothing  prevents  your  being  a  Christian  but 
the  contradictions  between  the  four  historians.  Now,  if  but  one  had 
written  these  transactions,  you  must  have  believed,  as  then  there 
would  have  been  none  of  your  contradictions:  for  you  have  not  dared 
because  you  are  too  honest,  to  censure  any  one  of  these  hiptorians  for 
contradicting  himself.  If  you  apprehend  the  force  of  this,  as  I  doubt 
not  you  do,  then  you  must  see  it  increases  the  difficulty  tenfold  on 
your  part,  to  make  them  contradict  one  another.  A  thousand  consid- 
erations explanatory  of  discrepancies  between  historians  not  writing 
in  the  same  country,  not  exactly  contemporaneous,  can  be  adduced  to 
solve  difficulties  which  could  not  be  made  to  bear  upon  the  testimony 
of  the  same  individual,  presented  to  the  same  persons.  And,  indeed, 
the  same  individual,  in  telling  the  same  story  four  times  over  to  four 
different  audiences,   though    more   frequently   appearing   to   contradict 


338  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

himself,  ia  not  so  easily  convicted  of  real  contradiction  as  he 
would  be  in  telling  the  story  once  to  the  same  audience;  for  one 
reason  among  many  others,  he  may,  for  the  sake  of  his  audience,  omit 
some  things  and  enlarge  upon  others,  which  will  cause  more  apparent 
discrepancies  than  could  appear  in  addressing  the  same  audience.  In 
the  ratio,  then,  of  these  reasons  for  varieties  in  narratives,  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  proving  contradictions  in  fact,  from  any  verbal  differences 
or  oppositions  in  statements  made. 

Thomas  Paine  and  most  of  his  admirers  have  licensed  themselves 
to  call  omissions  contradictions.  Hence  the  numerous  contradictions 
alleged  against  the  four  Evangelists,  because  some  of  them  have  omit- 
ted to  record  certain  incidents  which  the  sceptics  think  ought  to  have 
been  recorded,  and  because  they  have  not  all  recorded  the  same  inci- 
dents in  the  same  words.  In  the  free  and  declamatory  style  of  scep- 
tical writers,  every  omission  is  called  a  contradiction.  Of  this  I  hope 
to  convict  you  in  the  sequel.  You  have  kept  so  much  of  their  com- 
pany that  you  have  not  only  received  their  spirit,  but  caught  their 
style. 

But  it  is  not  only  because  some  of  the  Evangelists  have  omitted  to 
record  what  the  others  have  mentioned,  that  they  are  so  often  ar- 
raigned before  the  merciless  bar  of  sceptical  criticism;  but  because 
Josephus,  or  some  other  writer,  has  omitted  to  state  all  that  they 
have  written,  or  more  than  they  have  recorded.  The  following  in- 
stances and  remarks  from  Chalmers  are  worthy,  sir,  of  your  atten- 
tian;  and,  therefore,  I  will  take  the  pains  to  lay  them  before  you: 

"In  the  gospel,  we  are  told  that  Herod,  the  Tetrarch  of  Galilee, 
married  his  brother  Philip's  wife.  In  Josephus,  we  have  the  same 
story;  only  he  gives  a  different  name  to  Philip,  and  calls  him  Herod; 
and  what  adds  to  the  difficulty,  there  was  a  Philip  of  that  family, 
whom  we  knew  not  to  have  been  the  first  husband  of  Herodias.  This 
is  at  first  sight  a  little  alarming.  But,  in  tbe  progress  of  our  inquiries, 
we  are  given  to  understand  from  this  same  Josephus,  that  there  were 
three  Herods  in  the  same  family;  and  therefore,  no  improbability  in 
there  being  two  Philips.  We  also  know  from  the  histories  of  that 
period,  that  it  was  quite  common  for  the  same  individual  to  have  two 
names;  and  this  is  never  more  necessary,  than  when  employed  to 
distinguish  brothers  who  have  one  name  the  same.  The  Herod  who 
is  called  Philip,  is  just  as  likely  a  distinction,  as  the  Simon  who  is 
called  Peter,  or  the  Saul  who  is  called  Paul.  The  name  of  the  high 
priest,  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  crucifixion,  was  Caiaphas,  accord- 
ing to  the  Evangelists.  According  to  Josephus,  the  name  of  the  high 
priest  at  that  period  was  Joseph.  This  would  have  been  precisely  a 
difficulty  of  the  same  kind,  had  not  Josephus  happened  to  mention  that 
this  Joseph  was  also  called   Caiaphas.     Would   it  have   been   dealing 


THE    MILLENXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED  339 

fairly  with  the  Evangelists,  we  ask,  to  have  made  their  credibility  de- 
pend upon  the  accidental  omission  ol  another  historian?  I3  it  con- 
sistent with  the  acknowledged  principle  ot  sound  criticism,  to  bring 
four  writers  so  entirely  under  the  tribunal  ot  Josephus,  each  ot  whom 
stands  as  hrmly  supported  by  all  the  evidences  which  can  give  author- 
ity to  a  historian,  and  have  greatly  the  advantage  ot  him  in  this,  that 
they  can  add  the  argument  of  their  concurrence  to  the  argument  of 
each  separate  and  independent  testimony?  It  so  happens,  however, 
in  the  present  instance,  that  even  Jewish  writers,  in  their  narrative 
of  the  same  circumstance,  give  the  name  of  Philip  to  the  first  hus- 
band of  Herodias.  We  by  no  means  conceive,  that  any  foreign  tes- 
timony was  necessary  for  the  vindication  of  the  Evangelists.  Still, 
however,  it  must  go  far  to  dissipate  every  suspicion  of  artifice  in 
the  construction  of  their  histories.  It  proved  that,  in  the  confidence 
with  which  they  delivered  themselves  up  to  their  own  information, 
they  neglected  appearance,  and  felt  themselves  independent  of  it.  This 
apparent  difficulty,  like  many  others  of  the  same  kind,  lands  us  in 
a  stronger  confirmation  of  the  honesty  of  the  Evangelists;  and  it  is 
delightful  to  perceive  how  truth  receives  a  fuller  accession  to  its 
splendor  from  the  attempts  which  are  made  to  disgrace  and  to 
darken   it. 

"On  this  branch  of  the  argument  the  impartial  inquirer  must  be 
struck  with  the  little  indulgence  which  infidels,  and  even  Christians, 
have  given  to  the  evangelical  writers.  In  other  cases,  when  we  com- 
pare the  narratives  of  contemporary  historians,  it  is  not  expected  that 
all  the  circumstances  alluded  to  by  one  will  be  taken  notice  of  by  the 
rest;  and  it  often  happens  that  an  event  or  a  custom  is  admitted  upon 
the  faith  of  a  single  historian;  and  the  silence  of  all  other  writers  is 
not  suffered  to  attach  suspicion  or  discredit  to  his  testimony.  It  is  an 
allowed  principle  that  a  scrupulous  resemblance  between  two  histories 
is  very  far  from  necessary  to  their  being  held  consistent  with  one 
another.  And  what  is  more,  it  sometimes  happens  that,  with  cotem- 
porary  historians,  there  may  be  an  apparent  contradiction,  and  the 
credit  of  both  parties  remain  as  entire  and  unsuspicious  as  before. 
Posterity  is  in  these  cases  disposed  to  make  the  most  liberal  allow- 
ances. Instead  of  calling  it  a  contradiction,  they  often  call  it  a 
difficulty.  They  are  sensible  that,  in  many  instances,  a  seeming 
variety  of  statements  has,  upon  a  more  extensive  knowledge  of  an- 
cient history,  admitted  of  a  perfect  reconciliation.  Instead,  then,  of 
referring  the  difficulty  in  question  to  the  inaccuracy  or  bad  faith 
of  any  of  the  parties,  they,  with  more  justness  and  more  modesty, 
refer  It  to  their  own  ignorance,  and  to  that  obscurity  which  necessarily 
hangs  over  the  history  of  every  remote  age.  These  principles  are 
suffered  to  have  great  influence  in  every  similar  investigation,  every 


340  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ordinary  principle  is  abandoned,  and  tlie  suspicion  annexed  to  the 
teachers  of  religion  is  carried  to  the  dereliction  of  all  that  candor  and 
liberality  with  which  every  other  document  of  antiquity  is  judged  of 
and  appreciated.  How  does  it  happen  that  the  authority  of  Josephus 
should  be  acquiesced  in  as  a  first  principle,  while  every  step  in  the 
narrative  of  the  Evangelists  must  have  foreign  testimony  to  confirm 
and  support  it?  How  comes  it  that  the  silence  of  Josephus  should  be 
construed  into  an  impeachment  of  the  testimony  of  the  Evangelists, 
while  it  is  never  admitted  for  a  single  moment  that  the  silence  of  the 
Evangelists  can  impart  the  slightest  blemish  to  the  testimony  of 
Josephus?  How  comes  it  that  the  supposition  of  two  Philips  in  one 
family  should  throw  a  damp  of  scepticism  over  the  gospel  narrative, 
while  the  only  circumstance  which  renders  that  supposition  necessary 
is  the  single  testimony  of  Josephus;  in  which  very  testimony  it  is 
necessarily  implied  that  there  are  two  Herods  in  that  sajne  family? 
How  comes  it  that  the  Evangelists,  with  as  much  internal,  and  a  vast 
deal  more  of  external  evidence  in  their  favor,  should  be  made  to  stand 
before  Josephus,  like  so  many  prisoners  at  the  bar  of  justice?  In 
any  other  case,  we  are  convinced,  that  this  would  be  looked  upon  as 
rough  handling.  But  we  are  not  sorry  for  it.  It  has  given  more  tri- 
umph and  confidence  to  the  argument.  And  it  is  no  small  addition 
to  our  faith  that  its  teachers  have  survived  an  examination  which, 
in  point  of  rigor  and  severity,  we  believe  to  be  quite  unexampled  in 
the  annals  of  criticism." 

But,  with  a  full  reference  to  your  notions  of  contradictions,  and  to 
give  you  an  idea  with  how  much  ease  they  can  be  dissipated,  I  will 
give  you  the  following  specimen  of  a  case  generically,  if  not  specifi- 
cally in  point;  only  with  this  difference,  that  the  circumstance  is  a 
very  trivial  one;  but  so  much  the  better,  as  it  can  be  examined  with- 
out any  movement  of  the  passions  or  feelings  from  interest,  or  any 
other   temptation : 

Four  persons  who,  as  they  passed  along,  witnessed  the  salvation  of 
a  drowning  man,  reported  in  the  village  where  they  stopped,  as  fol- 
lows: A  said  he  "saw  a  man  in  the  act  of  being  drowned  in  the  river; 
but  he  was  saved  by  a  man  on  the  bank."  B  reported  that  he  "saw  a 
man  sinking  in  tbe  river;  but  he  was  saved  by  a  plank."  C  stated 
that  he  "saw  a  person  narrowly  escape  drowning,  and  that  he  would 
have  been  drowned  in  the  river,  but  for  a  skiff  which  came  to  his  re- 
lief." And  D  afl!irmed  that  he  "saw  a  man  in  the  act  of  drowning, 
but  was  saved  by  a  lad  who  threw  him  a  rope."  Each  of  these  wit- 
nesses told  this  matter  in  his  own  neighborhood  of  the  town  in  which 
they  lived.  After  a  short  time  their  reports  spread  through  the  whole 
town,  and  the  contradictions  became  a  matter  of  criticism.  Hitherto 
they  had  sustained  a  good  reputation  for  veracity;  but  -S,  a  very  cap- 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  341 

tious  gentleman  in  town, said  it  was  all  a  fable,  and  he  believed  nothing 
01  it.  It  was  to  no  purpose  that  his  neighbor  0  spoke  of  the  general 
character  of  the  witnesses,  and  that  he  alleged  they  could  have  no 
interest  in  fabricating  such  a  thing.  How  can  you  believe  such  con- 
tradictions.* he  rejoined.  Some  of  them  falsifies,  and  which  of  them 
to  believe,  or  whether  any  of  them,  I  know  not  how  you  can  decide. 
A  says  he  was  saved  by  a  man  on  the  bank  of  the  river;  B.  that  he 
was  saved  by  a  plank;  C,  that  he  was  saved  by  a  skiff;  and  D  affirms 
that  he  was  saved  by  a  lad  casting  to  him  a  rope.  It  is  irreconcilable! 
Incredible!  Who  can  believe  such  palpable  contradictions?  Perhaps, 
rejoins  0,  there  is  a  possibility  of  reconciling  all  these  seeming  con- 
tradictions were  we  to  hear  all  the  circumstances. 

In  the  meantime,  A  drawing  near,  they  agreed  to  refer  to  him  their 
difficulties.  A  observed  that  the  reports  of  B,  C,  and  D,  were  as  cor- 
rect as  his  own.  But  as  he  did  not  suppose  it  necessary  to  his  being 
believed  that  he  should  narrate  all  the  circumstances,  he  presumed 
neither  did  they.  But,  gentlemen,  continues  he,  as  you  seem  to  take 
much  interest  in  the  matter,  I  will  circumstantially  narrate  the  whole 
of  it:  — 

The  person  of  whom  we  spoke  had  gone  into  the  river  to  bathe,  and 
after  swimming  some  distance  into  the  river,  was  returning  to  the 
shore;  but  having  become  faint  and  exhausted,  he  began  to  sink  and 
called  for  help.  At  this  crisis  a  person  on  the  bank  of  the  river  ran  to 
the  shore,  seized  a  small  plank,  and  pushed  it  with  all  his  might  into 
the  river.  The  exhausted  stranger  had  just  as  much  strength  as  to 
lay  hold  of  it  and  raise  his  breast  upon  it,  but  the  current  was  carry- 
ing him  down  the  river  with  considerable  velocity.  After  descending 
a  few  rods,  a  lad  who  was  returning  from  the  opposite  shore,  hastened 
out  of  his  course  to  relieve  him,  and  had  nearly  approached  him  before 
he  was  seen  by  the  man  on  the  plank,  who,  upon  turning  round 
to  seize  the  skiff,  lost  the  plank,  and  failed  in  reaching  the  skiff. 
In  this  crisis  the  lad  threw  him  a  rope  which  he  succeeded  in 
grasping,  and  by  this  means  he  was  taken  into  the  boat  and  brought 
safe  to  shore. 

0  exclaimed,  I  thought  if  the  matter  had  been  explained  minutely, 
all  the  difficulties  might  have  been  overcome.  But  S,  abruptly  turn- 
ing round,  departed  without  making  a  single  remark. 

Thus,  sir,  the  four  testimonies  are  all  true;  the  alleged  contra- 
dictions vanish  upon  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  circumstances. 
It  will  be  easy  for  you  to  make  the  application  to  your  "plenty  of  con- 
tradictions" in  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  touching  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  This  task  I  will,  with  all  respect  tor 
your  intellect,  assign  you  till  you  next  hear  from  me. 

In  the  next  letter  Mr.  Campbell  adds: 


342-  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

In  my  last  letter  to  you  I  have,  without  going  into  details,  disposed 
of  upon  principles  which  can  not  be  argued  against,  all  your  '  plenty 
of  contradictions."  You  can  not  overturn  those  principles ;  and  admit- 
ting them,  you  can  not  find  a  single  contradiction  in  the  book.  But 
more  desirous  to  convince  than  to  confute  you,  I  wish  to  direct  your 
inquiries  to  the  state  of  mind  in  which  you  approach  your  "private 
studies"  upon  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 

Ridicule,  you  know,  is  no  test  of  truth.  You  may  ridicule  th3  most 
exalted  character,  and  the  most  brilliant  virtue  which  adorns  it.  You 
may  call  patriotism,  rebellion;  heroism,  knight  errantry;  humility, 
madness;  generosity,  extravagance;  piety,  superstition;  and  devotion, 
fanaticism.  You  may  ridicule  the  forgiveness  of  injuries  under  the 
character  of  cowardice,  and  laugh  at  the  courteous  in  the  character 
of  a  parasite.  Thus  you  are  able  to  laugh  at  Mary  and  Martha,  and 
Susannah  and  Joanna,  under  the  character  of  gossips;  and  you  can  fill 
a  few  pages  upon  Mary  Magdalene,  as  a  woman  of  no  good  fame.  You 
can  take  the  words  "some  doubted,"  at  the  close  of  Matthew's  testi- 
mony, and  fill  a  page  upon  the  incompetency  of  the  witnesses.  You 
can  make  a  sentence  for  Peter  or  Paul,  and  then  ridicule  it  as  if  Peter 
and  Paul  had  spoken  or  written  as  yourself. 

What  a  stupid  impostor  or  knave  must  Matthew  have  been  to  have 
told  that  some  of  the  disciples  doubted  whether  it  was  the  same  Jesus 
when  he  meditated,  as  you  allow,  to  give  all  the  verisimilitude  to  hia 
narrative  possible!  And  what  stupid  souls  have  been  all  who  have 
believed  upon  the  testimony  of  those  who  declare  that  the  witnesses 
themselves  doubted  whether  he  that  appeared  to  give  the  commission 
was  the  same  who  was  crucified! 

Truly  you  represent  Matthew  as  a  very  shrewd  impostor!  But  il 
this  shrewdness  should  be  a  proof  of  honesty,  and  the  doubts  expressed 
bo  only  whether  it  was  Jesus  who  appeared,  and  if  these  doubts  were 
entertained  only  while  he  was  at  some  distance,  and  vanished  when 
he  drew  near,  what  then?  Your  wit  and  humor  are  your  own!  The 
laugh  is  at  yourself. 

But  to  explain  the  frequent  appearances  of  the  risen  Saviour,  you 
have  only  to  assume  that  the  Apostles  had  chosen  one  to  personate 
him,  and  that  Thomas  was  absent,  and  being  an  honest  man  was 
deceived  by  the  others  into  a  renunciation  of  his  doubts.  Again,  you 
tell  us  that  the  historian  Mark  sends  Jesus  to  heaven  the  day  after  he 
rose  from  the  dead,  while  John  keeps  him  on  earth  for  five  or  six 
weeks — and  a  hundred  other  things  about  his  resurrection  which  no 
man  of  sense  can  regard  in  any  other  light  than  as  the  most  con- 
temptible puerilities  of  an  undiscerning  mind;  oppressed  with  some 
evil  genius,  or  laboring  under  some  species  of  alienation,  either  from 
infirmity,  or  from  a  conscience  haunted  with  the  recollections  of  many 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  343 

years  devoted  to  such  practices  as  unfit  a  man  lor  the  enjoyment  of 
immortality,  and  divest  him  of  the  desire  for  it. 

Your  representing  the  Apostles  as  laboring  to  induce  the  belief  of 
a  lie  in  which  their  fortune  and  fame  were  concerned,  is  so  opposite 
to  all  prol>ability  that  I  never  knew  a  deist  who  had  the  hardihood  to 
make  such  an  assertion.  Great  lame  and  fortune  indeed!  to  lose  all 
respectability  among  men,  to  suffer  all  privations,  and  the  most  severe 
death  which  deists,  and  atheists,  and  polytheists  could  inflict  upon 
them. 

The  whole  mind  and  strength  of  your  pamphlet  is  fairly  drawn  to 
a  focus  in  one  proposition,  viz.:  The  four  Evangelists  have  not 
recorded  a  single  miracle,  the  crucifixion,  resurrection  or  ascension  of 
the  Saviour,  in  precisely  the  same  words,  or  in  words  representing 
e.xactly  the  same  ideas;  therefore  their  narratives  are  tissues  of  lies, 
falsehoods,  fables,  and  the  whole  is  incredible.  Now  the  fact  is,  that 
were  the  testimonies  of  the  original  witnesses  just  such  as  you  would 
make  them,  or  have  them  to  be,  neither  yourself  nor  any  person  else 
could  believe  them. 

Peter  and  Paul  are  the  two  most  noted  preachers  of  the  gospel  men- 
tioned in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles — the  former  to  the  Jews,  the  latter 
to  the  Gentiles.  We  have  several  of  their  sermons  on  record.  They 
always  preached  the  gospel;  and  one  of  tliem  said  that  if  man  or  angel 
should  proclaim  any  other  gospel  than  he  proclaimed,  he  ought  to  D? 
accursed.  Now  in  your  mode  of  reasoning,  neither  of  these  men,  nor 
any  other  men,  ever  did  preach  twice  the  same  gospel;  for  they  never 
used  the  same  words,  nor  expressed  ou  any  two  occasions  all  the  same 
ideas — nay,  there  is  on  your  principles  no  credible  history  in  the  world. 
Of  some  eight  or  ten  histories  of  England,  of  Germany,  of  France,  of 
the  American  Colonies  and  Revolution,  there  is  not  one  credible;  they 
are  all  a  tissue  of  lies  and  fables,  for  no  two  of  them  agree  in  narrating 
any  one  prominent  event:  that  is,  no  two  of  them  use  exactly  the  same 
words,  or  give  exactly  the  same  ideas. 

You  make  much  use  of  one  sentence  in  my  debate  with  Mr.  Owen 
which  you  either  totally  misunderstood  or  greatly  pervert.  It  is  an 
attempt  to  discriminate  between  what  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
Scriptures  is  worthy  of  the  name  of  Divine  Revelciion.  \Ve  contem- 
plate not  everything  said  by  everybody  whose  name  is  found  in  the 
books  in  the  light  of  a  communication  from  heaven  to  men:  and  with 
us  the  phrase  "//le  toord  of  God"  or  "Ihc  word  of  the  Lord,"  in  the 
Ai;cFtolic  writings,  indicates  only  the  last  communication,  called  the 
gosptl,  or  new  institution  of  the  Saviour.  And,  indeed,  that  which 
declares  the  philanthropy  of  God  in  the  mission  of  his  Son  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  that  word  of  reconciliation  which  purifies  the 
heart  and  reforms  the  life  of  man,  is,  the  pospcl.  or  word  n'  God,  con- 


344  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

tradistinguished  from  all  other  things  written  in  the  book.  It  is  as 
much  the  object  of  these  writings  to  reveal  man  to  himself,  to  gave  a 
fair  outline  of  the  best  and  worst  things  in  the  history  of  man,  and  in 
God's  government  over  man,  as  to  reveal  the  character  of  God  and  his 
purposes  concerning  man.  Much  of  both  Testaments  is  occupied  with 
all  details  necessary  for  this  purpose.  Besides,  the  prophecies  of  the 
future,  and  the  record  of  the  past,  are  all  intended  to  g-ive  proper 
emphasis  to,  and  to  accumulate  light  upon,  the  goodness  concerning 
the  Saviour,  whom  all  good  men  love,  honor,  and  obey,  and  whom  all 
wicked  men  insult  and  traduce,  as  did  his  betrayers  and  murderers. 

But,  sir,  your  attack,  scurrilous,  abusive,  and  common  as  it  is, 
upon  the  witnesses,  is  only  a  lying  in  ambush,  like  the  dragon  in  the 
wilderness,  to  devour  a  certain  child  as  soon  as  born:  for  no  testimony 
could  induce  you  to  believe  in  such  a  miracle  as  the  resurrection  of  a 
dead  man!  This  is  your  own  confession.  But  as  I  have  shown  you, 
long  since,  you  do  admit  that  one  man,  the  father  of  the  race,  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  or  that  life  was  communicated  to  one  man 
miraculously.  In  this  you  are  at  war  with  your  own  theory;  and  until 
you  give  some  reconciliation  of  this  matter  with  your  own  principles, 
it  is  preposterous  to  make  that  an  objection  to  the  second  Adam  which 
you  ascribe  to  the  first. 

In  this  letter  I  only  intended  to  call  your  attention  to  the  state  of 
mind  in  which  you  enter  upon  your  private  studies  of  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity;  but  lifting  up  your  pamphlet,  and  glancing  over  a  few 
pages  of  it,  to  find  if  there  was  anything  unnoticed  in  my  former  let- 
ters worthy  of  attention,  I  have  been  led  to  make  the  above  general 
and  disconnected  remai'ks.  Whenever  you  can  furnish  me  with  one, 
and  only  one  contradiction  in  the  New  Testament,  on  the  principles 
submitted  in  my  last,  I  will  specially  attend  to  it.  If  you  please  to 
send  me  one  contradiction,  made  out  in  proper  form,  and  written  in 
such  style  as  will  not  shock  the  nerves  of  any  of  my  readers,  male 
or  female,  I  will  engage  to  show,  according  to  right  reason,  that  there 
is  no  contradiction  in  it.     In  all  good  will,  respectfully. 

Editor. 

Accepting  Mr.  Campbell's  invitation  to  present  one  contradiction  of 
Scripture,  Mr.  Marshall  presented  the  following  as  involving  the 
credit  of  the  whole  Scripture.  (See  Matt.  xxvi.  34.)  "Jesus  said  unto 
him,  [Peter,]  Veirily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  night  before  the  cock 
crow,  thou  Shalt  deny  me  thrice."  (See  Mark  xiv.  30.)  "And  Jesus 
said  unto  him,  [Peter,]  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  that  this  day,  even  in 
this  night,  before  the  cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice." 
Here  the  contradiction  relied  on  consists  in  the  contrast  between  once 
and  twice,  referring  to  the  crowing  of  the  cock,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
entire  member  thrown  into  the  sentence  by  Mark,  viz.:  "that  this  day." 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  345 

Now,  sir,  each  of  these  holy  men  give  us,  as  the  very  words  of  Jesus, 
a  recital  variant  from  one  another  in  matter  of  fact;  as  one  is  different 
from  two,  in  meaning  and  effect,  as  well  as  in  terms.  Both  are  not 
true — which  is?  When,  sir,  you  have  digested  this — and  you  want 
another,  you  shall  have  o.nk  more;  reserving  to  myself  the  right  of 
reply,  within  your  given  rules. 

Mr.  Campbell  replied.  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  page  371: 

I  gave  you  an  invitation  to  select  one  of  the  many  contradictions 
of  which  you  complained;  and  upon  that  one  we  should  test  the  merits 
of  the  whole.  You  have  done  so.  You  have  made  your  selection,  and 
if  you  sustain  this,  we  shall  admit,  without  a  trial,  that  you  can  sus- 
tain others:  if  you  can  not,  we  must  conclude,  without  trial  also,  that 
you  can  not  sustain  any  one  whatever.  This  is  your  Goliah:  if  he  be 
slain  your  army  is  routed,  and  if  he  be  triumphant  we  shall  strike  our 
tents  and  retreat  without  farther  ceremony. 

•'A  contradiction,''  as  defined  in  my  fifth  letter  to  you,  page  151, 
and  to  which  no  exception  has  been  taken,  "is  an  irreconcilable  con- 
trariety of  statement."  An  omission,  or  a  mere  variety  of  statement, 
or  a  difference  in  expression,  never  can  constitute  a  contradiction;  for 
ii  that  were  the  fact,  all  witnesses  who  do  not  use  all  the  same  words, 
and  in  all  the  same  places,  are  contradictory.  Every  falsehood  is  not 
a  contradiction,  for  then  no  single  affirmative  proposition  could  express 
a  falsehood.  Nor  is  every  verbal  contradiction  a  falsehood,  as  before 
demonstrated.  But  "especially,  (you  say,)  a  contradiction  consists  of 
an  affirmative  on  one  side,  and  a  negative  expressed  or  implied  on  the 
other."  This,  though  vague  enough,  is  sufficiently  relevant  to  the  case 
before  us,  because  we  are  speaking  of  a  contradiction  between  two  wit- 
nesses. But  now  on  your  own  definition,  and  in  the  case  which  you 
have  selected:  Does  Matthew  affirm  and  Mark  deny  the  predicate  of 
the  subject.  Of  Peter,  the  subject  of  the  proposition,  it  is  predicated 
by  Matthew  that  he  will,  before  the  cock  crow,  thrice  deny  his  Master. 
Does  Mark  deny  this  of  Peter?  No:  there  is  no  negative  expressed  or 
implied  on  the  part  of  Mark.  He  does  not  say  that  Peter  will  not 
deny  his  Master  thrice,  nor  that  he  will  not  deny  him  thrice  before 
the  cock  crow  once:  for,  mark  it  well,  his  affirming  that  he  will  thrice 
deny  his  Master  before  the  cock  crow  twice,  does  neither  express  nor 
imply  that  he  will  not  deny  him  thrice  before  the  cock  crow  once! 
Where  now  is  your  affirmative  on  one  side  and  your  negative  on  the 
other?  To  say  it  shall  be  done  before  the  cock  crow  tuice,  does  not 
i.MPLY  that  it  shall  not  be  done  before  the  cock  crow  once;  and  most 
assuredly  it  does  not  express  that  it  shall  not  be  done  until  the  cock 
crow  twice. 

To  give  it  even  the  semblance  of  a  contradiction  it  ought  to  have 
read   in   Matthew,   "Before  the   cock   crow  once  you  will  thrice  deny 


346  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

me;"  and  in  Mark,  "Before,  but  not  until  the  cock  crow  twice,  you 
shall  thrice  deny  me."  Even  then,  however,  I  could  demonstrate  from 
other  circumstances  that  there  might  not  be  a  real  contradiction, 
though  there  would  be  an  apparent  one;  but  as  it  now  reads,  and  upon 
your  own  definition,  there  is  not  the  semblance  of  a  contradiction. 

But  in  the  event  of  failing  to  establish  a  contradiction  here  (which 
I  think  you  must  now  see  is  impossible,)  then  you  will  say,  "Whether 
does  Matthew  or  Mark  give  the  precise  words  which  Jesus  spoke?"  To 
this  I  answer.  Not  one  of  the  historians  pretend  to  do  this.  Many 
of  his  maxims  they  quote,  and  a  few  of  his  sayings  they  publish,  but 
not  with  a  scrupulous  or  rather  a  superstitious  regard  to  every  letter, 
pause,  and  point;  but  with  the  most  faithful  regard  to  scope  and  mean- 
ing. This  matter  is  adverted  to  and  descanted  upon  in  my  "Hints 
to  Readers"  at  the  end  of  the  Four  Testimonies  in  the  New  Version. 
You  will  see,  first  edition,  page  214,  this  very  point  enforced  and 
explained. 

But  let  me  more  fully  illustrate  the  passage,  and  show  how  per- 
fectly groundless  is  your  alleged  contradiction.  And  first,  please  to 
notice  that  in  all  writers,  and  as  frequently  in  the  New  Testament 
writers  as  in  any  others,  there  are  many  general  propositions  spoken 
with  a  limitation  not  expressed.  Of  this  sort  are  the  following  in  the 
New  Testament,  common  version,  (John  v.  31,)  "If  I  bear  witness  of 
myself,  my  witness  is  not  true."  The  Pharisees  retorted  these  words, 
(John  xii.  13,)  "Thou  bearest  witness  of  thyself,  thy  witness  is  not 
true."  Jesus  replies,  "Though  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  witness  is 
true."  Again  Jesus  says,  "The  testimony  of  two  men  is  true."  These  all 
are  general  propositions  spoken  without  limitation,  and  yet  every  one 
of  them  is  limited  in  their  application,  which  is  their  specified  sense: 
for  the  sense  of  words  is  not  always  ascertained  from  general  laivs, 
but  from  specific  applications.  The  word  "true""  means  worthy  of 
regard;  for  there  is  no  reason  can  be  assigned  why  the  testimony  of 
two  men  must  be  true:  but  the  testimony  of  two  was  always,  accord- 
ing to  the  Jewish  law,  worthy  of  regard.  Now  the^re  are  some  cases  in 
which  a  person's  testimony  concerning  himself  is  worthy  of  regard, 
and  there  are  other  cases  in  which  it  is  not  worthy  of  regard. 

Another  example,  still  more  in  point,  is  found  in  John  xiii.  33.  To 
the  disciples  Jesus  says,  "Whither  I  go  ye  can  not  come."  This  is 
very  general,  and  taken  absolutely  would  teach  the  disciples  that  they 
could  not  follow  Jesus.  But  upon  a  question  proposed  a  few  verses 
afterwards  by  Peter,  it  is  limited  by  the  word  "now"  (v.  36).  "Thou 
canst  not  follow  me  now,  but  thou  shalt  follow  me  afterwards."  So 
that  a  general  proposition  which  said,  "Whither  I  go  ye  can  not 
come,"  when  limited  by  the  circumstances,  and  explained  upon  a  ques- 
tion made,   is   equivalent  to  "whither   I   go  you   can  not  come   now." 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  347 

Such  is  the  case  before  us.  "Before  the  cock  crow"  is  a  general  and 
unlimited  expression;  but  when  considered  with  a  reference  to  cir- 
cumstances, it  is  equivalent  to  "before  the  cock  crow  the  second  time," 
or  "before  the  cock  crow  twice." 

I  am  now  fairly  brought  to  the  explanation  of  this  whole  matter, 
which,  had  you  examined  more  closely,  you  would  never  have  selected 
as  a  contradiction,  and  still  less  as  the  most  palpable  one  in  the  book! 
The  facts  in  the  case  are  these:  The  Jews  reckoned  the  day  from 
sun-setting  to  sun-setting.  The  night  of  each  day  preceded  the  light. 
Hence  in  Greek  they  called  the  day  Nuchthemeron.  They  divided  the 
night  into  four  watches,  of  three  hours  each.  The  first  was  from  sun- 
setting  till  9  o'clock,  called  Ilespcra.  The  second,  from  9  till  12,  called 
Opsia.  The  third,  from  12  till  3,  they  called  Praia;  and  the  fourth, 
from  3  till  6,  or  sun-rise,  they  called  Orthros.  The  third  watch,  called 
Froia,  began  and  ended  by  the  crowing  of  the  cock.  In  Judea  the  day 
and  night  being  equal  all  the  year,  or  nearly  so,  the  cock  very  regularly 
crowed  at  12  and  at  3  in  the  morning.  Hence  that  watch  which  began 
at  the  first  crowing  and  ended  at  the  second  crowing  was  called  the 
cockcrowing  watch,  or  alektrophonia.  (See  Mark  xiii.  35.)  Hence 
"before  the  cock  crow,"  in  allusion  to  the  watches  of  that  night,  is 
equivalent  to  "before  the  cock  crow  twice."  And  the  fact  proves  the 
prediction  and  explanation;  for  before  the  end  of  the  watch  called 
"the  crowing  of  the  cock,"  Peter  had  thrice  denied  his  Master. 

Now,  sir,  I  hope  you  will  be  so  candid  as  to  admit  that  neither  the 
words  themselves.  Independent  of  any  allusion  to  Jewish  history,  nor 
the  facts  in  the  case,  as  now  explained,  according  to  the  reference, 
Mark  xiii.  35,  will  afford  the  least  semblance  of  a  contradiction.  Let 
us  now  have  a  candid  and  honorable  renunciation  of  your  quibbles  and 
imaginary  contradictions :  for  if  it  has  thus  fared  with  your  GoUah  of 
Gath,  where  would  your  Lilliputian  army  appear! 

Concerning  reason  and  revelating,  Mr.  Campbell  wrote  in  Millen- 
nial Harbinger,  1832,  page  97: 

Querist. — Are  there  not  some  truths  in  revelation,  as  commonly 
understood,  contrary  to  thy  decisions? 

Reason. — No  truth  in  any  science  is  contrary  to  my  decisions.  I 
decide  only  what  is  truth.  But  many  notions  are  called  truths  ot  reve- 
lation which  are  not  found  in  revelation,  but  in  the  bewildered  and 
confused  imaginations  of  men.  Some  there  are  who  affirm  (and.  no 
doubt,  think)  that  whatever  is  contrary  to  their  ignorance  and  preju- 
dice, is  contrary  to  reason;  for  they  imagine  that  their  own  projiidices 
and  ignorance  are  identical  with  reason.  But  I  own  nothing  to  be 
truth  which  is  not  correspondent  with  what  exists.  My  definition  of 
historic  truth  is  the  agreement  of  the  narrative  with  the  fact;  of  logical 
truth,  the  agreement  of  the  terms  of  the  proposition  with  one  another, 


348  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

or  the  conclusion  with  the  premises;  and  of  religious  truth,  whatever 
God,  or  some  one  deputed  by  him,  has  spoken.  This  is  the  truth  con- 
cerning which  you  are  interrogating  me.  Everything  that  God  has 
spoken  is  true:  for  "God  is  truth." 

Querist. — But  if  God  should  be  reputed  as  having  said  anything 
contrary  to  your  ascertained  decisions  on  subjects  within  your  scrutiny 
and  jurisdiction,  what  then?     Dost  thou  affirm  it? 

Reason. — What  God  has  spoken,  and  what  he  is  reputed  to  have 
spoken,  are  very  different  things.  I  hold  it  that  God  has  spoken  only 
truth.  But  he  is  represented  to  have  spoken  very  contrary  proposi- 
tions, according  to  the  testimonies  of  prejudice  and  imagination.  But 
let  me  tell  thee  once  for  all,  there  is  nothing  contrary  to  me  that  is  not 
contrary  to  truth;  and  my  province  is  simply  to  decide  all  pretensions 
to  truth. 

To  me  it  appears  consistent  with  the  principles  developed  in  the 
constitution  of  the  mundane  system,  that  God  has  spoken  to  man  con- 
cerning his  origin  and  destiny.  And  certainly  the  positive  evidence 
inscribed  upon,  transfused  through,  and  collateral  with,  these  oracles 
of  God,  is  as  clearly  ascertained  as  that,  if  there  be  any  design  apparent 
in  human  action,  there  is  design  apparent  in  the  creation  and  preservar 
tion  of  the  universe. 

I  have  in  millions  of  instances,  during  four  thousand  years,  decided 
that  God  has  spoken  repeatedly  to  man;  and  in  millions  of  instances, 
during  the  last  two  thousand  years,  I  have  affirmed  "that  God,  who 
in  sundry  times  and  in  diverse  parcels,  spoke  in  time  past  to  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets,  has  in  these  last  days  spoken  to  us  by  his 
Son."  Such  is  my  oracle,  because  I  have  decided  from  many  processes 
of  examination  and  cross-examination  of  the  witnesses  for  God,  with 
as  much  assurance  as  I  have  ever  affirmed  any  historical  fact. 

Querist. — For  the  sake  of  argument,  then,  let  it  be  conceded  that 
your  decision  is  accordant  to  truth.  Then  I  ask.  Admitting  that  God 
has  spoken  to  man,  and  that  the  Bible  contains  these  communications; 
but  amongst  the  various  copies  and  versions,  ancient  and  modern, 
there  are  various  readings  and  interpolations:  how,  then,  do  you  dis- 
criminate the  genuine  from  the  spurious  readings?  What  are  thy 
criteria? 

Reason. — The  narrative  of  facts  is  the  same  in  all  manuscripts, 
copies,  and  versions,  in  every  substantial  particular.  The  facts  are 
not  only  the  basis,  but  the  matter  of  Christian  faith;  and  it  is  only 
in  the  verbal  expositions  of  the  meanings  and  tendencies  of  these 
facts,  that  interpolations  or  various  readings  of  any  importance  occur. 
Comparisons  of  the  more  ancient  manuscripts  and  translations,  and 
of  the  quotations  found  in  the  writings  of  the  primitive  authors, 
together  with  the  scope,  style,  and  manner  of  the  inspired  penmen, 


THE    MILLEyyiAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  349 

make  it  not  difficult,  when  proper  pains  are  taken,  to  ascertain  the  gen- 
uine readings,  and  to  detect  the  supplements  or  mistakes  ot  tran- 
scribers. 

Querist.— But  does  not  the  detection  of  some  supplements,  interpola- 
tions, or  erroneous  readings,  constitute  some  objection  against  the 
authenticity  of  the  religion  founded  upon  these  writings? 

Reason.— Ko:  no  more  than  the  detection  of  the  works  of  man  upon 
the  mountains  and  plains,  upon  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  seas,  weakens 
the  argument  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  that  he  is  the  maker  of 
it.  As  soon  would  I  reject  all  proof  of  the  divine  benevorence  because 
there  are  found  vegetable  poisons  in  our  gardens,  and  mineral  poisons 
among  our  medicines  which  God  has  himself  created,  as  reject  a  com- 
munication from  him  because  he  has  permitted  man  to  transcribe  it, 
and  left  it  possible  for  him  to  pervert  it;  affording,  however,  sufficient 
criteria  to  detect  every  foreign  ingredient,  as  he  has  to  discriminate 
the  vegetables  and  minerals  favorable  to  life,  or  to  contradistinguish 
what  are  called  the  works  of  nature  from  the  works  of  art. 

Querist.— Tell  me,  then,  what  use  dost  thou  make  of  revelation? 
Reason.— AU  its  communications  are  to  me  as  the  axiomata  of 
Euclid  to  the  mathematician.  I  use  them  all  as  fwst  and  fixed  prin- 
ciples  never  to  be  called  in  question,  as  rules  and  measures  by  which 
all  moral  principles  are  to  he  tried.  A  ''thus  says  the  Lord"  settles 
all  debate,  and  is  absolutely  authoritative  in  every  question  concern- 
ing the  spiritual  and  eternal  world.  So  soon  as  I  ascertain  the  mean- 
ing of  the  command,  promise,  or  proclamation.  I  pause  not  to  inquire 
whether  it  ought  to  be  regarded,  received,  or  obeyed,  but  proceed  forth- 
with, according  to  its  tenor  and  import,  to  act  in  accordance  with  it 

Querist.— But  is  not  this  implicit  and  unconditional  surrender  of 
thyself  derogatory  to  thy  true  dignity,  office,  and  honor? 

Keason.— Nothing  I  conceive  so  honorable,  so  dignifying,  so  con- 
genial to  my  office,  as  this  implicit  acquiescence  in  all  the  annuncia- 
tions of  the  Great  Father  of  reason  and  truth.  Nothing  so  certain, 
so  durable,  so  unchangeable  as  the  word  of  the  Lord.  There  is  no 
error  in  it.  There  can  be  no  error  in  the  most  strict  and  exact  con 
formity  to  it;  for  it  shall  stand  forever.  Truth,  like  its  author,  is 
eternal  and  unchangeable.  And  when  it  is  ascertained  that  God  has 
spoken,  to  bow  with  reverence  and  without  reserve  is  my  duty  and 
my  honor. 

Querist.— But  is  it  not  alleged  by  thee  that  God  has  always  spoken 
in  accordance  with  thee— that  revelation  and  reason  perfectly  har- 
monize? 

Reason.— 'When  men  speak  of  revelation  and  reason  according  and 
harmonizing,  thoy  can  not  mean  a  faculty  of  the  human  soul:  for 
what  sense  is  there  in  affirming  that  natural  light  and  the  eye  bar- 


350  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

monize  and  accord?  To  say  that  light  and  the  eye  agree,  is  to  say 
as  much  as  that  revelation  and  reason  agree.  Reason  is  that  eye  of 
the  soul  to  which  the  light  of  revelation  is  addressed.  But  the  bab- 
bling world,  perhaps,  mean  that  revelation  and  experience  agree;  which 
is  true  just  as  far  as  we  have  experience;  but  as  revelation  immeasur- 
ably transcends  our  experience,  it  can  only  be  affirmed  that  so  far  as 
human  experience  reaches,  it  accords  with  revelation;  and  hence  it 
is  fairly  to  be  presumed  that  experience  will  continue  to  agree 
or  correspond  with  revelation  until  the  terms  "revelation"  and 
"experience"  will  be  terms  of  equal  value,  and  cover  the  same  area 
of  thought. 

The  improper  use  of  terms,  the  confounding  of  words  and  phrases, 
is  an  error  as  common  among  skeptics  as  among  Christians,  and  it 
is  equally  pernicious  to  them  as  to  any  other  class  of  reasoners.  The 
phrases,  ''ahove  reason,"  ''contrary  to  reason,"  ''accordant  to  reason," 
when  fairly  tested,  mean  no  more  among  those  who  think,  than  above 
or  beyond  my  experience,  contrary  to  my  experience,  or  accordant  to 
my  experience.  He,  therefore,  who  says  he  believes  nothing  above  his 
reason,  nor  contrary  to  his  reason,  simply  says  he  believes  nothing 
above  his  experience  or  contrary  to  it;  and  therefore  revelation  to 
him  is  wholly  incredible.  A  Christian  may  believe  the  Alcoran  or 
the  writings  of  Confucius  or  Zoroaster  just  as  far  as  many  persons 
believe  the  Old  and  New  Testament:  that  is,  as  far  as  their  experi- 
ence goes. 

I  am  wholly  misapprehended  by  the  great  multitude  who  pretend 
to  adore  me.  They  are  burning  incense  to  a  phantom  which  I  abhor, 
and  insulting  me  to  my  face  by  ascriptions  of  praise,  which  caricature 
rather  than  characterize  me.  Their  philosophy  concerning  my  being 
and  perfections,  when  stripped  of  its  flimsy  veil,  represents  me  as  a 
deity  of  subcreative  power,  an  independent  dependant,  originating  and 
originated,  creating  and  created.  My  worshippers,  were  they  to  under- 
stand themselves,  would  be  astounded  at  the  grossness  of  their  idol- 
atry and  the  stupidity  of  their  devotion.  One  says,  "I  believe  nothing 
above  thee,  0  Reason!"  Another  says,  "I  believe  nothing  contrary  to 
thee,  0  Reason!"  In  derision  I  have  replied,  "I  see  nothing  above 
thee,  O  Eye!"  "I  see  nothing  contrary  to  thee,  0  Eye!"  Yet  they  feel 
not  the  severity  of  my  reproof,  but  repeat  their  unmeaning  adorations. 
A  votary  of  mine,  carrying  a  candle  in  a  dark  night,  once  exclaimed, 
"I  desire  no  guide  but  thee,  O  Reason!"  to  whom  I  whispered,  "I  want 
no  guide  but  thee,  0  Eye!"  and  immediately  blew  out  his  candle.  He 
stood  confounded;  but  perceived  not  the  meaning  of  my  remonstrance, 
and  forthwith  cried  out  for  a  guide.  No  ear  heard  him,  for  he  had 
declared  himself  independent  of  the  ear;  and,  plunging  into  a  ditch, 
he  perished! 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  351 

Reproof,  remonstrance,  irony,  and  satire  are  in  vain.  This  ignoble 
crowd  still  throng  my  courts,  and  are  worshipping  they  know  not 
what.  I  renounce  them;  they  belong  not  to  ray  school — they  are  not 
admitted  into  my  secrets.  I  claim  not  divine  honors.  Whatever  knowl- 
edge I  have  acquired  I  have  gleaned  from  two  volumes.  I  read  but 
two — the  volume  of  Nature  and  the  volume  of  Revelation:  the  former 
for  the  present,  the  latter  for  the  future  destiny  of  man.  I  have  not 
an  original  idea:  all  that  I  know  of  the  material  system  is  derived 
from  the  volume  of  Nature;  and  all  that  I  know  of  the  spiritual  is 
derived  from  the  volume  of  Revelation.  With  these  lamps  I  can  direct 
all  who  submit  to  my  guidance;  but  without  them  I  can  not  move  one 
step,  much  less  guide  them  in  the  path  of  life.  I  carry  two  lamps — 
one  in  each  hand:  these  guide  my  true  disciples;  but  the  lamps  which 
guide  them  illuminate  my  path  and  show  me  where  to  place  my  foot. 

Querist. — Thou  now  speakest  without  a  parable — and  while  thou 
ciaimest  for  thyself  no  higher  honors  than  these,  thou  wilt  ever  find 
me  thy  advocate  when  thou  demandest  my  aid.  Editob. 

THE    TRUTH    AND    DIVINITY    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

There  are  four  grand  arguments  for  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  1.  The 
miracles  it  records.  (These  are  easily  proved  to  have  been  recorded 
and  published  at  the  time  they  profess  to  have  been,  and  not  having 
been  disputed  for  several  hundred  years  after,  can  not  be  doubted.) 
2.  The  prophecies  it  contains.  (See  those  in  the  Old  Testament,  held 
by  the  Jews  then  and  to  this  day,  who  disbelieve  in  the  Messiah  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  New  Testament,  but  which  prophecies  any  child  may 
see  fulfilled  in  Christ  and  in  the  events  of  his  time.)  The  celebrated 
infidel  Rochester  was  converted  by  reading  the  fifty-third  chapter  of 
Isaiah.  3.  The  goodness  of  the  doctrine,  (the  greatest  infidels  acknowl- 
edge it  and  no  one  can  deny  it.)     4.  The  moral  character  of  the  penmen. 

The  miracles  flow  from  divine  power;  the  prophecies,  from  divine 
understanding;  the  excellence  of  the  doctrine,  from  divine  goodness; 
and  the  moral  purity  of  the  penmen,  from  divine  purity. 

Thus  Christianity  is  built  upon  these  four  Immutable  pillars — the 
power,  the  understanding,  the  goodness,  and  the  purity  of  God. 

The  Bible  must  be  the  invention  of  good  men  or  angels;  of  had 
men  or  devils;  or  of  God. 

It  could  not  be  the  invention  of  good  men  or  angels,  for  they  neither 
would  nor  could  make  a  book  and  tell  lies  all  the  time  they  were 
writing  it,  saying,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  when  it  was  their  own 
invention. 

It  could  not  be  the  invention  of  had  men  or  devils,  for  they  would 
not  make  a  book  which  commands  all  duty,  forbids  all  sin,  and  con- 
demns their  own  souls  to  all  eternity.       Slmpson,  1832,  page  311. 


352  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

To  Chas.  Cassedy,  Mr.  Campbell  writes,  1833,  page  193,  as 
follows: 

Dear  Sir: — You  have  as  much  at  stake  as  any  man  living  in  decid- 
ing whether  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  an  impostor,  or  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  only  Saviour  of  the  woiid.  One,  or  the  other,  he  certainly 
was.  And,  metliinks,  you  will  say,  it  would  be  rather  miraculous  if 
the  author  of  the  purest  and  most  sublime  system  of  morality  and 
virtue  which  the  world  ever  saw,  should  have  been  the  most  infamous 
impostor  that  ever  appeared  in  human  form.  And  this  he  was,  if  it 
be  not  true  that  "whosoever  believes  in  him  and  is  baptized,  shall  be 
saved,"  and  whosoever  disbelieves  and  rejects  his  salvation  will  be 
condemned.  This  was  his  last  testimony,  and  this  his  last  charge  to 
the  apostles.  For  alleging  this  he  suffered  death.  And  if  the  apostles 
are  not  the  most  impudent  liars,  after  his  resurrection  and  before  his 
ascension,  he  commanded  it  to  oe  promulged  to  you,  and  me,  and  al' 
mankind. 

Language  has  no  meaning,  and  the  apostles  deserved  to  be  put  to 
death,  and  to  be  execrated  by  all  the  sons  of  men,  if  it  be  not  true 
that  whosoever  despises  and  rejects  the  mediation  of  Jesus  will  be 
punished  with  an  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  Now,  Sir,  this  being  the  fair  and  unvarnished  state  of  the  ques- 
tion, I  put  it  to  your  intelligence  and  your  candor,  whether  or  not,  it 
be  not  most  worthy  of  every  rational  man  to  decide  by  all  the  lights  of 
the  volumes  of  creation,  providence,  and  redemption,  whether  a  sinner 
— whether  poor,  weak,  and  short-sighted  man,  ought  or  ought  not,  to 
commit  himself  into  the  hands  of  Jesus  of  NazaretTi:  to  submit  himself 
to  his  philosophy,  logic,  morality,  and  religion,  rather  than  to  his 
own  wayward  fancy,  or  the  imagination  of  any  man  that  ever  appeared 
on  earth. 

This,  my  dear  Sir,  is  the  single  question,  on  the  decision  of  which, 
all  depends.  To  decide  this  question  in  the  affirmative  makes  the  Chris- 
tian: to  decide  it  in  the  negative,  leaves  us  in  this  world  without  God, 
and  without  hope.  And  is  that  man  rational  or  philosophic  who  can 
devote  all  his  powers  to  the  questions,  what  shall  I  eat,  and  drink, 
and  with  what  shall  I  be  clothed;  who  can  devote  all  his  powers  to  the 
things  of  time  and  sense,  while  his  future  and  eternal  destiny  is 
deferred  to  some  more  convenient  season? 

We  r.re  so  constituted  and  so  circumstanced,  that  our  individual  and 
personal  happiness  must  be  the  paramount  consideration.  Now,  was 
it  not  kind  in  our  Creator  to  place  us  under  an  insuperable  necessity 
of  willing  and  seeking  our  own  happiness?  We  may  err  in  imagin- 
ing the  ways  and  means,  but  we  are  infallible  in  the  wish  to  be  happy. 
A  man  must  unmake  himself  before  he  can  will  his  own  ruin.  But  if 
man  be  a  rational  or  a  free  agent,  he  must  have  it  in  his  power  to 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINQER    AliRlDGED.  353 

ruiu  Iiimsell' — or  he  could  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  be  virtuous,  pious, 
and  happy.  Tliis,  reason  asserts;  and  we  see  it  accords  with  our 
observation  and  experience,  as  well  as  with  the  oracles  of  the  Great 
Teacher. 

Judge  you  then,  is  it  wise,  is  it  prudent  to  balance,  or  to  outweigh, 
the  united  testimony  of  apostles  and  prophets,  of  saints  and  martyrs, 
of  the  wisest  and  the  best,  for  four  thousand  years,  by  our  own  artifi- 
cial and  imaginative  difficulties?  Shall  we  place  in  the  one  scale,  the 
great  luminaries  of  the  world — the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  the  apos- 
tles— the  great  moral  revolutionists  of  our  race — the  splendid  memo- 
rials of  their  genius,  their  inspiration,  and  their  devotion  to  truth  and 
humanity:  I  say,  shall  we  place  in  the  one  scale  the  splendid  monu- 
ments of  the  inspiration  and  philanthropy  of  all  the  independent 
authors  of  fifteen  centuries,  whose  works  are  collected  in  the  volumes 
called  the  Bible  and  Testament,  and  put  in  the  opposite  scale  our  own 
imaginations  and  fancies  about  how  things  might  have  been  otherwise 
created  or  managed,  and  thus  seek  to  counterpoise  mountains  with 
leathers?  No,  you  reply,  sooner  will  I  reject  the  testimony  of  my  own 
senses,  that  the  sun  is  the  fountain  of  light,  because  I  can  not  explain 
the  meaning  of  those  black  or  dark  specks  on  its  surface,  than  renounce 
Moses,  Joshua,  Samuel,  David,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  etc.,  etc.,  of  the  Jewish,  school;  and  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
John,  Peter,  Paul  and  James,  of  the  Christian  school,  as  knaves  and 
impostors,  because  they  have  not  written  upon  geology,  astronomy, 
chemistry,  and  the  modern  sciences; — or  because  they  have  not  antici- 
pated and  answered  every  question  which  in  six  thousand  years  might 
be  propounded  by  a  thousand  million  of  querists,  speculating  on  what 
might  have  been  done  if  the  earth  had  been  flat  instead  of  round;  or 
if  man  had  had  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  and  been  sixty  instead  of  six  feet 
high,  physically,  mentally  and  morally! — Rather,  you  will  say,  let  me 
stand  in  the  ranks  with  prophets  and  apostles;  with  the  saints  and 
the  martyrs;  with  the  pure  and  holy  men  and  women  of  all  ages — 
with  the  Newtons,  the  Lockes,  the  Butlers,  the  Boyles,  the  Fergusons, 
the  Bentleys,  the  Beatles,  the  Lardners,  the  Ushers,  the  Taylovs,  the 
Seldons,  the  Erskines,  etc.,  etc.,  with  those  constellations  of  poets  that 
have  sung,  those  orators  that  have  defended,  those  philosophers  that 
have  demonstrated  the  claims  of  revelation,  and  those  poor  and  humble, 
but  virtuous  millions,  who  have  proved  its  consolations,  and  triumphed 
in  its  hopes,  amidst  all  the  afflictions  and  trials,  the  sorrows  and 
griefs,  which  have  hitherto  been  the  lot  of  the  largest  portion  of  our 
race.  Yes,  with  these  you  will  say,  let  me  live  and  die,  rather  than 
with  the  Voltaires  and  the  Volneys,  the  Mirabcaus  and  Altamonts,  the 
Humes  and  the  Paines,  the  Hobbes  and  the  Chesterfields,  the  Dantons 
and  the  Robespierres,  who  boasted  of  reason  and  common  sense,  and 


S54  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

showed  how  little  they  had  of  either  in  renouncing  the  only  light  of 
the  world  and  the  only  Saviour  of  men. 

My  dear  Sir,  this  question.  Shall  I  or  shall  I  not  put  myself  under 
the  guidance  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  is  one  of  too  much  importance  to 
be  slighted  by  any  man  of  good  sense,  of  a  sound  and  discriminating 
judgment.  His  promises  and  his  threatenings  are  too  momentous  to 
be  treated  with  indifference;  his  claims  and  his  pretensions  are  too 
well  supported,  and  too  magnificent  to  be  trifled  with;  and  therefore, 
reason,  if  unbiassed  and  unbribed  by  the  passions  and  the  appetites, 
decides  that  this  is  the  immediate  duty  which  every  man  owes  to  him- 
self and  society.  'Tis  to  you  and  me,  comparatively,  of  no  consequence, 
who  reigns  on  earth,  if  Jesus  reigns  in  heaven;  what  policy  is  adopted 
by  the  state,  if  Jehovah  has  sworn  by  himself,  that  every  knee  shall 
bow,  and  every  tongue  confess,  to  the  honor  of  Jesus  who  was  cruci- 
fied. We  may  be  happy  under  a  despotism,  and  wretched  in  the  best 
republic.  Our  allegiance  to  Jesus  as  the  great  King  is  our  felicity; 
our  allegiance  to  his  rival,  be  he  on  a  golden  throne,  or  be  he  seated 
in  our  passions,  is  our  disgrace  and  ruin.  If  on  his  side  all  is  well; 
if  opposed  to  him  we  are  undone  forever.  But,  Sir,  his  religion  has 
been  greatly  corrupted,  and  many  of  his  professed  friends  have  been 
his  real  enemies.  The  gospel  has  been  made  an  engine  of  power  in 
the  hands  of  kings  and  priests,  converted  into  a  matter  of  state  policy, 
made  subservient  to  the  lusts  of  the  fiesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the 
pride  of  life.  Several  attempts  at  reformation,  have  within  the  last 
three  centuries,  introduced  many  important  changes  into  society,  but 
only  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  has  there  been  a  vig- 
orous effort  made  to  reinstate  the  apostles  and  prophets  on  the  seats 
assigned  them  by  the  author  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  inquiry 
now  is,  what  was  the  primitive  gospel — the  original  order  of  things  in 
the  kingdom  of  Jesus?  To  these  questions,  more  attention  has  been 
paid  within  the  last  thirty  years,  than  since  the  great  apostacy.  In 
divesting  the  gospel  and  its  institutions  of  the  meretricious  attire  in 
which  the  mother  of  harlots  had  arrayed  them,  in  leaving  off  the  cere- 
monies, the  doctrines  and  commandments  of  men,  with  which  the 
pimps  and  panders  of  this  insatiate  adulteress  have  ministered  to  her 
lewdness,  we  have  found  the  simplicity,  intelligibility  and  suitableness 
of  the  gospel,  and  its  institutions,  to  be  truly  astonishing,  and  admir- 
ably worthy  of  God.  The  light  of  the  sun  is  not  more  admirably 
adapted  to  our  eyes,  or  the  sensible  properties  of  things  to  our  external 
senses,  than  is  this  message  of  our  heavenly  Fatliei-,  suited  to  our 
nature,  condition  and  circumstances.  Well  attested  facts — facts  of 
immense  moral  power — sustained  by  testimony  which  no  honest  and 
rational  man,  can,  after  full  examination,  doubt,  constitute  the  mate- 
rials of  Christian  faith.     This  faith  in  testimony  so  supernatural  and 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  355 

divine,    becomes   the    impulsive   principle   of   action,    leading   men    to 
reformation:  and  this  belief  in  God's  philanthropy  leads  us  on  to  Jesus 
the  Messiah  as  "the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life" — and  coming  to  him  aa 
our  prophet,  our  only  high  priest,  law-giver,  and  judge,  we  receive  in  the 
first  act  of  submission  to  him,  the  remission  of  all  past  sins — an  adop- 
tion into  his  family,  and  the  promise  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  with  the  hope 
of  eternal  life,  to  which  we  shall  certainly  attain,  provided  we  hold 
fast  our  allegiance  to  him,  unshaken  to  the  end.    Why  then,  my  dear 
Sir,  should  you,  or  any  sensible  man,  hesitate  on  the  question,  whether 
it  is  more   worthy  of  us  to   serve  God  than  the  Devil,  or  obey  the 
gospel  rather  than  our  corrupt  lusts: — Whether  we  ought  to  join  the 
congregation  of  Apostles,  Saints  and  Martyrs;  the  pure,  and  holy,  and 
renowned  fathers  of  mankind,  the  excellent  of  the  earth  of  all  ages  and 
nations,  or  remain  under  the  dominion  of  that  Spirit,  which  reigns  in 
the  hearts  of  the  children  of  disobedience,  in  open  communion  with 
all  the  infidelity,  scepticism  and  atheism  of  the  Epicureans  and  Sad- 
ducees  of  this  age.    I  know,  indeed,  that  some  are  wont  to  look  around 
and  flatter  themselves  in  their  refusal  to  honor  the  Saviour,  because 
of  the  respectability  of  many  of  their  associates  in  rebellion  against 
the  Lord's  anointed.     But  they  forget  that  while  here  and  there  they 
can  count  up  a  few  individuals  of  political  integrity  and  honor,  whose 
fraternity   may   do  them   some   credit,    still   to  the   same   communion 
belong  all  the  irreligionists  of  every  shade  of  infamy,  from  Nero  and 
Caligula    and    Heliogabulus,    down    to    the    veriest    sensualist    and 
debauchee  that  dishonors  human  nature.     If,  then,  some  sceptics  and 
non-professors  boast   of   some   honorable   and   distinguished    brethren, 
they  ought  to  look  around  at  the  immense  brotherhood  of  all  that's 
filthy  and  abominable  in  the  same  great  community  with  themselves, 
which  constitutes  what  some  call  the  big  church.     From  this  associa- 
tion, my  dear  Sir,  I  ardently  desire  to  see  such  men  as  you  divorced. 
You  countenance  and  encourage  many  to  adhere  to  their  delusions, 
who,  by  your  example,  might  be  rescued  from  the  snare  of  the  Devil. 
And   will  you   suffer  such   diflSculties  and   embarrassments  as  would 
equally  be  against  everything  rational   and  excellent  in   the  election 
of  man,  to  prevent  you  from  honoring  yourself,  by  honoring  the  Son 
of  God,  who  has  conferred  such  honors  upon  our  race.     For   let  me 
ask  you — is  there  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  in  all  records  and  in 
all  kingdoms,  any  system,  or  law,  or  tradition,  which  does  such  honor 
to  our  race,  as  does  the  Bible!     Who  assigns  to  man  a  more  illustrious 
origin   than   Moses?     Who   proposes  to   him   a  sublinier  destiny   than 
Jesus?     What  system  so  rational,  so  pure,  and  so  full  of  benevolence 
to  man  and  adoration  to  God?    At  the  head  of  what  institution  is  there 
found  one  of  such  peerless  excellency  and  glory,  as  he  who  redeemed 
the  church,  and   governs  it  by   the  law  of  love?     Who  ought  to  feel 


356  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ashamed  of  Jesus  Christ  in  his  earthly  race  to  glory?  And  who  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  him,  now  the  head  of  this  Universe?  Kings  would 
do  themselves  infinite  honor,  in  giving  him  the  allegiance  of  their 
hearts,  and  in  casting  their  crowns  at  his  feet.  To  learn  that  such  is 
your  veneration  for  him,  I  assure  you,  would  afford  me  great  satis- 
faction. 

At  New  York  City,  in  December,  1833,  Mr.  Campbell  delivered  three 
sermons  on  Evidences.     1834,   page  39. 

The  first  was  from  Tit.  ii.  12-15.  After  showing  that  genuine,  un- 
corrupted  religion  was  greater  than  any  sectarian  presentation  of  it; 
and  giving  some  reasons  why  Paul  was  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel 
even  at  Rome,  the  then  mistress  of  the  world,  he  took  a  view  of  the 
state  of  morals  and  philosophy  in  the  Grecian  and  Roman  cities  before 
the  gospel  was  announced;  and  expatiated  on  the  literature,  science, 
and  political  attainments  of  the  age  and  countries  in  which  Chris- 
tianity was  first  introduced.     Mr.  Campbell  says: 

I  then  showed  that  the  abuses  of  Christianity  was  no  argument 
against  its  truth  and  excellency,  any  more  than  the  abuse  of  any 
bounty  or  institution,  human  or  divine,  argues  its  falsity  or  inutility; 
drew  an  argument  from  the  abuses  of  Christianity  from  the  predictions 
of  Paul  concerning  the  man  of  sin,  written  thirty  years  after  the  cru- 
cifixion of  the  Messiah,  showing  the  consummation  of  the  apostacy  to 
be  one  of  the  most  unlikely  events  in  the  developments  of  time;  and 
ascribed  the  scepticism  of  my  audience  to  the  profligacy,  enthusiasm, 
and  blind  superstition  of  The  Apostacy,  rather  than  to  the  lack  of 
evidence  of  the  divine  mission  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Next  descanted  upon  the  felicity  of  the  choice  of  a  name  which  the 
sons  of  infidelity  assumed  as  their  designation.  Their  philosophy  lead- 
ing them  neither  to  affirm  nor  deny  the  existence  of  God  or  the  truth 
of  revealed  religion,  but  simply  to  doubt,  they  prudently  called  them- 
selves Sceptics.  We  showed  that,  as  philosophers,  they  could  but  doubt. 
No  living  man  could  say  that  he  kneiv  Christianity  to  be  a  fraud  or  to 
be  false,  because  he  was  not  in  Jerusalem  to  see  whether  Jesus  rose 
from  the  dead.  He  had  no  evidence  from  any  of  his  senses  that  Chris- 
tianity was  false;  therefore,  never  could  say  that  he  knew  the  gospel 
to  be  a  lie.  Again,  no  living  man  could  say  that  he  believes  the  gospel 
to  be  false,  because  without  testimony  there  can  be  no  faith;  and  there 
is  not  in  the  annals  of  the  world  one  vestige  of  contemporaneous  and 
contradictory  testimony.  No  apostate,  no  Jew,  Samaritan,  or  Gentile, 
who  lived  in  those  times,  has  given  any  testimony  contrary  to  the 
Apostles.  Now,  inasmuch  as  no  man  who  knows  the  meaning  of  words, 
can  say  he  knows  the  gospel  to  be  false,  or  believes  it  to  be  false; 
what  can  philosophers  or  philologists  say  of  themselves,  but  that  they 
doubt,  or  are  simply  sceptics? 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  357 

Spoke  01  the  honesty  of  Sceptics — admitted  them  to  be  honest  men 
and  good  citizens  in  numerous  instances;  but  in  the  enlarged  sense 
of  the  word  honest,  comprehending  our  dues  to  God,  to  man,  and  to 
ourselves,  doubted  whether  there  was  an  honest  Sceptic  in  the  human 
race — because  it  would  be  admitted  that  the  sanctions  of  eternal  life 
or  eternal  death  under  which  the  gospel  was  believed  or  rejected, 
claimed  the  whole,  undivided,  and  concentrated  powers  of  man  upon 
the  evidence;  and  that  we  never  yet  found  a  sceptic  who  had  exam- 
ined fairly  and  fully  both  sides  of  the  question;  and,  therefore,  we 
must  regard  them  as  not  honest  to  themselves. 

Christianity,  a  religion  of  facts,  and  not  of  opinions,  was  to  be  tried 
in  the  proper  court,  as  other  questions  of  fact  are  to  be  tried — not 
arbitrary  in  choosing  her  judges,  laws,  or  witnesses — she  submits  to 
the  common  judges,  laws,  and  witnesses  which  are  approved  in  those 
courts  of  inquiry  in  which,  questions  of  historic  certainty  are  examined. 

These  preliminaries  being  submitted,  we  went  into  the  examination 
of  the  doubts  and  difficulties  of  Sceptics:  — 

1st.  The  incomprehensibility  of  some  of  its  principles  is  a  frequent 
objection  to  its  divine  authenticity.  We  admitted  this  incomprehensi- 
bility; but  demonstrated  that  if  the  incomprehensibility  of  some  of 
its  principles  constituted  a  lawful  objection  against  its  truth,  then 
every  science  in  Christendom  must  be  rejected:  for,  from  the 
Newtonian  science  of  the  universe  down  to  the  science  of  medicine, 
there  is  nothing  called  science  which  has  not  for  its  basis,  or  an  essen- 
tial part,  certain  recondite  and  abstract  principles,  which  no  man  ever 
did,  or  ever  will,  comprehend. 

Newton's  centripetal  and  centrifugal  powers  are  assumptions  which 
are  proved  to  be  true  and  incomprehensible.  The  vital  principle  itself 
— the  infinite  divisibility  of  matter,  electricity,  magnetism,  animaliza- 
tion,  space,  time,  etc.,  etc.,  incomprehensible.  A  man  can  not  com- 
prehend himself,  much  less  anything  above  himself,  or  anything  out 
of  himself.  Nature  and  religion  alike  comprehensible  and  incompre- 
hensible. 

2d.  Christianity  founded  on  miracles.  No  objection;  for  so  is  every 
system  of  scepticism.  Every  sceptic,  upon  his  own  definition  of  mir- 
acle, is  constrained  to  adopt  miracles.  The  difference  between  the 
Sceptic  and  Christian,  in  this  one  respect,  is,  that  the  former  admits 
miracles  without  any  testimony;  the  latter,  on  the  best  testimony  in 
the  world.  We  ask.  Did  nature  exist  before  man?  Then  she  must 
have  suspended,  changed,  or  new-modified  her  operations  when  she  pro- 
duced one.  She  ceased  to  operate  in  that  way,  for  she  never  made 
a  second.  The  first  man  was  an  adult — never  an  infant;  but  now 
nature  gives  infants.  Matter  has  the  same  power  now  it  ever  had.  It 
can   not  now   produce   an  oak    without   an   acorn — a  man    without  an 


358  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

infant.  But  this  is  not  all:  She  made  vegetables  before  she  made 
man  or  animals.  She  either  prepared  them  by  degrees,  as  she  now 
does;  or  she  consummated  them  at  once — for  without  them,  man 
or  animal  could  not  have  lived.  All  this  is  miracle.  No  SceptK! 
can  commence  any  system  without  assuming  a  miracle.  Christians 
believe  them,  and  all  nature,  and  philosophy,  and  ancient  history 
prove  them,   etc. 

3d.  Christianity  addresses  itself  to  faith  rather  than  to  reason. 
Faith  shown  to  be  a  better  guide  than  reason.  But  as  this  was  more 
fully  developed  in  our  second  discourse  to  the  Sceptics,  we  shall  pause 
for  the  present."  Euixou. 

Mr.  Campbell  reports,   1834,  page  76: 

At  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  according  to  appointment,  we 
addressed  a  large  assembly  of  gentlemen  (though  it  rained)  at  Concert 
Hall,  on  the  evidences  of  the  gospel. 

After  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the  preceding  discourse  in  Tammany 
Hall,  we  reasoned  with  them  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half  on  reason 
and  faith. 

1st.  We  attempted  to  demonstrate  that  reason  without  faith  is. 
wholly  inadequate  to  guide  man,  in  reference  either  to  the  present  or 
the  future. 

2d.  Justified  the  wisdom  and  philanthropy  of  the  Author  of  Revela- 
tion in  addressing  it  to  faith,  or  to  the  capacity  by  which  we  receive 
almost  all  our  useful  knowledge. 

The  design  of  this  discourse,  like  the  preceding,  was  to  disabuse  the 
audience  of  their  prejudices  against  the  testimony  of  God,  occasioned 
by  the  abuses  of  their  own  reason,  and  the  abuses  of  the  Bible  by 
many  teachers  and  professors  of  Christianity;  and  to  prepare  them 
for  the  candid  examination  of  the  direct  evidences  and  arguments 
to  be  offered  that  evening  in  Tammany  Hall  in  proof  of  the  resur- 
rection  of  Jesus. 

Among  the  various  arguments  adduced  under  the  first  item  of  our 
discourse,  was,  the  impotency  and  perfect  inadequacy  of  reason  to 
originate  or  decide  anything  regarding  religion  confessed  by  the  Scep- 
tics themselves.  Before  me,  I  observed,  was  a  number  of  gentlemen, 
who  had  the  greatest  advantages  which  the  improved  state  of  the 
science  of  this  world  afforded;  whose  minds  were  fully  matured  by 
many  years'  reflection,  and  by  all  that  philosophy  could  bestow;  who 
confessed  that  to  the  present  moment  they  could  not  theoretically  or 
practically  decide  whether  or  not  there  was  a  God — an  intelligent 
Creator,  or  whether  nature  was  or  was  not  eternal  and  unoriginated. 
Their  own  experience — indeed,  their  own  consciousness,  than  which 
there  is  no  higher  evidence  to  them,  might  be  most  successfully 
appealed  to  in  proof  that  reason,  however  enlightened  and  cultivated  by 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  359 

natural  science,  was  altogethej-  incompetent  to  guide  man  to  any  cer- 
tain knowledge  of  his  origin  or  destiny. 

Faith,  on  the  contrary,  was  that  capacity  or  power  in  man,  to  which 
this  knowledge  was  addressed,  and  by  which  alone  it  could  be  acquired. 
Indeed,  all  our  knowledge  of  the  past,  and  of  the  present,  except  only 
the  narrow  horizon  which  comes  under  the  cognizance  of  our  senses,  is 
derived  through  this  channel. 

Faith  was  then  shown  to  be  the  most  natural,  universal,  and  power- 
ful principle  of  action  implanted  in  the  human  breast.  To  it  the 
docility  and  tractability  of  our  species  was  to  be  ascribed.  It  was 
shown  to  be  as  necessarily  a  condition  of  temporal  life  as  of  eternal 
life.  The  infant  that  believes  not  its  parents,  must  be  destroyed;  for 
fire,  or  flood,  or  poison,  or  the  wild  beast  must  destroy  every  child  that 
believes  not  its  nurse  or  guardian.  Why,  then,  object  to  the  gospel 
because  it  makes  faith  and  obedience  a  condition  of  eternal  life,  which 
in  the  constitution  of  nature  and  society  is  an  essential  condition  of 
our  animal  life! 

Testimony  it  was  alleged  is  submitted  to  reason,  and  over  it  reason 
exercises  the  same  jurisdiction  which  it  exercises  over  the  objects  of 
sense.  The  attributes  of  testimony,  like  the  attributes  of  any  object 
of  reason,  may  be  ascertained  with  as  much  precision  as  the  properties 
of  things.  We  can  discriminate  the  true  from  the  false,  in  some  mat- 
ters, with  difl!iculty;  but,  in  other  matters,  with  perfect  certainty. 
Reason  deciding  that  the  testimony  is  true,  is  believing;  reason  decid- 
ing that  the  testimony  is  false,  is  disbelieving;  reason  unable  to  decide, 
is  scepticism. 

Testimony  is  only  another  name  for  the  experience  of  others.  Their 
experience,  reported  and  believed,  is  our  faith.  Mr.  Hume  said  he 
could  not  admit  the  testimony  of  a  few  in  proof  of  a  miracle,  because 
it  was  contrary  to  universal  experience.  But  how  did  he  know  what 
universal  experience  testified?  By  believing  the  testimony  of  a  few!! 
The  philosopher  seems  not  to  have  been  aware  that  universal  experi- 
ence was  to  be  ascertained  only  by  the  belief  of  the  experience  of  a 
few.  Silence  is  not  contradictory  testimony.  The  testimony  of  two 
men  can  prove  in  a  court  of  law^  an  affirmative  proposition — the  testi- 
mony of  ten  thousand  can  not  prove  a  negative;  still  less  can  their 
silence  prove  anything,  borne  sceptics,  amongst  whom  Frances  Wright 
was  one,  exclaim  "that  Christians  can  not  offer  as  much  evidence  in 
favor  of  their  faith  as  would  be  necestary  to  gain  a  plea  in  court  of  the 
value  of  ten  dollars;"  meaning  that  they  had  no  witnesses  of  th,3 
resurrection  of  Jesus  that  could  be  admitted  in  a  court  of  law — no  liv- 
ing witnesses,  the  only  witnesses  that  can  bo  heard  by  a  jury.  Then 
is  the  property  of  the  owners  of  the  soil  of  this  state  and  of  much  of 
this  city  not  worth  ten  dollars,  because  the  letters  of  most  of  the  orig- 


360  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

inal  purchasers,  and  indeed  the  original  charter  itself,  can  not  be 
proved  by  living  witnesses,  but  as  we  prove  the  records  of  Christianity! 
Perhaps,  after  all  the  boasts  of  scepticism  to  the  contrary,  it  is  more 
dogmatical  than  even  bigotry  itself. 

The  Impossibility  of  originating  the  idea  of  spiritual  existence,  and 
the  notion  of  propitiation,  altars,  temples,  priests,  etc.,  without  other 
aids  than  sensation,  reflection,  and  imagination — without  the  Bible, 
finished  this  address. 

At  Tammany  Hall,  at  7  o'clock,  the  same  evening,  we  delivered  a 
discourse  of  more  than  two  hours,  to  the  largest  assembly  (according 
to  common  report)   that  ever  convened  there. 

To  prove  that  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead,  was  the  burthen  of  this 
discourse.  After  reading  some  portions  of  the  prophets  as  introduc- 
tory, our  exordium  consisted  of  a  refutation  of  the  allegation  that  we 
Christians  were  chiefly  indebted  to  our  friends  for  our  faith — that  our 
testimony  was  ex  parte.  This  was  attacked  by  showing  that  the  con- 
trary was  the  fact — that  the  documents  on  which  we  chiefly  relied 
were  in  the  possession  of  our  worst  and  most  deadly  enemies.  The 
Jews,  who  crucified  the  Messiah  and  persecuted  the  first  promulgers 
of  our  faith,  had  been  the  keepers  of  those  records  which  ascei'tained 
the  pretensions  of  Jesus  for  1,500  years  before  he  waa  born,  and  still 
possess  them.  The  writings  of  Moses,  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  indeed 
all  the  Prophets,  were  in  their  keeping,  and  translated  into  the  Greek 
language;  therefore,  in  the  Keeping  of  Jews  and  Pagans  centuries 
before  the  Christ  appeared. 

Prophecy  in  its  accomplishment  was  shown  to  be  a  standing  miracle. 
Prophecy,  when  uttered,  no  evidence;  but  when  accomplished,  is  as 
strong  as  demonstration  itself. 

Two  specimens  were  given,  in  which  it  was  impossible  to  prevari- 
cate— in  which  there  was  no  refuge  from  figure,  vision,  or  symbol — 
because  all  was  as  literal  and  obvious  as  narrative  itself. 

One  from  Jeremiah,  concerning  the  present  state  of  the  Jews, 
chap.  xxix.  18;  xxx.  11;  xxxi.  35-37,  pronounced  600  years  before 
the  Messiah;  translated  into  Greek  280  years  before  the  Christian 
era.  Every  one  can  now  see  the  event  in  the  present  fortunes  of 
the  Jews. 

The  second  was,  the  fate  of  all  the  nations  which  abused  the  Jews 
before  the  Christian  era,  from  Dan.  ii.  and  Jer.  xxx.  11. 

From  these  we  proceeded  to  the  capital  fact  on  which  Christianity 
rests — the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Jew,  Gentile,  and  Christian  alike 
admit  his  death  and  burial;  but  Christians  only  believe  in  his  resur- 
rection. 

The  fact  that  the  body  was  missing  on  the  third  day,  admitted. 
His  friends  had  it  not  in  keeping:   for  they  did  not  expect  his  rising. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  361 

as  the  lour  testimonies  declare;  and  if  they  ha>d,  they  could  not  have 
gut  it,  lor  their  enemies  guarded  the  sepulchre.  His  enemiee  had  it 
not,  hecause  they  would  have  satisfied  the  populace  ot  the  fraud  of 
his  disciples  in  asserting  his  resurrection,  and  have  confronted  them 
with  the  dead  body. 

The  body  was,  then,  not  to  be  found  amongst  friends  or  foes;  and 
at  this  time  there  were  no  neutrals  in  Jerusalem.  What  came  of  it? 
It  was  reanimated — 

1st.  Because  his  disciples  saw  him  repeatedly;  heard  him  speak, 
and  for  forty  days  had  such  infallible  proofs  of  his  identity,  as  to 
sacrifice  their  lives  in  asserting  his  resurrection.  All  history  affords 
no  example  of  one  or  more  individuals  sacrificing  their  lives  for 
asseting  a  fact,  an  event  which  promised  them  no  earthly  honor  or 
reward. 

2d.  The  descent  of  Uie  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  in  pres- 
ence of  the  nation  assembled  in  Jerusalem,  in  attestation  of  his  recep- 
tion in  heaven,  and  the  consequent  progress  of  the  gospel  over  the 
world. 

3d.  The  commemorative  institution  of  a  figurative  burial  and 
resurrection  into  the  name  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  consecration  of  one 
day  in  every  week  to  commemorate  his  resurrection,  furnishes  an 
argument  of  the  highest  moral  certainty,  for  no  commemorative  or 
monumental  institution  set  up  at  the  time  of  any  alleged  fact  and 
afterwards  perpetuated,  has  in  the  history  of  all  time  proved  falla- 
cious. Indeed,  it  can  not  be  done.  We  could  not  do  it  now  is  an  irref- 
ragable argument  that  they  could  not  do  it  then. 

4th.  The  myriads  of  opponents,  Jews,  Samaritans,  Pagans,  who  were 
overcome  and  vanquished  into  the  belief  of  the  resurrection,  are  equiv- 
alent to  the  testimony  of  myriads  of  adversaries;  for  it  was  a  question 
of  fact  which  was  to  be  decided  by  evidence.  Hence  every  vanquished 
opponent  in  that  day,  when  everything  was  fresh,  is  justly  to  be 
regarded  as  the  testimony  of  an  enemy. 

5th.  Apostates,  and  the  first  writers  against  Christianity,  and  Pagan 
historians,  (such  as  Julian,  Celsus,  Trypho,  Tacitus,  Suetonius,  Jose- 
phus,)  as  far  as  they  allude  to  the  subject,  admit  the  facts  and 
variously  explain  them. 

These  five  arguments,  together  with  the  spirit  and  temper  which 
true  religion   infused,  would  remain   forever  unanswered. 

In  1835,  page  197,  Mr.  Campbell  writes: 

The  Christian  believes  that  God  made  himself  known  to  all  the 
human  race  at  two  of  the  most  memorable  periods  of  human  history. 
The  first  revelation  of  himself  was  made  to  the  family  of  Adam;  the 
second,  to  that  of  Noah.  At  the  commencement  of  the  antediluvian 
and    postdiluvian    worlds,   all    the   children   of   men,   the   fathers   and 


362  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

founders  of  all  nations,  were  favored  with  a  clear  development  of  the 
existence  and  perfections  of  the  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  World, 
and  of  the  cardinal  relations  which  his  rational  offspring  sustain  to 
him  and  to  one  another.  This  knowledge  of  God  was,  in  the  first  ages 
of  the  world,  transmitted  from  father  to  son  by  oral  tradition.  It 
had  not,  however,  passed  through  many  hands,  till  corrupted  by  human 
invention,  and  metamorphosed  by  the  phantasies  of  a  licentious  imagi- 
nation, it  lost  its  influence  on  the  human  heart;  and  in  a  few  genera- 
tions it  finally  degenerated  into  the  nameless  mythological  idolatries 
of  the  Pagan  world.  So  general  was  this  perversion  of  divine  revela- 
tion, that,  in  the  year  of  the  world  2000,  polytheism  almost  universally 
prevailed.  This  occasioned  the  call  of  Abraham  from  Ur  of  Chaldca, 
and  gave  rise  to  a  new  series  of  divine  communications,  which  were 
finally  embodied  and  consummated  in  the  Jews'  religion.  To  this 
revelation  the  Jewish  descendants  of  Abraham  have,  for  a  period  of 
nearly  four  thousand  years,  pertinaciously  adhered. 

This,  together  with  the  Christian  religion,  for  fifteen  centuries 
concealed  in  the  types  and  prophecies  of  the  Mosaic  institution,  but 
fully  developed  by  the  Messiah  and  his  Apostles,  the  Deist  wholly 
disbelieves  and  rejects,  alleging  that  such  a  revelation  is  wholly  unnec- 
essary and  unreasonable,  inasmuch  as  the  universe  itself  and  alone, 
addressed,  as  it  is,  to  the  reason  and  understanding  of  man,  is  all 
sufficient  to  teach  him  the  being  and  perfections  of  God  as  creator  and 
preserver  of  the  world — his  own  origin  and  responsibilities — his  duties 
— his  immortality  and  ultimate  destiny. 

The  atheistic  philosopher  of  nature, '  confident  in  his  own  specula- 
tions, with  the  assurance  of  demonstration,  affirms  that  the  Christian 
is  a  credulous  dupe,  following  a  cunningly  devised  fable,  while  he 
compliments  the  Deist  with  the  title  of  a  fool. 

Accosting  the  Theist,  he  asks — "How  is  it,  sir,  that,  by  your  five 
senses,  and  the  exercise  of  your  reason  on  all  the  varied  contents  of 
the  volume  of  nature,  you  have  not  learned  to  spell  the  name  of  your 
God?  In  what  land,  and  in  what  language,  are  the  name  and  perfec- 
tions of  your  creator  inscribed  upon  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  beast 
of  the  field,  or  the  fishes  of  the  sea?  If  his  name  is  written  on  the 
title  page  of  the  volume  of  Nature,  possessed  by  all,  why  is  it  not 
seen  and  read  by  all,  who  have  the  same  five  senses  and  the  same 
intellectual  powers?  Why  is  it  that  all  nations  create  gods  for  them- 
selves, of  every  lust  and  passion,  after  the  model  of  their  own  imagina- 
tions and  propensities,  and  stupidly  adore  the  stars  of  heaven,  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  or  the  reptiles  of  the  dust? 

"Do  you  direct  my  inquiries  into  Egypt,  and  refer  me  to  the  land 
of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  Ptolemies  for  illumination  on  the  excellencies 
of  your  Lord  of  Naiure?     Their  philosophers  direct  me  to  the  temple 


THE    MILLENSIAL    UARBlXGEli    ABRIDGED.  363 

of  the  red  heilur,  to   tho  marahes  of  the  Nile,  or  to  the  gardens  of 
Thebes.     They  offer  me  a  crocodile,  a  calf,  or  an  onion. 

"Dissatisfied  with  all  the  science  and  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  do 
you  invite  me  to  the  subtle  and  accomplished  Greeks  and  Romans? 
1  would  accompany  you  to  the  groves  and  mountains  of  their  poets — 
to  the  retreats  of  their  philosophers — to  the  forum  of  their  orators; 
but  in  Athena  I  find  more  gods  than  men!  In  Rome,  imperial  Rome, 
replete  with  all  the  science  of  the  world — in  her  magnificent  Pan- 
theon, consecrated  to  Olympic  Jove  and  all  the  inferior  gods — could  wo 
brush  the  cobwebs  from  their  faces,  and  expel  the  mice  and  flies  that 
have  defiled  their  persons,  we  could  not  in  a  year  learn  their  names, 
their  amours,  intrigues,  broils,  and  battles.-  It  is  all  imagination — 
delusion  all." 

"In  the  absence  of  any  proof  that  man  ever  did  arrive  at  the  con- 
viction of  one  supreme  spiritual  intelligence  from  the  book  of  Nature," 
continues  the  Atheist,  "  'tis  vain  for  you  to  attempt  to  demonstrate 
than  man  can,  by  the  use  of  his  reason,  or  by  all  the  suggestions  of 
the  book  of  Nature,  possess  himself  of  any  one  of  the  ideas  which 
are  essential  to  your  creed.  That  he  hus  never  dune  it,  is  the  best 
proof  that  he  never  can  do  it.  Were  the  universe,  indeed,  offered  as 
a  gift  to  the  Deist,  on  condition  that  he  would  produce  only  one 
example  of  the  truth  of  his  theory — a  single  individual,  who  had  by 
his  reason  alone,  aided  by  his  five  senses,  and  the  book  of  Nature, 
acquired  the  idea,  or  image,  or  notions  of  a  one  Supreme  Spirit,  he 
would  never  possess  it;  and  this  is  only  equivalent  to  saying  that 
Deism  is  a  fond  conceit — a  baseless  superstructure — an  air-built  castle, 
discovered  only  in  the  regions  of  imagination." 

The  Christian  philosopher,  listening  to  this  triumphant  Atheist,  at 
this  crisis  most  serenely  interposes  his  dilemma — "You  affirm,  Mr. 
Atheist,"  says  the  Christian,  "that  the  idea  or  the  name  of  a  supreme 
spiritual  intelligence,  called  God,  did  not  enter  the  human  mind  by 
supernatural  revelation,  and  that  it  could  not  enter  the  human  mind 
by  reason:  but  the  idea  and  the  name  are  now  in  the  human 
mind,  entertained  by  millions  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  men  in 
the  world.  Will  you,  then,  please  explain  to  us  how  this  name  God 
and  the  idea  which  it  represents,  first  took  possession  of  the  human 
understanding?" 

"By  iinafji nation,"  promptly  responds  the  Atheist.  "Who,"  replies 
the  Christian  philosopher,  "is  this  god  imagination? — in  what  heaven 
does  he  dwell?  He  can  create  out  of  nothing  the  idea  of  one  supreme 
spirit!  In  what  city  have  you  dedicated  a  temple  to  this  divinity? 
And  is  this  the  perfection  of  Atheism?  Is  it  compelled  to  deify  the 
imagination  of  man,  and  assign  to  it  the  most  splendid  creations  in 
the  universe.      Imagination,   the  god   of  Atheists,   creates  the   God   of 


364  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Christians!  I  believe  not  in  this  divinity,  and  will  not  believe  in 
him,  unless  he  can  work  one  miracle  at  least.  Let  him  create  one 
new  idea,  or  the  model  of  one  new  idea,  and  I  will  believe  in  him. 
But  it  must  be  a  new  idea.  I  cheerfully  assign  to  imagination  the 
honor  of  being  the  chief  artificer  in  the  magazines  of  all  the  fine 
arts.  It  combines,  compounds,  new-modifies,  and  arranges  all  the 
materials  found  in  the  chambers  of  our  perceptions,  reflections,  and 
memories.  But  as  soon  will  the  architect  create  the  materials  for  the 
house  which  he  builds,  as  imagination  furnish  the  materials  for  its 
own  manufacture.  It  borrows  from  the  sight,  the  sound,  the  taste, 
the  smell,  the  feel,  all  the  materials  from  which  it  fabricates  its  offer- 
ings. In  all  its  patchwork  we  see  how  much  it  is  indebted  to  the 
five  senses — that  it  is  only  imitative.  If  it  could  create  a  God,  it  cer- 
tainly could  furnish  man  with  at  least  one  new  sense.  But  it  has 
been  asked  in  vain  to  suggest  one  original  idea,  and  to  try  its  strengLh 
in  giving  a  name  to  a  sixth  sense.  As  soon  will  the  voice  of  the 
Atheist  rend  the  mountains,  as  his  imagination  invent  a  sixth  sense 
for  man,  unlike  the  five  with  which  he  is  endued." 

The  Christian  has  two  sources  of  original  ideas:  the  unbeliever 
has  but  one.  The  Book  of  Nature  and  the  Book  of  Revelation  furnish 
the  Christian  with  all  his  original  simple  conceptions.  For  the  Book 
of  Nature  he  is  furnished  with  five  senses: — The  sense  of  seeing,  hear- 
ing, tasting,  smelling,  feeling.  His  reflections  on  the  objects  of  sense, 
and  the  impressions  these  objects  make  on  him,  furnish  him  with  ideas 
compound  and  multiform;  but  every  idea  properly  original  and  purely 
simple,  is  a  discovery.  Its  model,  or  that  which  excites  or  originates 
it,  is  found  in  the  volume  of  Nature,  or  in  the  volume  of  Revelation. 
Sense  fits  him  for  the  one,  and  faith  for  the  other.  Every  supernat- 
ural idea  found  in  the  world,  as  well  as  the  proper  term  which  repre- 
sents it,  is  directly  or  indirectly  derived  from  the  Bible. 

In  drawing  this  conclusion  we  use  the  premises,  and  work  by  the 
rules,  of  all  the  mental  philosophers  of  acknowledged  orthodoxy  in 
the  science  of  mind  and  of  language.  The  unbelieving  Hume  and 
the  believing  Locke,  alike  assent  that  all  our  simple  and  original 
ideas  are  derived  from  sensation  and  reflection;  and  that  the  imagina- 
tion is  absolutely  dependent  upon  the  discoveries  of  the  five  senses 
for  all  its  inventions  and  creations.  But  the  Apostle  Paul  sanctions 
these  conclusions  by  affirming  that  it  is  "by  faith  we  understand 
that  the  universe  was  made  by  God" — and  that  "he  that  comes  to  God 
must  believe  that  he  exists:"  for  the  world  by  wisdom  did  not  know 
God. 

Some,  indeed,  have  been  confounded  by  such  sayings  as  these:  — 
"The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  shows  his 
handy  works" — "His  invisible  attributes  are  clearly  seen  by  the  things 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  365 

that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  divinity;  so  that  the  Gen- 
tiles are  without  excuse."  These,  and  such  like  sayings,  constitute 
no  real  objection  to  the  views  offered:  for  when  the  proposition  that 
"God  csisls,"  or  that  "there  is  a  God,"  is  offered  to  the  mind — the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  with  all  their  riches  and  glory,  fully  and 
satisfactorily  prove  it.  But  we  affirm  that  the  universe  furnishes  us 
not  with  both  the  proposition  and  the  proof;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  are  not  the  proposition  and  the  proof.  God 
himself  spoke  to  Adam,  and  left  him  not  to  guess  his  origin,  though 
he  was  more  capable  of  making  the  discovery  than  any  of  his  sons. 
He  has,  in  various  manners  and  times,  addressed  our  race  in  th.' 
language  which  he  taught  us,  and  has  never  left  man  without  the 
means  of  knowing  his  origin  and  end;  though  for  his  obduracy  and 
ingratitude,  he  has  frequently  been  given  over  to  an  undiscerning 
mind.  "When,  indeed,  the  idea  is  once  suggested,  the  whole  universe, 
in  all  its  dominions,  bears  witness  to  the  being  and  attributes  of  God. 
God  himself  suggests  the  idea  and  the  whole  universe  proves  it  true. 

The  proposition  that  "there  is  a  God,"  being  once  suggested,  the 
universe,  with  its  ten  thousand  tongues,  addressed  to  the  ear  of  reason, 
and  its  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  designs  submitted  to  the  eye 
of  reflection,   is  demonstration   clear,  full,  and   overwhelming. 

To  the  unperverted  vision  of  a  sound  mind,  material  nature  is  but 
one  vast  assemblage  of  systems  of  adaptations,  working  out  innumer- 
able series  of  results,  in  harmonious  subordination  to  one  granil  end, 
exhibiting  nothing  so  clearly  as  the  wonderful  contrivance  and  intel- 
ligent designs  of  one  vast  and  unsearchable  mind. 

It  must,  indeed,  be  confessed  that  as  the  natural  eye  may  be  so 
dimmed  and  jaundiced  by  a  disturbed  digestion,  as  not  to  see  objects 
in  their  true  color  and  proper  position;  so  may  the  mental  sight  be  'o 
vitiated  by  a  diseased  heart,  as  not  to  see  even  design  itself  in  the 
wisest  and  most  palpable  arrangements  of  means  to  ends,  with  which 
the  whole  kingdom  of  nature  abounds.  Hence,  in  a  land  of  Eibles, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  true  doctrine  of  causation,  the  moral 
atheist  necessarily  precedes  the  speculative  atheist:  for  with  David 
we  must  say,  "It  is  in  his  heart"  the  fool  first  says,  "There  is  no 
God."  Atheism  must,  therefore,  be  always  regarded  as  a  disease  of 
the  heart. 

The  fogs  and  mists  that  hide  the  sun  from  our  vision,  the  darkest 
clouds  that  overspread  the  heavens,  rise  from  the  earth.  Above  these 
exhalations  the  sun  shines  in  uniform  and  undiminished  brightness. 
Now  if  nature's  immortal  and  eternal  Sun  illumines  not  our  mental 
eyes,  analogy  confirms  as  well  as  illustrates  the  fact,  that  the  cause 
is  from  beneath.  He  who,  with  right  affections,  sets  about  th^  con- 
templation of  the  universe,  will  not  bo  long  held  in  suspense  whether 


366  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

it  is  tlie  work  of  blind  chance  or  of  intelligent  design.  Such  a  person 
will  soon  discover  that  atheism  is  the  greatest  of  human  follies,  and 
the  most  mischievous  of  all  delusions. 

It  is  the  greatest  of  human  follies,  for  two  reasons:  First,  because 
it  is  impossible  to  prove  that  there  is  no  God;  and  in  the  second  place, 
it  is  impossible  for  the  atheist  to  prove  from  his  premises  that  there 
is  any  mind  in  man.  He  that  says  there  is  no  God,  must  say  there 
is  no  mind;  and  he  that  doubts  the  being  of  God,  must  also  doubt  the 
being  of  mind. 

We  have  said  it  is  impossible  to  prove  that  there  is  no  God.  The 
reason  is  obvious:  for  could  a  person  with  the  lamp  of  universal 
science  traverse  the  solar  system,  and  prosecute  his  inquiries  for  ten 
thousand  years,  it  must  be  conceded  that  even  then  there  would 
remain  mysteries  uncomprehended,  arcana  unexplored,  latent  and 
remote  causes  undiscovered.  If,  however,  but  one  unknown  cause 
remained,  he  could  not  conclude  that  there  is  no  God,  inasmuch  as 
that  very  cause,  to  him  unascertained,  might  be  the  great  First  Cause. 
To  prove  that  there  is  no  God  is,  therefore,  the  greatest  of  impos- 
sibilities.    Is  he  not,  then,  a  fool,  who  says  there  is  no  God? 

What,  in  the  next  place,  let  me  ask,  is  the  proof — what  the  demon- 
stration of  mind?  Its  only  evidence,  and  it  is  an  infallible  one,  is  its 
designs,  its  contrivance; — the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  working 
and  making  arrangements  with  a  reference  to  final  causes  or  results. 
This  is  what  distinguishes  the  sane  from  the  insane — the  man  from 
the  idiot.  Now,  none  of  the  works  of  human  art  exhibit  more  intelli- 
gent designs  than  the  works  of  nature;  nay,  indeed,  none  of  them 
exhibit  so  much.  It  is  conceded,  and  very  generally,  that  there  are 
the  most  striking  appearances  of  purpose  and  design  in  all  the  works 
of  nature.  Now,  if,  as  it  is  universally  conceded,  intelligent  contriv- 
ance, purpose,  and  design  are  the  only  evidences  of  mind  in  the  works 
of  human  art,  it  must  follow  that  the  same  appearances  in  nature 
must  prove  a  mind  independent  of  nature,  controlling,  managing,  and 
working  by  nature  its  own  results — whatever  proves  mind  in  the  one 
case  proves  it  in  the  other;  and  if  the  appearance  of  design  in  the 
works  of  God  will  not  prove  his  existence,  neither  will  the  appearances 
of  mind  in  the  works  of  men  prove  the  existence  of  mind  in  man. 
The  atheist,  therefore,  if  he  presume  to  be  consistent,  must  not  only 
affirm  that  there  is  no  God,  but  also  that  there  is  no  mind  in  man. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  designate  instances  in  the  works  of 
nature,  in  which  there  is  an  appearance  of  purpose;  for  everything  has 
this  appearance.     I  will,  however,  mention  several  cases  as  samples. 

1.  The  adaptation  of  the  covering  of  animals  to  the  climates  in 
which  they  live.  Northern  animals  have  thicker  and  warmer  coats  of 
fur  or  hair,  than   Southern  ones.     And  here  it  should  be  remarked. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  3CT 

that  man,  the  only  creature  capable  af  clothing  himself,  is  the  only 
one  that  is  not  clothed  by  nature.  Singular  discrimination  and  care, 
indeed,  for  non-intelligencel 

2.  The  adaptation  of  animals  to  the  elements  in  which  they  live — 
the  fish  to  the  water,  other  animals  to  the  air.  Would  not  an  unintel- 
ligent Energy  or  Power  (for  a  Power  all  must  acknowledge)  be  as 
likely  to  form  the  organs  of  a  fish  for  air  as  for  water! 

3.  The  necessity  which  man  has  for  sustenance,  etc.,  and  the  supply 
of  that  necessity  by  nature.  Here  let  it  be  noted  how  many  things 
must  act  in  unison,  to  produce  the  necessary  results.  The  earth  must 
nourish  the  seed,  the  sun  must  warm  it,  the  rain  must  moisten  it,  and 
man  must  have  the  strength  to  cultivate  it, — and  the  organs  to  eat 
it,  and  the  stomach  to  digest  it,  and  the  blood  vessels  to  circulate  it, 
and  so  on.  Is  it  credible,  that  all  these  things  should  happen  with- 
out design? 

4.  The  pre-adaptation  of  the  infant  to  the  state  of  things  into  which 
it  enters  at  birth.  The  eye  is  exactly  suited  to  the  light,  the  ear  to 
sound,  the  nose  to  smell,  the  palate  to  taste,  the  lun'gs  to  the  air,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  How  is  it  possible  to  see  no  design  in  this  pre-adaptation, 
so  curious,  so  complicated,  and  in  so  many  particulars! 

5.  The  milk  of  animals,  suitable  for  the  nourishment  of  their 
young;  provided  just  in  season;  provided  without  contrivance  on  the 
part  of  the  parent; — and  sought  for  without  instruction  or  experience 
on  the  part  of  its  offspring! — and  all  by  chance!!! 

6.  The  different  sexes.  In  this  case,  as  in  the  rest,  there  is  perfect 
adaptation,  which  displays  evident  design.  And  there  is  more.  What 
I  aslt,  is  there  in  nature  to  cause  a  difference  in  the  sexes?  Why  are 
not  all,  either  males  or  females — or  rather  a  compound?  This  case, 
then,  I  consider  not  only  an  evidence  of  design,  but  likewise  an  evi- 
dence of  the  special  and  continual  volition  of  the  Creator.     *     *     ♦     • 

7.  The  destitution  of  horns  on  the  calf,  and  of  teeth  in  the  suck- 
ling. All  other  parts  are  perfect  at  the  very  first;  but  were  calves  and 
sucklings  to  have  teeth  and  horns,  what  sore  annoyances  would  these 
appendages  prove  to  their  dams  and  dames.  How  is  it,  that  all  the 
necessary  parts  of  the  young  are  thus  perfect  at  the  first,  and  their 
annoying  parts  unformed  till  circumstances  render  them  no  annoy- 
ance— unformed  at  the  time  they  are  not  needed,  and  produced  when 
they  are,  for  defense  and  mastication?  Who  can  fail  of  discerning 
intelligence  here? 

8.  The  teats  of  animals.  These  bear  a  general  proportion  to  the 
number  of  young  which  they  are  wont  to  have  at  a  time.  Those  that 
have  few  young  have  few  of  these  appurtenances;  those  that  have 
many,  many.  Were  these  animals  to  make  preparations  themselves  in 
this  respect,  how  could  things  be  more  appropriate! 


868  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

9.  The  pea  and  the  bean.  The  pea-vine,  unable  to  stand  erect  of 
itself,  has  tendrils  with  which  to  cling  to  a  supporter;  but  the  bean- 
stalk, self-sustained,  has  nothing  of  the  kind. 

10.  The  pumpkin.  This  does  not  grow  on  the  oak,  to  fall  on  the 
tender  head  of  the  wiseacre  who  reposes  in  its  shade,  reasoning  that 
it  should  grow  there  rather  than  where  it  does,  because  forsooth  the 
oak  would  be  able  to  sustain  it.  And  were  he  to  undertake  to  set 
the  other  works  of  Providence  to  rights  which  he  now  considers  wrong, 
'tis  a  chance  if  he  would  not  get  many  a  thump  upon  his  pate,  ere  he 
should  get  the  universe  arranged  to  his  mind.  And  if,  before  com- 
pleting his  undertaking,  he  should  not  find  it  the  easier  of  the  two  to 
arrange  his  mind  to  the  universe,  it  would  be  because  what  little 
brains  he  lias  would  get  thumped  out  of  his  cranium  altogether! 

11.  The  great  energies  of  nature.  To  suppose  the  existence  of 
powers  as  the  cause  of  the  operations  of  nature — powers  destitute  of 
life,  and,  at  the  same  time,  self-moving,  and  acting  upon  matter  with- 
out the  intervention  of  extrinsic  agency;  is  just  as  irrational  as  to 
suppose  such  a  power  in  a  machine,  and  is  a  gross  absurdity,  and  a 
self-contradiction.  But  to  suppose  that  these  lifeless  energies,  even  if 
possessed  of  such  qualities,  could,  void  of  intelligence,  produce  such 
effects  as  are  produced  in  the  universe,  requires  credulity  capable  of 
believing  anything. 

12.  The  whole  universe,  whether  considered  in  its  elementary,  or 
its  organized  state.  From  the  simple  grass  to  the  tender  plant,  and 
onward  to  the  sturdy  oak;  from  the  least  insect  up  to  man;  there  is 
skill  the  most  consummate,  design  the  most  clear.  What  substance, 
useless  as  it  may  be  when  uncompounded  with  other  substances,  does 
not  manifest  design  in  its  affinity  to  those  substances,  by  a  union 
with  which  it  is  rendered  useful?  What  plant,  what  shrub,  what  tree, 
has  not  organization  and  arrangement  the  most  perfect  imaginable? 
What  insect  so  minute  that  contains  not,  within  its  almost  invisible 
exterior,  adjustment  of  part  to  part  in  the  most  exact  order  through- 
out all  its  complicated  system,  infinitely  transcending  the  most  inge- 
nious productions  of  art;  and  the  most  appropriate  adaptation  of  all 
those  parts  to  its  peculiar  mode  of  existence?  Rising  in  the  scale  of 
sensitive  being,  let  us  consider  the  beast  of  the  forest,  in  whose  case, 
without  microscopic  aid,  we  have  the  subject  more  accessible.  Is  he 
a  beast  of  prey?  Has  the  God  of  nature  given  him  an  instinctive  thirst 
for  blood?  Behold,  then,  his  sharp-sighted  organs  of  vision  for 
descrying  his  victim  afar,  his  agile  limbs  for  pursuit,  his  curved  and 
pointed  claws  for  seizing  and  tearing  his  prey,  his  sharp-edged  teeth 
for  cutting  through  its  flesh,  his  firm  jaws  for  griping,  crushing,  and 
devouring  it,  and  his  intestines  for  digesting  raw  flesh!  But  is  he 
a  graminivorous  animal?    Does  he  subsist  on  grass  and  herb?    Behold, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HAliUlSGER    AlililDGED.  369 

then,  his  clumsy  limbs  and  his  clawless  hoofs,  his  blunt  teeth  and 
his  herb-digesting  stomach!  So  perfect  is  the  correspondence  between 
one  part  and  another;  so  exactly  adapted  are  all  the  parts  to  the 
same  general  objects;  so  wonderful  is  the  harmony,  and  so  definite 
and  invariable  the  purpose,  obtaining  throughout  the  whole,  that  it 
is  necessary  to  see  but  a  footstep,  or  even  a  bone,  to  be  able  to  decide 
the  nature  and  construction  of  the  animal  that  imprinted  that  foot- 
step, or  that  possessed  that  bonel  Ascending  still  higher  in  the  scale, 
we  come  at  last  to  man — man,  the  highest,  noblest  workmanship  of 
God  on  earth,  the  lord  of  this  sphere  terrene,  for  whose  behoof  all 
mundane  things  exist.  In  common  with  all  other  animals,  he  has 
that  perfect  adaptation  of  part  to  part,  and  of  all  the  parts  to  general 
objects,  which  demonstrate  consummate  wisdom  in  the  Cause  which 
thus  adapted  them.  His  eyes  are  so  placed  as  to  look  the  same  way 
in  which  his  feet  are  placed  to  walk,  and  his  hands  to  toil.  His  feet 
correspond  with  each  other,  being  both  placed  to  walk  in  the  same 
direction,  and  with  their  corresponding  sides  towards  one  another, 
without  which  he  would  hobble,  even  if  he  could  walk  at  all.  His 
mouth  is  placed  in  the  forepart  of  the  head,  by  which  it  can  receive 
food  and  drink  from  the  hands.  But  the  hands  themselves — who  can 
but  admire  their  wonderful  utility?  To  what  purpose  are  they  not 
adapted?  Man,  who  has  many  ends  to  accomplish,  in  common  with 
the  beast  of  the  field;  who  has  hunger  to  alleviate,  thirst  to  slake, 
etc.,  etc.,  the  same  as  the  former,  has  likewise  other  and  higher  ends 
for  the  attainment  of  which  he  is  peculiarly  qualified  by  means  of 
hands.  Adapted  by  his  constitution  to  inhabit  all  climes,  he  has 
hands  to  adapt  his  clothing  to  the  same,  whether  torrid,  temperate, 
or  frigid.  Possessed  of  the  knowledge  of  the  utility  of  the  soil,  he 
has  hands  to  cultivate  it.  Located  far  distant  ofttimes  from  the  run- 
ning stream,  these  hands  enable  him  to  disembowel  the  earth,  and 
there  find  an  abundant  supply  of  the  all-necessary  fluid.  Endued  with 
rational  ideas,  pen  in  hand  he  can  transmit  them  to  his  fellow  far 
away,  or  to  generations  unborn.  Heir  and  lord  of  earth  and  ocean, 
his  hands  enable  him  to  possess  and  control  the  same;  without  which, 
notwithstanding  all  his  reason,  he  could  do  neither,  but  would  have  to 
crouch  beneath  the  superior  strength  of  the  brute,  and  fly  for  shelter 
to  crags  inaccessible  to  his  beastly  sovereign.  But  useful  af*er  all 
as  are  these  appendages,  how  very  like  the  paws  of  beasts  in  this 
respect  would  they  become,  were  man  devoid  of  reason.  Thus  we 
see,  that  the  only  creature  that  has  the  reason  to  manage  the  world, 
has  the  physical  organization  to  do  it.  No  hcast  with  man's  reason 
could  do  this;  and  no  man  with  the  mere  instinct  of  a  brute  could 
do  it.  How  marvelous  then  this  adaptation!  Yea.  how  wondrous 
the   adaptation  of  everything.     And   how  astonishing   that  any   man, 


370  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

with  all  these  things  in  view,  can  for  one  moment  forbear  to  admit 
a  God.  Let  him  try  a  chance  experiment.  Let  him  take  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  and  throw  them  about  promiscuously;  and  then  see 
how  long  ere  they  would  move  of  their  own  accord,  and  arrange  them- 
selves into  words  and  sentences.  Yea,  he  may  avail  himself  of  the 
whole  benefit  of  his  scheme;  he  may  have  the  advantage  of  an  Energy 
or  power  as  a  momentum,  to  set  them  in  motion.  He  may  put  these 
letters  into  a  box  sufficiently  large  for  the  purpose,  and  then  shake 
them  as  long  as  they  seem  to  him  good;  and  when,  in  this  way,  tliey 
shall  have  become  intelligible  language,  I  will  admit  that  he  will 
have  some  reason  for  doubting  a  God.  Nay,  more.  If  this  should  seem 
too  much  like  artificial  mind,  he  may  take  some  little  animal,  all  con- 
structed at  his  hands,  and  dismember  its  limbs,  and  dissect  its  body; 
and  then  within  some  vessel  let  him  throw  its  various  parts  at  ran- 
dom, and,  seizing  that  vessel,  shake  it  most  lustily,  till  bone  shall 
come  to  bone,  joint  to  joint,  and  the  little  creature  be  restored  to  its 
original  form.  But  if  this  could  not  be  accomplished  by  mere  power, 
without  wisdom  to  direct,  how  could  the  original  adjustment  occur  by 
chance?  Nay,  how  could  those  very  parts  themselves  be  formed  for 
adjustment  one  to  another?  Mathematicians  tell  us  wondrous  things 
in  relation  to  these  hap-hazard  concerns.  And  they  demonstrate  their 
statements  by  what  will  not  lie — figures. 

Take  two  letters  and  they  are  capable  of  being  put  in  only  two 
positions  in  relation  to  each  other.  A  third  being  added,  they  are 
capable  of  six  different  positions,  and  so  on  in  geometrical  proportion. 
By  adding  four,  making  four  letters,  they  are  capable  of  twenty-four 
positions. 

Merely  adding  another  letter,  e,  and  so  making  five  instead  of  four, 
would  increase  the  number  of  variations  five-io\d.  They  would  then 
amount  to  one  hundred  and  twenty.  A  single  additional  letter,  f, 
making  six  in  all,  would  increase  this  last  sum  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty,  sij'-fold,  and  would  accordingly  raise  it  to  the  amount  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty.  Add  a  seventh  letter,  g,  and  the  last  named 
sum  would  be  increased  seven-fold,  and  thereby  be  raised  to  the  num- 
ber of  five  thousand  and  forty.  An  eighth  letter,  h.  would  increase 
said  five  thousand  and  forty,  eight-fold,  thus  raising  it  to  the  sum  of 
forty  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty.  A  ninth  letter  i.  would 
increase  the  latter  sum  niiie-fold,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  alphabet; 
when  we  should  have  the  astonishing  result,  that,  with  only  the  twen- 
ty-six letters  thereof,  the  different  changes  or  variations  which  can  be 
made  with  them,  or  the  different  positions  in  which  they  can  be  placed, 
amount  to  the  immense  number  of  six  hundred  and  twenty  thousand, 
four  hundred  and  forty-eight  trillions;  four  hundred  and  one  thousand, 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-three  billions;   two  hundred  and  thirty-nine 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  3tl 

thousand,  lour  hundred  and  Lhirty-nine  millions;  and  three  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand! !!  Hence  it  follows,  that,  were  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet  to  be  thrown  promiscuously  into  a  vessel,  to  be  afterwards 
shaken  into  order  by  mere  hap,  their  chance  of  being  arranged,  not  to 
say  into  words  and  sentences,  but  into  their  alphabetical  arrangement, 
would  be  only  as  1  to  0204484017332394393C0000.  All  this,  too,  in  the 
case  of  only  twenty-six  letters!  Take  now  the  human  frame,  with  its 
innumerable  bones,  tendons,  nerves,  muscles,  veins,  arteries,  ducts, 
glands,  cartilages,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  and,  having  dissected  the  same,  throw 
those  parts  into  one  promiscuous  mass;  and  how  long,  I  ask,  would 
it  be,  ere  Chance  would  put  them  all  into  their  appropriate  placee, 
and  form  a  perfect  man?  in  this  calculation,  we  are  likewise  to  take 
into  the  account  the  chances  of  their  being  placed  bottom  upwards,  or 
sideways,  or  wrongside  out,  notwithstanding  they  might  merely  find 
their  appropriate  places.  This  would  increase  the  chances  against  a 
well-formed  system,  to  an  amount  beyond  all  calculation  or  conception. 
In  the  case  of  the  alphabet,  the  chances  for  the  letters  to  fall  bottom 
up,  or  aslant,  are  not  included.  And  when  we  reflect,  that  the  blind 
goddess  would  have  to  contend  against  such  fearful  odds  in  the  case 
of  a  single  individual,  how  long  are  we  to  suppose  it  would  be,  ere 
from  old  Chaos  she  could  shake  this  mighty  universe,  with  all  its 
myriads  upon  myriads  of  existences,  into  the  glorious  order  and  beauty 
in  which  it  now  exists! 

An  alheistie  naturalist's  a  fool. 
He  can't  believe  that  two  letters  can  be  adjusted  to  each  other  with- 
out design  and  yet  he  can  believe  all  the  foregoing  incredibilities. 

I  might  swell  the  list  to  a  vast  extent.  I  might  bring  into  view 
the  verdure  of  the  earth,  as  being  the  most  agreeable  of  all  colors  to 
the  eye;  the  general  diffusion  of  the  indispensables  and  necessaries  of 
life,  such  as  air,  light,  water,  food,  clothing,  fuel,  etc.,  while  less 
necessary  things,  such  as  wines,  spices,  gold,  silver,  etc.,  are  less  dif- 
fused;— also,  the  infinite  variety  in  things,  in  men  for  instance,  by 
which  we  can  distinguish  one  from  another,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  But  I 
forbear.  If  the  cases  adduced  do  not  prove  design,  what  can  prove  it? 
How  could  design  be  more  apparent  than  in  these  instances''  And  is 
it  reasonable  to  conclude,  that,  where  there  are  all  possible  appear- 
ances of  design,  still  no  design  is  there?  or  even  that  it  is  probable' 
there  is  none? 

I  have  said,  that  there  is  as  much  evidence  of  purpose  in  the  works 
of  nature,  as  in  those  of  art.  I  now  say  that  there  is  more,  in  fin  it  cl;/ 
more.  Nay,  should  the  wheels  of  Nature  stop  their  revolutions,  and 
her  energies  be  palsied,  and  life  and  motion  cease,  even  then  would 
she  exhibit  incomparably  greater  evidenio  of  design,  in  her  mere  con- 
struction and  adaptation,  than  do  the  works  of  art.     Shall  we  then  be 


372  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

told,  that  when  she  is  in  full  operation,  and  daily  producing  millions 
upon  millions  of  useful,  or  intelligent,  of  marvellous  effects,  she  still 
manifests  no  marks  of  intelligence!  In  nature,  we  not  only  see  all 
the  works  of  art  infinitely  exceeded,  but  we  see,  as  it  were,  those 
works  self-moved,  and  performing  their  operations  without  external 
agency.  To  use  a  faint  comparison,  we  see  a  factory  in  motion  with- 
out water,  wind  or  steam,  its  cotton  placing  itself  within  the  reach 
oi  the  picker,  the  cards,  the  spinning-frame  and  the  loom,  and  turn- 
ing out  in  rolls  of  cloth.  Such  virtually,  nay,  far  more  wonderful, 
is  the  universe.  Not  a  thousandth  part  so  unreasonable  would  it  be, 
to  believe  a  real  factory  of  this  description,  were  one  to  exist,  to  be 
a  chance  existence,  as  to  believe  this  same  universe  so.  Sooner  could 
I  suppose  Nature  herself  possessed  of  intelligence,  than  admit  the 
idea,  that  there  is  no  intelligence  concerned  in  her  organization  and 
operations.  There  must  be  a  mind  within  or  without  her,  or  else  we 
have  no  data  by  which  to  distinguish  mind.  There  must  be  a  mind, 
or  all  the  results  of  mind  are  produced  without  any.  There  must  be 
a  mind,  or  chaos  produces  order,  blind  power  perfects  effects,  and  non- 
intelligence  the  most  admirable  correspondence  and  harmony  imagin- 
able. Sceptics  pride  themselves  much  on  their  reason.  They  can't 
believe,  they  say,  because  it  is  unreasonable.  What  is  unreasonable! 
to  believe  in  a  mind  where  there  is  every  appearance  thereof  that  can 
be?  Is  it  more  reasonable,  then,  to  believe,  that  every  appearance 
of  mind  is  produced  without  any  mind  at  all?  Sceptics  are  the  last 
men  in  all  this  wide  world  to  pretend  to  reason.  They  doubt  against 
infinite  odds;  they  believe  without  evidence,  against  evidence,  against 
demonstration — and  then  talk  of  reason!" 

The  Bridgewater  Treatises  have  placed  this  matter  of  design  in 
a  most  irresistible  light.  No  person  of  common  sense  and  of  a  common 
understanding  of  the  meaning  of  words  ,can  read  Bell  on  the  Hand, 
Wheioell  on  Astronomy  and  General  Physics,  Eidd  on  the  Physical 
Condition  of  Man,  Front  on  Chemistry,  Meteorology,  and  the  Function 
of  Digestion,  Chalmers  on  the  Adaptation  of  External  Nature  to  the 
Moral  and  Physical  Constitution  of  Man — and  not  feel  that  all  the 
science  of  the  world  only  developes  the  contrivances  and  intelligent 
designs  of  Nature.  To  save  the  labor  of  arrangement  we  have  grouped 
the  above  items  from  Origen  Bachelor's  correspondence  with  R.  D. 
Owen,  a  work  of  very  considerable  merit.  Editor. 

Having  shown  that  no  man  in  his  senses  can  be  an  antitheist,  or 
can  affirm  that  there  is  no  God,  unless  he  assume  that  he  compre- 
hends the  universe  in  his  mind,  with  all  its  abstract  essences  and 
principles;  which  assumption  would  be  to  make  himself  omnipresent 
and  eternal,  a  god  in  fact;  and  having  seen  that  the  proposition  of 
the  divine   existence  and   perfections  is   demonstrable   from   the   uni- 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  373 

verse,  as  far  as  it  is  known  in  all  its  general  laws  and  in  all  its 
parts,  we  proceed  from  these  prefatory  considerations  to  other  mat- 
ters still  more  intimately  introductory  to  our  design. 

It  is  essentially  preliminary  to  a  clear  aaxd  forcible  display  of 
the  reasonableness  and  certainty  of  our  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
author  of  immortality  to  man,  that  we  ascertain  the  proper  ground 
on  which  the  modern  sceptic,  of  whatever  creed,  stands,  when  he 
avows  his  opposition  to  the  gospel.  That  we  may  duly  estimate  the 
strength  of  his  opposition,  we  must  not  only  enumerate  his  objections 
or  arguments,  but  we  must  exactly  ascertain  the  exact  position  which 
he  occupies.  Does  he  stand  within  a  fortified  castle,  or  in  the  open 
field?  Presents  he  himself  to  our  view  in  a  strong  hold,  well  gar- 
risoned with  the  invincible  forces  of  logic,  of  science,  and  of  fact? 
or  defies  he  armies  and  the  artillery  of  light,  relying  wholly  upon 
himself,  his  own  experience,  without  a  shield,  without  an  ally,  without 
science,  without  history,  and  consequently  without  a  single  fact  to 
oppose  ? 

That  we  may,  then,  truly  and  certainly  ascertain  his  precise  atti- 
tude, before  we  directly  address  him  we  shall  accurately  survey  his 
whole  premises. 

Does  he  say  that  he  knows  the  gospel  to  be  false?  No,  he  can  not; 
for  he  was  not  in  Judea  in  the  days  of  the  evangelical  drama.  He, 
therefore,  could  not  test  the  miracles,  or  sensible  demonstrations,  by 
any  of  his  senses;  nor  prove  to  himself  that  Jesus  rose  not  from 
the  dead.  Speaking  in  accordance  with  the  evidence  of  sense,  of  con- 
sciousness, and  of  expeo-ience,  he  never  can  say  that  he  knows  the 
gospel  to  be  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  He  has  not,  then,  in  all  his 
premises,  knowledge,  in  its  true  and  proper  meaning,  to  oppose  to  the 
Christian's  faith  or  hope,  What  remains? 

Can  he  say,  in  truth,  that  he  helieves  the  gospel  to  be  false?  He 
can  not;  because  belief  without  testimony  is  impossible.  And  testi- 
mony that  the  gospel  facts  did  not  occur  is  not  found  extant  on  earth 
in  any  language  or  nation  under  heaven.  No  contemporaneous  oppos- 
ing testimony  has  ever  been  heard  of  except  in  one  instance; —  the 
sleeping  and  incredible  testimony  of  the  Roman  guards,  which  has 
a  lie  stamped  indelibly  on  its  forehead — "His  disciples  stole  his  dead 
body  while  we  were  asleep."  He  that  can  believe  this  is  not  to  be 
reasoned  with.  We  repeat  it  with  emphasis,  that  no  living  man  can 
say,  according  to  the  English  Dictionary,  that  he  believes  the  gospel 
to  be  false. 

Alike  destitute  of  knowledge  and  of  faith  to  oppose  to  the  testi- 
mony of  Apostles,  Prophets,  and  myriads  of  contemporaneous  wit- 
nesses, what  has  the  sceptic  to  present  against  the  numerous  and 
diversified  evidences  of  the  gospel?     Nothing  in  the  universe  but  his 


§74  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

doubts.  He  can,  in  strict  conformity  to  language  and  fact,  only  say, 
ho  doubts  whether  it  be  true.  He  is,  then,  legitimately  no  more  than 
an  inmate  of  Doubting  Castle.  His  fortification  is  built  up  of  doubts 
and  misgivings,  cemented  by  antipathy.  Farther  than  this  the  powers 
of  nature  and  of  reason  can  not  go. 

How  tar  these  doubts  are  rational,  scientific,  and  modest,  may  yet 
appear  in  the  sequel;  meanwhile,  we  only  survey  the  premises  which 
the  infidel  occupies,  and  the  forces  he  has  to  bring  into  the  action. 
These,  may  we  not  say,  are  already  logically  ascertained  to  be  an  army 
of  doubts  only. 

Some  talk  of  the  immodesty,  others  of  the  folly,  others  of  the  mali- 
ciousness of  the  unbeliever;  but  not  to  deal  in  harsh  or  uncourteous 
epithets,  may  we  not  say,  that  it  is  most  unphilosophic  to  dogmatize 
against  the  gospel  on  the  slender  ground  of  sheer  dubiety!  No  man, 
deserving  the  name  of  a  philosopher,  can  ever  appear  among  the 
crusading  forces  of  pamphleteers  and  declaimers  against  the  faith  of 
Christians — for  two  of  the  best  reasons  in  the  world; — he  has  nothing 
better  to  substitute  for  the  motive; — the  restraining  fears  to  the 
wicked,  and  the  animating  hopes  to  the  righteous,  which  the  gospel 
tenders; — and  he  has  nothing  to  oppose  to  its  claims  but  the  weakness 
and  uncertainty  of  his  doubts.  Franklin  was  a  philosopher,  but  Paine 
was  a  madman.  The  former  doubted,  but  never  dogmatized — never 
opposed  the  gospel,  but  always  discountenanced  and  discouraged  the 
infidel:  the  latter  gave  to  his  doubts  the  authority  of  oracles,  and 
madly  attempted  to  silence  the  Christian's  artillery  by  the  licentious 
scoffings  of  the  most  extravagant  and  unreasonable  scepticism. 

Modesty  is  the  legitimate  daughter  of  true  philosophy;  but  dog- 
matism, unless  the  offspring  of  infallible  authority,  is  the  ill-bred  child 
of  ignorance  and  arrogance.  Every  man,  then,  who  seeks  to  make 
proselytes  to  his  scepticism  by  converting  his  doubts  into  arguments, 
is  any  thing  but  a  philosopher,  or  a  philanthropist. 

One  of  the  most  alarming  signs  of  this  age  is  the  ignorance  and 
recklessness  of  the  youthful  assailants  of  the  Bible.  Our  cities,  vil- 
lages, and  public  places  of  resort  are  thronged  with  swarms  of  these 
Lilliputian  volunteers  in  the  cause  of  scepticism.  Apprenticed  strip- 
plings,  and  sprigs  of  law  and  physic,  whose  whole  reading  of  standard 
authors  on  general  science,  religion,  or  morality,  in  ordinary  duodec- 
imo, equals  not  the  years  of  their  unfinished,  or  just  completed,  minor- 
ity, imagine  they  have  got  far  in  advance  of  the  vulgar  herd,  and  are 
both  philosophers  and  gentlemen  if  they  have  learned,  at  second  hand, 
■a  few  scoffs  and  sneers  at  the  Bible,  from  Paine,  Voltaire,  Bolingbroke, 
or  Hume.  One  would  think,  could  he  listen  to  their  impudence,  that 
Bacon,  Newton,  Locke,  and  all  the  great  masters  of  science  were  very 
pigmies,  and  that  they  themselves  were  sturdy  giants  of  extraordinary 


THE    MILLEXXIAL    IIAniiiyGER    AlililDGED.  375 

stature  in  all  that  is  intellectual,  philosophic,  and  learned.  These 
would-be  baby  demagogues  are  a  public  nuisance  to  society,  whose 
atheistic  breath  not  unfrequently  pollutes  the  whole  atmosphere 
around  them,  and  issues  in  a  moral  pestilence  among  that  class  who 
regard  a  fine  hat  and  a  cigar  as  the  infallible  criteria  of  a  gentleman 
and  scholar. 

Those  creatures  have  not  sense  enough  to  doubt,  nor  to  think 
sedately  on  any  subject;  and,  therefore,  we  only  notice  them  while 
defining  the  ground  occupied  by  the  unbelievers  of  this  genei-ation. 
They  prudently  call  themselves  sceptics,  but  imprudently  carrj'  their 
opposition  to  the  Bible  beyond  all  the  bounds  embraced  in  their  own 
definitions  of  scepticism.  A  sceptic  can  only  doubt,  never  oppugn  tha 
gospel.  He  becomes  an  atheist  or  an  infidel,  bold  and  dogmatic,  soon 
as  he  opens  his  mouth  against  the  Bible. 

Were  we  philosophically  to  class  society  as  it  now  exists  in  this 
country,  in  reference  to  the  gospel,  we  should  have  believers,  unbe- 
lievers, and  sceptics.  We  would  find  some  who  have  voluntarily 
received  the  apostolic  testimony  as  true;  others  who  have  rejected  it 
as  false;  and  a  third  class  who  simply  doubt,  and  neither  receive  nor 
reject  it  as  a  communication  from  Heaven.  But  though  unbelievers, 
while  they  call  themselves  sceptics,  often  wage  actual  war  against 
the  faith  and  hope  of  ChrisUans,  still  their  actual  rejection  of  the 
gospel  has  no  other  foundation  than  pure  aversion  to  its  restraints 
and  some  doubts  as  to  its  authenticity.  The  quagmire  of  their  own 
doubts,  be  it  distinctly  remembered,  is  the  sole  ground  occupied  by 
all  the  opponents  of  the  gospel,  whether  they  style  themselves  anti- 
theists,  atheists,  theists,  unbelievers,  or  sceptics. 

That  these  doubts  are  perfectly  irrational,  or  that  they  legitimately 
issue  in  absolute  scepticism  in  all  that  is  called  science  and  philoso- 
phy, we  shall  attempt  to  show  in  our  next  essay.  The  plan  which 
we  have  proposed  to  ourselves  in  these  occasional  essays  is  first  to 
explode  the  lying  refuges  of  every  species  of  scepticism— then  to  show- 
that  it  is  possible— then  that  it  is  probable— then  Uiat  it  is  monJly 
certain— and  then  that  it  is  cxpcrimcvtalhi  trve  that  Jesus  the  Naza- 

rene  is  the  author  of  an  eternal  salvation  to  all  that  obey  him. 

Editob. 

REVET>ATION  POSSIBLE  AND  PROBABLE. 
(1S:?G.  page  14.-..) 
It  yet  appears  to  me  that  there  is  more  of  art  than  of  philosophy, 
more  of  method  than  of  necessity  in  any  one  attempting  to  argue 
gravely  and  formally  either  the  absolute  necessity  or  the  obvious  pos- 
sil)ility  of  revelation.  The  true  and  unadorned  history  of  every  ancient 
and  of  every  modern  pagan  tribe,  nation,  or  people-— the  follies,  the 
vanities,  and  crimes— the  pusillanimity,  the  mental  inibecilitv  of  man 


376  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

without  the  knowledge  of  God,  are  all  the  demonstration  and  proof 
requisite  to  the  establishment  of  the  necessity  of  some  certain  super- 
human and  supernatural  communication  on  man's  relations  to  the 
universe.  The  simple  reading  of  the  first  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to 
the  Romans,  regarding  it  in  no  other  light  than  a  fair  and  impar- 
tial riew  of  the  nations  without  the  Bible,  is  enough  for  those  who 
have  the  powers  of  perception,  sound  and  healthy,  on  the  subject  of 
the  necessity  of  an  authoritative  communication  from  Heaven. 

One  argument  on  the  simple  possiMlity  of  such  a  message  from 
our  Creator  has  to  me  always  appeared  enough.  It  is  a  very  old- 
fashioned  one,  and  consists  of  no  more  than  a  single  clause  affixed  to 
one  of  King  David's  demonstrations  that  God  could  see,  and  hear,  and 
know  man.  The  divine  logician  reasons  thus:  "He  that  planted  the 
ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see'' 
He  that  teach eth  man  knowledge,  shall  he  not  know?"  To  which  I 
only  add.  He  that  taught  man  speech,  can  he  not  speak  to  him? 
Revelation  is  therefore  possiMe. 

Is  it  probable?  Preparatory  to  one  argument  on  this  subject,  I 
shall  lay  before  our  readers  the  concessions  of  some  of  the  brightest 
names  on  the  lists  of  the  Sceptics  of  the  French  and  English  schools.* 

Ed.  M.  H. 

Blount  says,  "It  is  not  safe  to  trust  Deism  alone  without  Chris- 
tianity adjoined  to  it."  Shaftesbury  says,  "Christianity  ought  to  be 
more  highly  prized."  Rousseau  says,  "Philosophy  can  do  nothing 
good  which  religion  does  not  do  still  better;  and  religion  does  many 
good  things  which  philosophy  can  not  do  at  all.  Modern  philosophers 
are  indebted  to  Christianity  for  their  best  ideas.  The  solid  authority 
of  modern  governments,  and  the  less  frequent  revolutions,  are  incon- 
testably  due  to  Christianity.  It  has  rendered  governments  them- 
selves less  sanguinary;  this  is  proved  by  facts,  on  comparing  them 
with  ancient  governments.  Religion  better  understood,  excluding 
fanaticism,  has  given  more  mildness  to  Christian  manners.  This 
change  is  not  the  work  of  letters;  for  wherever  they  have  flourished, 
humanity  has  not  been  more  respected  on  their  account;  of  which 
the  cruelties  of  the  Athenians,  of  the  Egyptians,  of  the  Roman  Em- 
perors, and  of  the  Chinese,  are  so  many  proofs."  Byron  says,  "In- 
disputably, the  firm  believers  in  the  gospel  have  a  great  advantage 
over  all  others — for  this  simple  reason,  that  if  true,  they  will  have 
their  reward  hereafter;  and  if  there  be  no  hereafter,  they  can  be  but 
with  the  infidel  in  his  eternal  sleep,  having  had  the  assistance  of  an 


*This  extract  is  from  the  Religious  Magazine,  (monthly,)  by  Origen  Bacheler,  of 
New  York.  The  third  number  of  this  quarto,  filled  with  many  rare,  interesting,  and 
valuable  documents,  has  been  recently  received  at  this  office.  It  contains  64  pages,  at 
$3.00  per  annum. 


THE    MILLEXMAL    llARlilSGER    ABRIDGED.  377 

exalted  hope  through  life,  without  subsequent  disapix)intment,  since 
(at  the  worst  lor  them)  out  of  nothing,  nothing  can  arise,  not  even 
sorrow.  " 

After  the  presentation  of  such  a  testimony  as  the  foregoing,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  say  another  word  in  proof  of  the  point,  that  revelation 
is  necessary.  Indeed,  when  the  subject  is  fairly  considered;  when 
the  condition  of  the  heathen  in  all  ages  is  taken  into  view;  when  we 
'•onsider  what  tlie  most  enlightened  heathen  nations  have  been  and 
still  are;  what  even  the  heathen  sages  and  philosophers  have  been: 
in  short,  when  we  look  at  the  world  in  every  age,  and  behold  ita 
spiritual  darkness,  and  its  deploi-able  moral  condition,  we  can  only 
wonder  why  more  revelation  has  not  been  given  than  has  been.  Six 
hundred  millions  of  our  race  still  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism, 
still  bowing  down,  to  stocks  and  stones,  still  practicing  their  bloody 
and  abominable  rights,  and  revelation  unnecessai*y!  We  can  not  be- 
lieve that  any  man  in  his  sober  senses  can,  on  due  consideration,  be- 
lieve this.     We  will  not,  therefore,  insist  upon  it  further. 

Revelation,  then,  is  necessary,  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  would  not 
be  a  gratuitous  and  unnecessary  act  in  the  Deity  to  reveal  himself  to 
mankind.  Nay,  the  probability  is  altogether  in  favor  of  the  idea  that 
he  would  do  this;  for  a  benevolent  being,  such  as  we  have  reason  to 
suppose  the  Deity  to  be,  would  naturally  do  that  for  his  creatures 
which  their  cases  might  need,  so  far  as  his  wisdom  would  permit. 
And  thus  we  come  to  the  conclusion,  a  priori,  that  he  has  actually 
made   such  a  revelation. 

But  if  a  revelation  has  been  made,  which  of  the  avowed  revela- 
tions is  the  genuine  one?  There  have  been  various  religious  systems 
in  different  ages  of  the  world,  that  have  claimed  a  divine  origin; 
which  circumstance  is  of  itself  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  idea  that 
a  revelation  has  been  made,  just  as  counterfeit  money  is  evidence  of 
the  true.  Which,  then,  of  the  various  religious  systems  that  have 
at  different  periods  been  presented  to  mankind,  is  entitled  to  accept- 
ance as  a  divine  revelation? 

And  in  tlie  outset  it  may  be  safely  remarked,  that  none  of  the  re- 
ligious systems  of  the  heathen,  ancient  or  modern,  can  for  one  mo- 
ment compare  with  Christianity  in  this  respect,  either  on  account  of 
extrinsic  excellence,  or  weight  of  evidence.  Surely,  the  gross  idol- 
atry, the  bloody  rites,  and  the  filthy  abominations  even  of  the  most 
enlightened  heathen — of  Greece  and  Rome,  of  China  and  Hindostan 
— are  not  worthy  to  be  named  in  the  same  day  with  the  doctrines  aul 
precepts  of  Christianity.  And  if  we  consider  the  earth-born  sensu* 
ality  and  the  groveling  theology  of  Mahometanism,  we  shall  find  it 
little  better  in  many  respects  than  heathenism  itself.  Besides,  if  Ma- 
hometanism were  a  revelation,  this  very  circumstance  would  establish 


'378  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

tbe  claims  of  Cliristianity  to  a  divine  original,  inasmuch,  as  it  ac- 
knowledges the  Messiahship  of  Christ.  If  it  were  worth  the  while, 
a  comparison  could  be  very  easily  instituted  between  the  two  relig- 
ions, most  marvelously  to  the  advantage  of  that  of  Christ. 

"Mohammed  established  his  religion,"  says  Pascal,  "by  killing 
others;  Jesus  Christ,  by  making  his  followers  lay  down  their  own 
lives:  Mohammed,  by  forbidding  his  law  to  be  read;  Jesus  Christ, 
by  commanding  us  to  read.  In  a  word,  the  two  were  so  opposite,  that 
if  Mohammed  took  the  way,  in  all  human  probability,  to  succeed, 
Jesus  Christ  took  the  way,  humanly  speaking,  to  be  disappointed. 
And  hence,  instead  of  concluding  that  because  Mohammed  succeeded, 
Jesus  might  in  like  manner  have  succeeded,  we  ought  to  infer,  that 
since  Mohammed  has  succeeded,  Christianity  must  have  inevitably 
perished,  if  it  had  not  been  supported  by  a  power  altogether  divine.  " 

"Go,"  says  Bishop  Sherlock,  "to  your  natural  religion:  lay  before 
her  Mahomet  and  his  disciples,  arrayed  in  armor  and  blood,  riding 
in  triumph  over  the  spoils  of  thousands  who  fell  by  his  victorious 
sword.  Show  her  the  cities  which  he  set  in  flames,  the  countries 
which  he  ravaged  and  destroyed,  and  the  miserable  distress  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth.  When  she  has  viewed  him  in  this  scene, 
carry  her  into  his  retirement;  show  her  the  Prophet's  chamber;  his 
concubines  and  his  wives;'  and  let  her  hear  him  allege  revelation  and 
a  divine  commission  to  justify  his  adultery  and  lust.  When  she  is 
tired  with  this  prospect,  then  show  her  the  blessed  Lord,  humble 
and  meek,  doing  good  to  all  the  sons  of  men.  Let  her  see  him  in  his 
most  retired  privacies:  let  her  follow  him  to  the  mount,  and  hear  his 
devotions  and  supplications  to  God.  Carry  her  to  his  table,  to  view 
his  poor  fare,  and  hear  his  heavenly  discourse.  Let  her  attend  him 
to  the  tribunal,  and  consider  the  patience  with  which  he  endured  the 
scoffs  and  reproaches  of  his  enemies.  Lead  her  to  his  cross;  let  her 
view  him  in  the  agony  of  death,  and  hear  his  last  prayer  for  his  per- 
secutors: 'Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  doF 
When  natural  religion  has  thus  viewed  both,  ask  her  which  is  the 
Prophet  of  God.  But  her  answer  we  have  already  had,  when  she 
saw  part  of  this  scene,  through  the  eyes  of  the  centurion,  who  at- 
tended at  the  cross.  By  him  she  spoke  and  said,  'Truly,  tJiis  man  was 
the  Son  of  God!' 

But  such  comparisons  are  the  less  necessai'y,  from  the  considera- 
tion that  infidels  themselves  do  readily  concede,  that  Christianity  has 
the  best  claims  of  any  religion  whatever,  to  be  considered  a  divine 
revelation. 

Herbert  says,  "Christianity  is  the  best  religion.  It  has  manifestly 
the  advantage  of  all  other  pretenders  to  revelation,  as  in  respect  of 
the  intrinsic  excellency  of  the  matter,  so  likewise  in  respect  of  the 


THE    .yiLLENMAL    JIARBIXOER    ABRIDGED.  37^ 

reasons  that  may  be  pleaded  for  its  truth."  Hobbes  says,  "The  Scrip- 
tures are  the  voice  of  God."  Shaftesbury  says,  "Christianity  ought 
to  be  more  highly  prized."  Collins  says,  "Christianity  ought  to  be 
respected."  Woolston  says,  "Jesus  is  worthy  of  glory  forever."  Tin- 
dal  says,  "Pure  Christianity  is  a  most  holy  religion,  and  all  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  plainly  speak  themselves  to  be  the  will  of 
an  infinitely  wise  and  holy  God."  Chubb  says,  "Christ's  mission  was 
probably  divine,  and  he  was  sent  into  the  world  tx)  communicate  tx> 
mankind  the  will  of  God.  The  New  Testament  contains  excellent 
cautions  and  instructions  for  our  right  conduct,  and  yields  much 
clearer  light  than  any  otlier  traditionary  revelation."  Bolingbroke 
says,  "Such  moral  perfections  are  in  God  as  Christians  ascribe  to 
him.  I  will  not  presume  to  deny,  that  there  have  been  particular 
providences;  that  Christianity  is  a  re-publication  of  the  religion  of 
nature;  and  that  its  morals  are  pure."  Gibbon  says,  "Christianity 
contains  a  pure,  benevolent,  and  universal  system  of  etliics,  adapted 
to  every  duty  and  condition  of  life."  Paine  says,  "Jesus  Christ  was 
a  virtuous  and  an  amiable  man;  that  the  morality  he  preached  and 
practiced  was  of  the  most  benevolent  kind;  and  that  it  has  not  been 
exceeded  by  any."  Rousseau  (again  to  quote  him)  says,  "If  all  were 
perfect  Christians,  individuals  would  do  their  duty;  the  people  would 
be  obedient  to  the  laws;  the  chiefs  just;  the  magistrates  incorrupt; 
the  soldiers  would  despise  death;  and  there  would. l>e  neither  vanity 
nor  luxury  in  such  a  state."  And  finally,  to  conclude  this  species  of 
testimony,  we  can  not  do  better  than  to  give  the  admirable  character 
of  Christ,  as  drawn  by  the  same  individual. 

"I  will  confess  to  you,"  says  he,  "that  the  majesty  of  the  Scriptures 
strikes  me  with  admiration,  as  the  purity  of  the  gospel  has  its  influ- 
ence on  my  heart.  Peruse  the  works  of  our  philosophers,  with  all 
their  pomp  of  diction:  how  mean,  how  contemptible  are  they,  com- 
pared with  the  Scripture!  Is  it  possible  that  a  book  at  once  so  sim- 
ple and  sublime,  should  be  merely  the  work  of  man?  Is  it  possible 
that  the  sacred  personage  whose  history  it  contains,  should  be  himself 
a  mere  man?  Do  we  find  that  he  assumed  the  tone  of  an  enthusiast 
or  an  ambitious  sectan,-?  What  sweetness,  what  purity  in  his  man- 
ners! What  an  affecting  gracefulness  in  his  delivery!  What  sublim- 
ity in  his  maxims!  What  profound  wisdom  in  his  discx)urses!  \Miat 
presence  of  mind  in  his  replies!  How  great  the  command  over  his 
passions!  Where  is  the  man,  where  the  philosopher,  who  could  so 
live,  and  so  die,  without  weakness,  and  without  ostentation?  When 
Plato  described  his  imaginary  good  man  with  all  the  shame  of  guilt, 
yet  meriting  the  highest  rewards  of  virtue,  he  describes  exactly  the 
character  of  Jesus  Christ:  the  resemblance  was  so  stinking  that  all  the 
Christian   fathers  perceived    it.     What   prepossession,   what  blindneea 


380  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

must  it  be  to  compare  (Socrates)  the  son  of  Sophroniscus  to  (Jesus) 
the  son  of  Mary!  What  an  infinite  disproportion  is  there  between 
them!  Socrates,  dying  without  pain  or  ignominy,  easily  supported 
his  character  to  the  last;  and  if  his  death,  however  easy,  had  not 
crowned  his  life,  it  might  have  been  doubted  whether  Socrates,  with 
all  his  wisdom,  was  anything  more  than  a  vain  sophist.  He  invented, 
it  is  said,  the  theory  of  morals.  Others,  however,  had  before  put 
them  in  practice;  he  had  only  to  say,  therefore,  what  they  had  done, 
and  to  reduce  their  examples  to  precept.  But  where  could  Jesus 
learn  among  his  competitors,  that  pure  and  sublime  morality,  of  which 
he  only  has  given  us  both  precept  and  example?  The  death  of  Soc- 
rates, peaceably  philosophizing  with  his  friends,  appears  the  most 
agreeable  that  could  be  wished  for;  that  of  Jesus,  expiring  in  the 
midst  of  agonizing  pains,  abused,  insulted,  and  accused  by  a  whole 
nation,  is  the  most  horrible  that  could  be  feared.  Socrates,  in  receiv- 
ing the  cup  of  poison,  blessed  the  weeping  executioner  who  adminis- 
tered it;  but  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of  excruciating  pains,  prayed  for 
his  merciless  tormentoirs.  Yes;  if  the  life  and  death  of  Socrates 
were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  God. 
Shall  we  suppose  the  evangelical  history  a  mere  fiction?  Indeed,  my 
friend,  it  bears  not  the  marks  of  fiction;  on  the  contrary,  the  history 
of  Socrates,  which  nobody  presumes  to  doubt,  is  not  so  well  attested 
as  that  of  Jesus  ^hrist.  Such  a  supposition,  in  fact,  only  shifts  the 
difiiculty,  without  obviating  it:  it  is  more  inconceivable,  that  a  num- 
ber of  persons  should  write  such  a  history,  than  that  one  should  fur- 
nish the  subject  of  it.  The  Jewish  authors  were  incapable  of  the 
diction  and  strangers  to  the  morality  contained  in  the  gospel,  the 
marks  of  whose  truth  are  so  striking  and  inimitable,  that  the  inventor 
would  be  a  more  astonishing  character  than  the  hero." 

After  the  presentation  of  such  testimony  as  the  foregoing,  from  the 
writings  of  the  most  distinguished  infidels,  it  can  not  be  necessary  to 
say  more  in  proof  of  the  position,  that  Christianity  has  the  best  claim 
to  a  divine  origin  of  all  religions  whatever. 

We  have,  then,  as  we  conceive,  established,  beyond  all  controversy, 
the  three  following  positions: — 1st.  That  revelation  is  necessary. 
2nd.  That  God  would  probably  meet  that  necessity  by  a  Revelation. 
3rd.  That  Christianity  has  the  best  claim,  among  all  religions,  of  be- 
ing the  revelation  from  God. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Campbell  issued  one  of  his  famous  tracts  for  the  peo- 
ple, as  follows: 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBIXOER    ABIilDGED.  381 

TRACTS   FOR  THE    PEOPLE.— NO.   II. 

That  the  Bible  contains  a  revelation  from  God,  is  susceptible  of 
every  variety  and  degree  of  evidence  which  guides  man  in  the  affairs 
of  this  lite.  We  have  no  species  of  moral  evidence  that  affords  to 
mankind  a  higher  degree  of  assurance  than  that  on  which  Prophets 
and  Apostles  demand  our  unwavering  confidence.  If  we  admit  that 
there  is  truth  in  history,  sincerity  in  martyrdom,  value  in  learning, 
advantage  in  talent,  excellency  in  truth,  reason  in  the  universe,  or  a 
Creator  in  the  heavens;  then  must  we  admit  that  the  Bible  is  inspired 
by  infinite  wisdom,  and  presented  to  man  by  his  Almighty  Father  and 
Benefactor.  But  as  we  have  given  a  specimen  of  the  indirect  evidence 
in  proof  of  its  divine  authorship  in  our  "Tract  Xo.  /,"  we  shall  now 
exhibit  a  sample  or  two  of  the  divine  proof  which  it  offers  in  support 
of  its  claims  uiK>n  the  assent  of  our  understanding  and  tlie  consent 
of  our  hearts. 

The  grand  climax  of  moral  evidence  consists  in  the  possibility,  the 
probability,  the  absolute  certainty  of  any  fact,  event,  or  proposition. 
When  we  can  show  that  the  fact  presented  in  any  proposition  is  possi- 
ble, that  it  is  probable,  that  it  is  absolutely  certain,  we  have  gone 
through  all  the  forms  of  argument  upon  which  the  truth  of  any  propo- 
sition is  admitted.  Beyond  these  reason  asks  no  more,  because  she 
can  give  no  more.  True,  the  last  implies  the  former  two;  yet  there 
is  an  advantage  to  most  minds  in  ascending,  step  by  step,  to  any  com- 
manding eminence. 

Now,  the  grand  proposition  is,  that  God  has  spoken  to  man  in  the 
Bible.  That  it  is  possible  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  God  thunders 
in  the  clouds,  murmurs  in  the  tempests,  whispers  in  the  breeze.  Still 
more  evident  from  the  fact,  that  he  has  taught  the  lion  to  roar  for 
his  prey,  the  beasts  of  the  forest  to  commune  with  their  companions, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air  to  sooithe  the  human  ear  with  their  melodies. 
But  most  evident  from  the  fact,  that  he  has  given  to  man  a  tongue 
to  speak  and  an  ear  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  his  brother.  The  infer- 
ence, then,  is,  that  God  possesses  the  power  which  he  has  imparted  to 
man;  that  he  who  taught  man  to  reveal  his  mind  and  will  to  his  com- 
panions, and  even  to  some  domestic  animals  that  wait  upon  his  word, 
has  power  to  reveal  his  own  mind  and  will  to  his  creature  man. 

But  we  advance  a  step  further,  and  assume  that  it  is  probable  that 
God  has  spoken  to  man.  This  we  argue  from  the  fact  that  God  can 
speak,  that  man  desires  to  hear  him  speak,  and  that  he  has  created  no 
rational  desire  in  man  for  which  he  has  not  made  a  proper  provision, 
either  in  himself  or  in  his  works.  I  need  not  ask  the  question,  as  if 
any  one  doubted  it,  whether  there  is  any  desire  in  man  comparable  to 
his  desire  of  life?     Nor  need  I   attempt  to  prove  to  any  one,  that  of 


382  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

all  knowledge  imaginable  there  is  none  so  desirable  to  man  as  the 
knowledge  of  his  own  origin  and  of  his  ultimate  destiny.  Now,  as 
God  has  created  these  desires,  and  as  he  is  supremely  kind  and  boun- 
tiful in  all  his  original  creations,  and  in  his  constant  providence  for 
all  the  reasonable  and  lawful  wants  of  man,  is  it  not  probable  that 
at  some  time  or  other  he  has  made  a  verbal  or  oral  revelation  of  him- 
self in  some  way  intelligible  to  man? 

But  in  the  second  place,  I  argue  the  probability  that  God  has  spoken 
to  man  from  the  indisputable  fact,  that  man  himself  speaks.  Some,  I 
know,  assume  that  language  is  natural  to  man,  because  he  has  organs 
.of  pronunciation;  but  in  good  sense,  and  in  good  logic,  one  might  as 
reasonably  argue  that  Greek  or  Hebrew  is  natural  to  man,  because  he 
has  the  power  of  understanding  or  of  pronouncing  those  languages. 
But  who  ever  spoke  a  language  that  he  did  not  first  learn  from  an- 
other? We  all  have  our  vernacular — our  mother  tongue.  We  could 
as  easily  conceive  of  one  born  without  a  mother,  as  of  one  speaking 
Greek  that  did  not  first  hear  it.  But  as  there  certainly  was  one  man 
who  never  had  a  mother  or  a  father,  that  man  could  have  no  mother 
tongue — no  vernacular.  God,  then,  must  have  taught  man  to  speak, 
viva  voce;  inasmuch  as  language  is  only  an  imitation  of  distinct  in- 
telligible sounds;  and  as  all  language  comes  by  hearing,  and  hear- 
ing by  the  word  of  another  (for  the  deaf  have  no  words,  though  they 
have  organs  of  pronunciation,)  we  must,  in  all  reason,  conclude  that 
the  first  human  speaker  had  heard  God  himself  speak. 

So  Moses,  in  accordance  with  our  reasoning,  teaches  that  God 
talked  with  Adam,  and  first  gave  names  to  things.  Moses  also  informs 
us  that  he  left  one  class  of  objects  for  Adam  to  name,  and  that  "what- 
ever Adam  called  every  living  creature,  that  became  the  name  of  it." 

No  class  of  linguists,  rhetoricians,  or  philosophers,  has  ever  been 
able  to  explain  the  origin  of  language  on  the  principles  of  human 
nature.  They  agree  in  one  point;  viz.:  that  it  was  not  originally  a 
conventional  thing;  that  no  company  of  men  could  assemble  to  discuss 
or  decide  upon  it;  which  is,  if  properly  comprehended,  an  unanswer- 
able proof  of  a  superhuman  origin.  So,  with  the  immortal  Newton, 
we  conclude,  that  "God  gave  to  man  reason  and  religion  by  giving 
him  the  use  of  words." 

That  all  mankind  had  at  first  one  language,  and  one  and  the  same 
religious  faith,  is  very  clearly  and  logically  inferrible  from  the  most 
ancient  traditions,  and  from  the  structure  of  three  great  dialects  of 
speech  from  which  the  modern  gibberish  of  nations  has  descended. — 
This,  however,  is  a  task  not  to  be  imposed  upon  us,  nor  undertaken 
by  us,  in  order  to  the  consummation  of  our  present  argument.  The 
stiong  probability  that  God  has  spoken  to  man  is,  we  presume,  already 
established  from  the  simple  fact  that  man  himself  speaks,  and  that  no 


TUE    MILLESMAL    HAlililXOEfi    ABRIDGED.  383 

man  can  give  himself  iatelligible  language,  but  must  receive  it  from 
another. 

But  we  shall  ascend  from  the  possible  and  probable  to  the  abso- 
lutely certain  evidence  which  the  Bible  itself  furnishes,  that  God  has, 
in  that  volume,  spoken  to  n.an.  The  evidences  which  that  mysterious 
and  oublime  book  tenders  to  those  who  approach  its  sacred  pages  with 
a  candid  temper  and  a  becoming  reverence,  are  its  doctrines,  its  pre- 
cepts, its  promises,  its  miracles,  and  its  prophecies.  To  these  are 
added  the  testimonies  of  unbelieving  Jews  and  Pagans,  living  contem- 
poraneously with  the  periods  of  its  development  and  establishment 
in  the  world. 

Now,  as  the  miracles  and  prophecies  are  matters  of  record  in  Uie 
book  itself,  as  much  as  its  doctrine,  its  precepts,  or  its  promises,  they 
are  equally  matters  of  faith,  because  alike  matters  of  sacred  history. 
Still,  portions  of  the  prophecies,  not  fulfilled  when  the  last  of  the 
Prophets  and  Apostles  died,  being  yet  in  progress  of  fulfillment,  afford 
good  authority  lor  classifying  the  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of  the 
Bible  under  three  distinct  heads — the  intrinsic,  the  extrinsic,  and  the 
mixed. 

The  intrinsic  evidences  consist  in  the  doctrine,  the  precepts,  the 
promises,  the  miracles,  and  the  prophecies,  published  and  fulfilled  in 
the  records  of  the  book  itself.  The  extrinsic  are  the  testimonies  of 
unbelieving  Jews  and  Gentiles,  given  to  the  facts  reported  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testament  records.  The  mixed  are,  its  prophecies  fulfilled 
since  the  book  was  completed,  those  now  fulfilling,  and  those  hereafter 
to  be  fulfilled,  together  with  those  monumental  institutions  appointed 
in  the  Holy  Book  and  observed  ever  since  its  publication,  down  to  the 
present  day. 

Now  of  all  these  classes  of  argument  and  evidence,  we  shall  select 
but  one,  or  a  part  of  one  of  them,  in  demonstration  of  what  we  mean 
by  the  absolute  certainly  which  the  enlighten.^d  Christian  enjoys,  that 
God  has,  in  very  deed,  spoken  to  man.  That  shall  be  a  portion  of  the 
class  of  mixed   evidences. 

Nothing,  it  is  alleged  by  some,  produces  absolute  certainty  but  the 
evidence  of  sense.  But  even  our  senses  sometimes  deceive  us. — 
The  doctrine  and  the  miracle  combined,  or  the  thing  seen  by  the 
outward  eye  corresponding  with  the  promise  of  it,  is  better  than  either 
apart.  They  are,  indeed,  two  witnesses  instead  of  one.  The  doctrine 
speaks  for  God,  and  so  does  the  miracle.  A  prophecy  written  in  a 
book  a  thousand  years  ago,  fulfilled  before  our  eyes,  is  the  highest 
demonstration  that  can  be  given  to  man  of  the  authenticity  and  inspi- 
ration of  the  book  in  which  it  is  written.  The  proposition  and  the 
miracle  must  agree.  They  must  be  equally  worthy  of  having  God 
for  their  author. 


384  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

But  under  the  name  miracle  we  include  more  than  is  sometimes 
designated  by  that  very  indefinite  term.  Tlie  raising  of  a  dead  man 
to  life  by  a  word,  and  the  foretelling  of  a  complex  event,  not  depend- 
ing on  the  laws  of  nature,  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  years  before  it 
happens,  are  equally  demonstrations  of  the  divine  presence  and  power 
in  the  person  professing  to  be  sent  by  the  Creator  of  the  universe. 

With  us  a  miracle  is  a  display  of  supernatural  power  in  attestation 
of  some  proposition  presented  by  God  to  man  for  his  acceptance.  Mir- 
acles are,  therefore,  signs  manual  attached  to  commissions  to  authentic 
messengers  from  God.  They  were  always  vouchsafed  t^  special  me^s- 
sengers  to  gain  special  credit  to  their  messages. 

By  a  supernatural  power  we  understand  a  power  that  holds  in  obe- 
dience to  laws  of  nature,  according  to  the  will  of  him  that  possesses 
it.  It  is  a  power  that  suspends,  governs,  ot  directs  the  laws  of  nature 
according  to  the  pleasure  of  its  possessor,  but  with  reference  to  public 
advantage.  Such  was  the  power  vouchsafed  to  Moses,  to  Jesus,  to 
many  of  the  Prophets,  to  all  the  Apostles,  and  to  some  of  the  Evan- 
gelists of  Jesus  Christ. 

Of  this  supernatural  power  there  are  two  sorts — one  that  extends 
beyond  the  physical  laws  of  nature;  and  one  that  extends  beyond  the 
intellectual  power  of  man.  The  foretelling  of  some  complex  future 
event,  not  depending  upon  any  human  knowledge  of  the  operations 
of  matter  or  of  mind,  is  as  clear  a  proof  of  supernatural  intellectual 
power,  as  the  removal  of  a  mountain,  by  a  word,  would  be  of  a  super- 
natural physical  power.  A  man  that  could  now  predict  the  fortunes 
of  a  city,  a  family,  or  a  nation,  for  one,  or  five  hundred  years  to  come, 
would  give  as  clear  indications  that  he  possessed  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  was  divinely  commissioned,  as  if  he  raised  the  dead. 

But  they  are  not  always  proofs  to  the  same  persons.  Sensible  and 
outward  displays  of  physical  power — such  as  the  miracles  of  our 
Lord  and  his  Apostles,  were  addressed  to  the  senses  of  living  men,  in 
support  of  their  pretensions  to  a  divine  call  and  mission.  But  the 
foretelling  of  an  event,  long  distant,  is  not  a  proof  to  any  contempo- 
rary auditor  of  the  divine  mission  of  the  Prophet.  The  miracle  is 
developed  in  the  accomplishment,  and  not  in  the  uttering,  of  the  pre- 
diction. 

When  Jesus  foretold  that  within  that  generation  the  temple  would 
be  so  razed  to  its  foundation,  that  "not  one  stone  would  be  left  upon 
another,"  not  the  prediction,  but  the  accomplishment  of  it,  was  a 
miracle  to  those  who  witnessed  that  awful  catastrophe.  But  who 
will  not  admit  that  those  who  had  heard  him  utter  the  prediction,  or 
those  who  had  often  heard  it  or  read  it,  before  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
and  who  afterwards  saw  the  city  and  the  temple  in  ruins,  according 
to  the  prediction,  had  just  as  ample  proof  and  as  full  assurance  that 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  385 

he  Bpoke  the  truth,  and  was  sent  by  God,  as  they  had  who  heard  him 
call  hazarus  of  Bethany  out  of  his  grave,  and  who  witnessed  his  res- 
urrection in  obedience  to  the  call?  The  fulfillment  cf  prophecies  long 
since  uttered,  written,  and  published,  is,  therefore,  we  argue,  a  perfect 
assurance  of  the  divine  mission  and  inspiration  of  the  Prophet  to  all 
who  live  contemporai-y  with  the  accomplishment,  or  even  after  the 
accomplishment,  provided  only  that  the  document  containing  the 
prophecy  was  certainly  extant  before  the  consummation. 

The  way  is  now  open  to  a  full  development  of  the  assumption,  viz.: 
that  we  who  now  live  have  just  as  perfect  an  assurance  of  the  truth 
of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Prophets  and  Apostles  as  they  had  who 
lived  in  their  times;  or,  in  other  words,  that  it  is  not  only  possible 
and  probable,  but  absolutely  certain  that  God  has  spoken  to  man. 

An  induction  of  fulfilled  prophecies,  equal  to  a  volume,  might  t>e 
exhibited  from  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Scriptures.  The  Bible  is 
the  only  book  in  the  world,  now  or  at  any  former  period,  whose  proph- 
ecies are  almost  as  numerous  as  its  pages.  No  other  volume  presumes 
te  give  the  whole  history  of  time  and  of  man  but  the  Bible.  The  book, 
as  before  shown,  contains  the  history  of  one  family  for  seventy  gen- 
erations, and  foretells  its  future  fortunes  to  the  end  of  time.  The 
Ishmaelites,  the  Idumeans,  the  Israelites,  (descended  from  Ishmael, 
Esau,  and  Jacob,)  and  their  countries,  together  with  Egypt,  Syria, 
Moab,  Ammon,  Amalek,  Babylon,  Tyre,  Sidon,  Nineveh,  as  well  as 
the  Chaldean,  Medo-Persian,  Grecian,  and  Roman  Empires,  with 
all  the  fortunes  of  the  Christian  church,  are  written  out  on  the  living 
pages  of  the  sacred  books  of  Prophets  and  Apostles.  Persons,  places, 
and  events,  ages  before  their  appearance,  are  foretold  with  the  accu- 
racy of  history,  by  Him  who  speaketh  of  "the  things  that  are  not" 
yet  in  existence  "as  though  they  were."  I  shall,  however,  only  illus- 
trate and  exemplify  in  two  or  three  particulars. 

Had  we  room  for  a  display  of  singular  items  occurring  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  ancient  prophecy,  as  a  specimen  of  the  unerring  precision 
between  the  prediction  and  its  accomplishment,  we  would  quote  and 
comment  upon  Deuteronomy,  Chap,  xxviii.,  from  the  48th  to  the  58th 
verse  inclusive.  In  this  passage  Moses  predicts  the  final  catastrophe 
and  ruin  of  his  own  nation  by  the  Romans,  fifteen  hundred  and  twenty 
years  before  it  happened. 

He  specifies  various  particular  characteristics  of  that  calamity.  We 
shall  notice  but  ten  of  them: — 1.  The  people  or  nation  by  whom  they 
should  be  destroyed,  were  to  come  from  a  remote  country.  2.  Their 
armies  were  to  come  as  an  eogle  to  its  prey.  3.  They  were  to  speak 
a  language  unknown  to  the  Jews.  4.  They  are  described  to  be  a  fierce 
and  savage  people,  not  respecting  age,  sex,  or  condition.  5.  They 
were  first  to  station  themselves  among  them,  and  then  to  devour  their 


386  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

provisions.  6.  They  should  besiege  them  in  all  their  high  walled 
towns  and  fortresses  throughout  their  whole  country.  7.  They  were 
to  be  reduced  to  such  distress  and  famine  as  to  eat  their  own  offspring. 
8.  The  most  affectionate  brothers  would  become  evil  disposed  and 
cruel  to  one  another;  as  also  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  chil- 
dren. 9.  The  most  delicate  and  tender-hearted  ladies  would  devour 
their  own  offspring.  10.  They  should  perpetrate  these  awful  deeds 
secretly  through  fear  of  being  robbed  of  their  repast. 

Let  any  one  now  read  the  account  which  Josephus  gives  of  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  final  calamities  of  that  devoted  nation,  and  see 
whether  these  ten  items  were  not  accomplished  to  the  letter!  Let 
him  read  to  the  close  of  his  narrative  of  the  delicate  and  elegant  lady, 
who,  in  every  circumstance,  verified  the  prediction,  in  killing,  roast- 
ing, and  devouring  secretly  her  own  innocent  and  beloved  infant,  and 
say  whether  Moses  did  not  speak  by  the  inspiration  of  God.* 

To  those  who  witnessed  these  events,  and  who  had  in  their  hands 
the  book  of  Deuteronomy  then  extant,  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  may  we 
not  say,  that  a  miracle  was  exhibited,  as  indisputable  as  any  miracle 
performed  by  Moses  or  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  living  thousands  of 
spectators?  But  to  us,  both  the  prophecy  and  the  accomplishment 
are  matters  of  record,  and  therefore  matters  of  faith  and  not  of 
sight. 

We  shall,  therefore,  advance  one  step  farther,  and  show  a  miracle — 
a  display  of  supernatural  intellectual  power — by  presenting  a  Jew  at 
the  proper  angle  of  vision.  Had  any  man  now  living  the  power  of 
raising  the  dead,  unless  we  accompanied  him  to  the  grave  and  looked 
on  at  the  proper  distance,  we  could  not  witness  a  miracle.  So,  unless 
we  open  the  eyes  oif  our  understanding,  and  look  with  attention  and 
discrimination  m  this  case,  we  can  not  see  a  miracle.  Behold  this 
Jew!     Whose  son  is  he? 

His  father  Abraham  was  born  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-one  years  ago!  His  father  circumcised  himself  and  his  long- 
promised  son  Isaac  some  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty 
years  ago.  From  Isaac  sprang  Jacob,  Judah, — the  Jews.  That  nation, 
counting  from  the  birth  of  its  founder,  was  contemporary  with  the 
Assyrian  Empire  almost  fourteen  centuries.  It  was  also  contempo- 
rary with  the  Medes  and  the  Persians,  with  the  Greeks  and  the  Ro- 
mans, during  their  entire  continuance,  and  now  survives  the  last  of 
them  some  thirteen  centuries!  But  in  all  this  so  strange,  so  unprec- 
edented an  occurrence,  where  is  the  miracle?  The  Romans,  under 
their  General  Titus,  saw  no  miracle  in  the  destruction  of  the  nation, 
the  city,  and  the  temple,  because  they  had  not  the  prediction  in  their 
eye.    Nor  can  any  one  see  a  miracle  in  this  Jew  unless  he  have  the 


•  Josephus— Wars  of  the  Jews,  book  6,  chap.  3,  page  553. 


THE    MILLEyXIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  387 

prediction  in  his  eye.  We  siiall  now  read  the  prediction  while  this 
circumcised   Jew   stands   before   us. 

Jeremiah  was  carried  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar  and  flourished 
from  the  629th  to  the  588th  year  before  Christ.  About  the  600th 
year  before  Christ,  or  2,445  years  ago,  he  writes  the  following  predic- 
tion, chapter  xxx.  10-24,  "I  am  with  thee,  0  Israel!  saith  the  Lord, 
to  save  thee;  though  I  make  a  full  end  of  all  nations  whither  I  have 
scattered  thee,  yet  will  I  not  make  a  full  end  of  thee;  but  I  will 
correct  thee  in  measure  and  will  not  leave  thee  altogether  unpunished.' 
"All  they  that  devour  thee  shall  be  devoured,  and  all  thine  advek- 
sakies,  eveky  one  of  them,  shall  go  into  captivity.  They  that  spoil 
thee  shall  be  a  spoil,  and  all  they  that  prey  upon  thee  tiill  I  give 
for  a  prey."  Where  now  are  the  nations  that  preyed  upon  the  sons  of 
Abraham!  Where  are  their  adversaries — the  Assyrian,  the  Medo-Per- 
sian,  the  Greek,  and  the  Roman  peoplel  There  lives  not  the  man  iu 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  who  can  say  that  in  his  veins  flows  one 
drop  of  the  blood  of  an  Assyrian,  a  Medo-Persian,  a  Greek,  or  a 
Roman:  while  millions  of  the  house  of  Israel,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
of  the  Jewish  people,  can  severally  say  that  in  their  veins  flows  the 
blood  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob!!  Is  not,  then,  every  circum- 
cised Jew  a  miracle,  a  proof  supernatural,  that  God  spake  by  Jeremiah 
and  the  Prophets!  ? 

Two  predictions  are  here  fulfllled  and  verified  to  the  letter.  All 
these  great  masses  are  lost,  being  mingled  with,  and  "devouked"  by, 
their  conquerors.  But  that  they  have  conquered,  disinherited,  and 
dispersed  the  Jews,  could  not  devour  them;  for  the  Lord  said,  "/  will 
never  make  a  full  end  of  thee."  The  destruction  of  the  one  and  the 
preservation  of  the  other  constitute  two  witnesses  for  the  Bible,  and 
literally  fulfil  a  promise  made  to  Abraham  when  leaving  Ur  of  Chaldea, 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-six  years  ago.  Abraham,  said 
God,  "I  will  curse  him  that  curseth  thee,  and  I  will  be  a  God  to  thee 
and  to  thy  seed  after  thee." 

But  not  once,  but  often  the  same  promises  and  prophecies  are 
written  by  the  same  Prophets  in  a  language  somewhat  different,  and 
on  that  account  the  more  certain  of  a  fair  construction.  W'e  shall  take 
another  example  from  Jeremiah,  chapter  xxxl.  35,  36,  37,  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord  who  giveth  the  sun  for  a  light  by  day,  and  the  ordinances  of 
the  moon  and  of  the  stars  for  a  light  by  night,  which  divideth  the  sea 
when  the  waves  thereof  roar;  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name:  If  those 
ordinances  depart  from  before  me,  saith  the  Lord,  thcti  the  seed  of 
Israel  also  shall  cease  from  being  a  nation  before  me  for  ever.  Thus 
saith  the  Ix>rd,  If  heaven  above  can  be  measured,  and  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  searched  out  beneath,  I  will  also  cast  off  all  the  seed  of 
Israel  for  all  that  they  have  done,  saith  the  Lord,"     Here,  then,  we 


388  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

have  a  solemn  promise  from  God,  that  while  time  endures,  while  the 
world  lasts,  the  Jews  shall  continue  as  a  distinct  and  i)eculiar  people — 
a  standing  miracle,  indeed,  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible. 

Many  other  peculiarities  of  the  destiny  of  this  awful  and  venerable 
nation  are  clearly  pronounced  by  Moses  and  their  other  Prophets; 
such  as  the  whole  details  of  Deuteronomy,  28th  chapter,  of  which  I 
have  room  but  for  a  single  example,  verse  37:  "And  thou  shalt  become 
an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  by-word  amongst  all  the  nations 
whither  the  Lord  shall  lead  thee."  Is  this  true  of  any  other  nation! 
Do  we  not  hear  it  almost  as  often  as  we  hear  of  the  Jews?  Yet 
Moses  foretold  it  three  thousand  three  hundred  years  ago!  "With  these 
predictions  in  our  hands,  and  a  Jew  before  our  eyes,  do  we  not  see 
a  miracle^ — a  demonstration  of  a  power  supernatural  and  divine? 

As  to  the  authenticity  and  the  antiquity  of  the  writings  of  Moses, 
we  happen  to  have  three  copies  of  them,  kept  by  different  nations 
centuries  before  Jesus  Christ! — the  Samaritan,  the  Hebrew,  and  the 
Septuagint.  He  that  overthrows  these,  discredits,  or  repudiates  them, 
may,  by  the  same  ingenuity  and  learning,  discredit  and  repudiate  all 
antiquity,  all  history,  sacred,  civil,  and  ecclesiastical.  This  prophecy 
and  the  law  of  Moses  are  in  the  keeping  of  the  most  ancient  people  and 
languages  known  to  any  living  man.  The  case  we  shall,  therefore, 
consider  as  fairly  and  fully  made  out,  viz.:  that  it  is  possible  and 
probable — nay,  absolutely  certain  that  God  has  spoken  to  man  in  the 
Law  and  in  the  Prophets. 

But  some  one  may  ask  for  some  miracle  now  extant  in  proof  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  Christian  Apostles.  We  might  hand  suoh  a  one  the 
Apocalypse;  but  being  a  book  of  symbols,  and  not  like  the  prophecies 
we  have  quoted,  written  in  a  plain  unfigurative  historic  style,  we  shall 
give  one  example  from  the  plain  unadorned  epistles  of  Paul.  We 
quote  from  II.  Thess.  chap.  ii. — "Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together 
unto  him,  that  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither 
by  spirit,  nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter,  as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of 
Christ  is  at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means:  for  that 
day  shall  not  come,  except  there  be  a  falling  away  first,  and  that  man 
of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition:  who  opposeth  and  exalteth 
himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped;  so  that  he, 
as  God,  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God. 
Remember  ye  not,  that,  when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  these 
things?  And  now  ye  know  what  withholdeth,  that  h^  might  be 
revealed  in  his  time.  For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work: 
only  he  who  now  letteth,  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way. 
And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall  con- 
sume with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  bright- 


THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  389 

ness  of  his  coming.  Even  him,  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of 
Satan,  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all 
deceivablenesa  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish;  because  they 
received  not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  l>e  saved." 

The  case,  or  the  occasion  of  this  prophecy,  is  this: — In  his  first 
epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  Paul  had  written  of  "the  day  of  the  Lord 
coming  as  a  thief  in  the  night;"  and  also  of  the  change  to  be  affected 
upon  those  who  should  be  alive  at  his  coming:  "For  we"  said  he, 
"which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Ivord,  shall  not 
anticipate  them  that  are  asleep."  From  which  sayings  some  then 
taught,  that  the  day  of  the  Lord's  triumph  over  his  enemies'  destruc- 
tion was  soon  to  arrive,  just  as  some  now  teach  that  souls  sleep,  because 
Paul  thus  spake  of  the  dead.  To  correct  these  errors,  Paul,  in  hia 
second  epistle,  by  the  spirit  of  revelation,  informs  them  that  the  day 
of  the  Lord's  triumph  and  the  fall  of  his  enemies  was  then  at  a  great 
distance.  This  leads  him  to  expatiate  on  some  great  intervening  events. 
That  day  shall  not  come  till  a  great  apostacy  from  Christ  to  another 
personage  shall  have  occurred;  till  that  man  of  sin,  or  "the  man  of 
sin" — the  lawless  one,  described  by  Daniel  (vii.  25,)  shall  have  been 
revealed. 

The  Apostle  introduces  this  mysterious  personage  as  one  frequently 
spoken  of  among  the  Thessalonians.  He  calls  him  "that  lawless  one," 
or  "the  man  of  sin."  He  was  described  by  Daniel  in  these  words:  — 
"He  shall  speak  [impious]  words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall 
wear  out  [or  consume]  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  shall  think 
[or  determine]  to  change  times  and  laws;  and  they  [the  saints]  shall 
be  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time,  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time; 
but  the  judgment  [upon  him]  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his 
doyninion  to  consume  and  destroy  it  unto  the  end."  This  mystic  man 
of  sin,  the  Pope  of  Rome  undoubtedly,  is  described  in  the  following 
particular  points:  — 

1.  He  was  to  be  the  son  or  creature  of  an  apostacy  from  the  primi- 
tive faith  and  manners  taught  by  the  Apostles.  As  Napoleon  the  Great 
grew  out  of  the  French  Revolution,  so  did  the  Pope  grow  out  of  the 
metropolitan  hierarchies  and  councils  that  sprung  from  the  defection 
of  the  ancient  church. 

2.  This  man  without  law  opposed,  in  his  pretensions,  all  that  were 
called  magistrates,  or  that  were  held  in  reverence  by  the  people. 

3.  He  placed  himself  upon   a  throne. 

4.  This  throne  was  not  erected  in  a  Pagan  temple,  but  in  the  church 
or  temple  of  God.  He  is  neither  a  Jewish  nor  a  Pagan,  but  a  Chris- 
tian High  Priest,  Father,  or  Pope. 

5.  He  shows  himself  to  be,  or  sets  himself  up  as  a  Vicegerent  of 
the  Almighty,  and  calls  himself  "His  Holiness  Lord  God  the  Pope." 


390  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

6.  He  was  not  to  appear  for  some  time  after  the  Apostle  wrote  this 
letter — not,  indeed,  while  the  Roman  Cesars  called  themselves  sever- 
ally Pontifex  Maximiis,  or  the  Great  High  Priest  of  the  Gods. 

7.  But  the  letting  or  opposing  Pagan  chiefs  are  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  way. 

8.  And  when  that  is  done,  this  mysterious  son  of  perdition  and  of 
iniquity,  called  by  Paul  "the  lawless  one,"  should  be  fully 
developed. 

9.  He  was  to  appear,  after  the  modus  operandi  of  the  Devil,  by 
good  words,  fair  speeches,  pretended  senctity — "by  all  the  deceivable- 
ness  of  unrighteousness" — transforming  himself  into  an  angel  of  light, 
while  at  heart  as  black  as  Erebus. 

10.  God,  it  is  affirmed,  shall  permit  all  those  who  loved  not  the 
truth  in  their  hearts,  to  be  deluded  by  this  "wicked  one,"  that  they 
all  might  be  condemned  as  reprobate  silver,  as  spurious  coin,  and 
removed  from  the  faithful. 

Such  is  the  apostolic  profile  of  the  1st  of  the  Gregories — of  him  that 
plucked  the  golden  mitre  from  the  patriarchs  of  Alexandria,  Antioch, 
Constantinople,  and  Jerusalem — who  asisumed  to  himself  the  govern- 
ment of  the  realms  of  Purgatory,  the  disposal  of  all  the  crowns  of  the 
heirs  of  Pagan  Rome,  and  who  by  miracle  of  deceit  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  an  apostate  church  and  consolidated  it  into  a  politico-eccle- 
astic  empire — "Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  Harlots" — a  mon- 
ster once  the  wonder  of  the  world  and  the  terror  of  all  the  excellent  of 
the  earth. 

Could  any  one,  we  may  now  inquire,  not  gifted  by  a  plenary  inspi- 
ration from  the  sempiternal  source  of  light,  to  whose  eye  the  past,  the 
present,  and  the  future  are  all  alike,  have  thus  so  clearly,  so  compre- 
hensively, and  yet  so  minutely  sketched  the  portrait  of  the  most  unnat- 
ural mysterious  monster  of  iniquity  the  world  ever  saw? 

And  what  event  more  unlikely  to  happen,  than  that  one  pretending 
to  be  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  who,  20  years  before  this  portrait  was 
sketched,  had  been  crucified  between  two  malefactors  without  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem — than  that  one  assuming  to  be  the  successor  of  that 
Galilean  Peter,  the  fisherman,  who  had  neither  silver  nor  gold,  and 
who  had  forsaken  all  that  he  had  to  partake  in  the  toils,  the  trials, 
and  the  honors  of  his  Master,  would  have  ever  thought  of  aspiring  to 
such  a  giddy  and  ambitious  eminence,  much  less  of  attaining  it  and 
transmitting  it  to  hundreds  of  successors  through  more  than  twelve 
full  centuries  of  yearsi ! 

No  one  can  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  origin, 
progress,  and  consummation  of  the  Popedom — as  developed  in  the  lives 
of  the  Popes — or  spend  one  year  in  Rome,  holding  in  his  hand  Daniel's 
portrait  of  this  Man  of  Sin  in  his  seventh  chapter,  and  that  of  Paul 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    AJilUDGED.  391 

in  this  letter  to  the  Tbessalonians,  and  not  see  a  stupendous  miracle 
in  the  literal  and  exact  accomplishment  of  predictions  so  copious  and 
yet  so  minute,  held  by  the  church  of  all  ages  and  of  all  nations,  and 
now  read  in  all  the  languages  of  the  civilized  world,  ail  literally  veri- 
fied in  one  individual  person  succeeding  another,  of  the  same  grand 
characteristics,  for  so  many  centuries.  He  that  does  not,  in  these 
ample  and  precise  specifications,  recognize  the  finger  of  God  in  a 
clearly  developed  miracle  of  the  most  stupendous  dimensions,  has  cer- 
tainly sipped  no  little  of  the  inebriating  cup  of  delusions  by  which 
this  great  sorcerer  has  enchanted  and  deceived  the  nations  of  pagan- 
ized Christendom. 

Our  faith  in  the  gospel,  we  now  conclude  from  these  mere  speci- 
mens of  evidence,  rests  upon  the  clearest  and  most  solid  basis.  It 
rests  upon  miracles  well  attested  by  others,  and  on  miracles  seen  by 
ourselves.  It  rests  upon  the  purity  of  its  doctrine,  the  majesty  and 
the  excellency  of  its  precepts,  the  riches,  the  fulness,  and  the  glory 
of  its  promises.  It  rests  upon  the  perfect  originality,  the  unity,  the 
grandeur,  and  the  divine  sublimity  of  its  adorable  Author.  It  was 
promulged  by  the  purest,  the  noblest,  and  the  most  disinterested  her- 
alds that  ever  announced  a  new  doctrine  to  men.  It  was  sustained 
by  their  godly  sincerity,  their  toils,  their  privations,  their  endurance 
of  evil,  and  their  glorious  martyrdom  for  its  sake.  It  enrols  amongst 
its  believers  and  defenders  the  greatest,  the  wisest,  the  best,  and  the 
most  gifted  of  mankind.  All  that  we  love,  admire,  and  venerate  in 
human  character,  appears  in  the  boldest  relief  in  the  piety,  humanity, 
and  universal  excellence  of  its  friends  and  admirers.  It  confers  upoa 
all  its  fully  initiated  disciples  the  whole  circle  of  graces  that  adorn 
human  nature,  and  fills  their  lives  with  the  largest  and  richest  clusters 
of  the  delicious  fruits  of  benevolence  and  mercy.  It  is  just  such  a 
message  from  the  throne  of  heaven  as,  had  we  been  duly  enlightened, 
we  might  have  expected;  such  a  glorious  display  of  divinity  and  human- 
ity as  fully  and  eternally  glorifies  God,  and  bestows  infinite  honor  and 
happiness  on  man. 

We  hope  to  suggest  a  profitable  manner  of  reading  the  volume 
which  contains  this  divine  philanthropy,  in  our  next  Tract.         a.  c. 

In  1852,  we  have,  page  661: 

A.  CampbeU's  Introihiction  to  the  last  edition  of  his  Debate  on  the 
Evidences   of   Christianity. 

Christianity  is  a  positive  institutiou,  and  has  had  a  positive  exist- 
ence in  the  world  for  more  than  eighteen  centuries.  Infidelity,  as 
opposed  to  Christianity,  is  not  an  institution,  but  a  mere  negation  of 
an  Institution  and  of  the  facts  and  documents  on  which  it  is  founded 
It  has  no  essential  formal  existence.     It  ha.s  no  farts  and  documents. 


392  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER   ABRIDGED. 

and,  therefore,  it  has  no  proof.  It  merely  assails  Christianity,  but 
offers  no  substitute  for  it,  and  it  has  none  to  offer. 

In  defending  Christianity,  or  in  proving  that  it  is  a  veritable, 
benevolent,  and  Divine  institution,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
develop  it — to  show  what  it  is,  and,  perhaps,  what  it  is  not.  This  can 
be  done  with  most  effect  by  showing  what  it  has  done,  when  perspicu- 
ously and  faithfully  propounded,  and  sincerely  and  cordially  embraced. 

When  we  ask.  What  has  Christianity  produced  in  the  soil  of  our 
fallen  nature?  or,  What  has  Christianity  done  for  man?  we  do  not 
institute  a  comparison  between  a  Christian  and  a  hypocrite,  but 
between  a  sincere  Christian  and  a  sincere  Pagan;  or  between  a  sin- 
cere Christian  community  and  a  sincere  infidel  community.  We  do 
not  institute  a  comparison  between  a  half-converted  Christian  and  a 
half-bred  infidel.  We  ask  for  a  well-developed  Christian  and  a  well- 
developed  infidel;  and  will  then,  without  debate,  submit  the  question 
to  a  well  qualified  and  disinterested  umpire.  We  are  willing  to  test 
the  tree  by  its  fruits.  Pretended  Christians  and  pretended  infidels,  or 
Christians  clothed  in  the  attire  of  infidels,  or  infidels  attired  in  the 
garb  of  Christians,  form  no  logical  contrast,  and  come  not  within  the 
purview  of  our  premises,  our  reasonings,  or  our  conclusions.  This 
would  be  mere  trifling,  or  worse  than  trifling,  with  a  grave  and  tran- 
scendently  important  subject. 

I  never  read,  nor  heard  a  philosophic,  rational,  logical  argument 
against  Christianity;  nor  have  I  ever  seen  or  heard  a  rational,  philos- 
ophic, or  logical  argument  in  favor  of  any  form  of  scepticism  or  infi- 
delity. Jesus  Christ  was,  and  is,  a  person:  not  a  thing,  not  a  doc- 
trine, not  a  theory.  Infidelity  is  not  a  person,  not  a  thing,  not  a 
theory.  There  may  be  a  theory  of  it,  but  it  is  not  a  theory.  It  is  a 
state  of  mind — an  intellectual  or  a  moral  imbecility.  It  is  a  spiritual 
jaundice,  sometimes  green  and  sometimes  black.  They  can  not  be 
philosophically,  logically,  rationally  compared.  They  are  neither 
logical  nor  literal  contrasts.  The  infidel  is  but  the  incarnation  of  a 
negative  idea.  He  is  absolutely  but  a  mere  negation.  He  stands  to 
Christianity  as  darkness  stands  to  light.  Is  darkness  any  thing?  Is 
.blindness  any  thing  but  the  loss  of  sight?  Is  unbelief  any  thing 
but  the  repudiation  of  evidence?  One  might  as  rationally  load  a 
cannon  to  fight  against  darkness,  as  to  dispatch  a  syllogism  against 
a  chimera. 

Jesus  Christ  was  a  real  person,  and  had  personal,  positive  attributes. 
He  had  a  real  and  positive  character,  unique,  original,  transcendent. 
It  was  as  fixed,  as  positive,  and  as  radiating,  as  the  sun  in  heaven. 
The  originality  and  unity  oif  his  character  is  all-suflScient,  in  the  eye 
of  educated  reason,  to  claim  for  him  a  cordial  welcome  into  our  world, 
and  to  hail  him  as  the  supreme  benefactor  of  our  race. 


THE    MILLIJXMAL    IIAIUIISUER    AlililDOED.  393 

To  my  mind,  it  has  long  been  a  moral  demonstration,  clear  as  the 
sun,  that  no  one  could  have  drawn  a  character,  such  as  that  of  Jesus 
Christ,  from  all  the  stores  of  human  learning,  from  all  the  resources 
of  the  human  imagination.  The  simple  character  of  Jesus  Christ 
weighs  more  in  the  eyes  of  cultivated  reason,  than  all  the  miracles 
he  ever  wrought.  No  greater  truth  was  ever  uttered  than  these 
words:  "He  that  has  seen  me  has  seen  the  Father  also."  No  mortal 
ever  could  have  said  so.  The  wisdom,  and  science,  and  learning  of 
the  word,  conirarod  with  his,  was,  and  is,  and  evermore  shall  bo,  as 
a  glimmering  spark  to  a  radiant  star — as  a  glow-worm  of  the  twilight 
in  contrast  with  the  splendors  of  a  meridian  sun.  It  is  only  in  the 
dark  we  can  admire  a  glow-worm.  We  can  not  see  it  when  the  sun 
shines.  But  we  might  as  hopefully  lecture  to  a  blind  man  on  the 
philosophy  of  light,  as  address  the  mere  sensualist,  the  visionary,  or 
the  dogmatic  simpleton,  on  the  originality,  unity,  transparency,  beauty, 
grandeur  of  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ.  An  animal  man  will  not 
look,  and,  therefore,  he  can  not  see  the  light;  the  true  light  which 
shines  in  the  face  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  He  affirms  that  he  sees, 
but  he  sees  not  what  he  affirms. 

Now,  what  has  dreamy  scepticism  or  presumptuous  unbelief  to 
offer,  as  an  apology  for  itself,  in  vindication  of  its  position,  or  as  a 
substitute  for  Christianity?  The  light  of  nature,  the  light  of  reason, 
the  dictates  of  conscience! !  What  flimsy  sophistry!  Where  is  the 
light  of  nature  found?  And  who  in  Pagandom  has  eyes  to  see  it!  This 
light  of  reason,  these  dictates  of  conscience — where  are  they  found? 
Show  me,  produce  me  one  example  of  the  power  of  this  light  of 
nature,  this  light  of  reason,  these  dictates  of  conscience!  Show  me 
this  eye  of  reason  with  this  light  of  nature,  working  faith  in  God; 
working  out  Christian  civilization,  refinement  of  manners,  temperance, 
justice,  public  virtue,  and  humanity;  to  say  nothing  of  piety,  and  the 
love  and  admiration  of  the  purity  of  God!  and  I  will  lend  a  willing 
ear  to  such  a  demonstration.  But  the  annals  of  the  world  and  the 
experience  of  the  present  generation  afford  no  such  spectacles. 

I  am  told  of  the  wisdom  and  civilization,  and  of  the  moral  virtues 
of  a  Solon,  a  Pythagoras,  a  Socrates,  a  Plato,  a  Xenophon,  an  Arisr 
totle,  a  Zeno,  a  Seneca,  etc,  I  also  know  something  about  them,  and 
of  the  schools  in  which  they  were  brought  up,  the  schools  which  they 
founded,  and  the  lives  which  they  led.  I  will  not  "draw  their  frailties 
from  their  dread  abode." 

But  they  were  educated  men.  In  what  schools  of  tradition  were 
they  brought  up?  They  received  instruction.  They  did  not  create  it. 
The  glimmering,  flickering  lamp,  which  gave  them  light,  was  kindled 
by  radiations  from  a  fire  that  God  kindled  on  Mount  Sinai,  in  Arabia, 
from  a  mystic  lamp  that  shone  iu  a  tabernacle  pitched  by  Moses  in 


394  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  desert,  and  from  a  temple  which  Solomon  the  Wise  raised  in 
Jerusalem.  Sinai  is  older  than  Athens  or  Parnassus;  and  Mount 
Zion  than  Mars-hill.  Moses  was  born  more  than  a  thousand  years 
before  Pythagoras,  Solon,  Socrates,  Plato,  Xenophon,  Zeno,  or 
Seneca.  Some  of  these  were  contemporaries  of  the  Jewish  prophets. 
But  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  antedate  them  all  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  years.  David  sang  before  Homer,  and  Solomon  wrote 
his  Proverbs  and  his  Ecclesiastes  before  Solon,  the  oldest  of  them, 
was  born. 

We  do  not  always  recognize  the  fact,  that  the  Hebrew,  Egyptian, 
Grecian,  Roman  sages,  in  their  different  generations,  lived  around  an 
almost  common  inland  sea,  whose  bays,  rivers,  harbors,  coasts,  were 
continually  visited  and  penetrated  by  neighboring  ships  and  coasting 
vessels;  and  that  as  now,  news  was  interesting,  and  carried  orally  from 
city  to  city.  In  this  way  traditions,  public  facts,  and  opinions  of 
cotemporary  chief  men,  were  made  more  or  less  common  property. 
Abraham's  steward,  for  example,  was  a  native  of  Damascus  yet  stand- 
ing. Solomon's  fame  was  commensurate  with  all  the  coasts  of  the 
Mediterranean  sea.  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  was  in  habitual  intercom- 
munication with  him,  "and  his  fame  was  in  all  nations  round  about." 
He  was  known  in  Egypt  as  more  learned  and  wise  than  all  the  sages 
of  Egypt — wiser  than  Ethan,  Heman,  Ch'alcal,  Dardo,  and  all  cotem- 
porary princes,  known  to  the  Queen  of  Sheba  in  all  the  regions  of 
Ethiopia.  I  trace  to  one  family  and  to  one  man,  whom  we  call 
Father  Abraham,  all  the  true  moral  science  and  religion  in  the  world. 
We  have,  for  a  few  generations,  been  sporting  with  physics  and  meta- 
physics; but  that  family  studied  God  and  man.  Indeed,  they  studied 
God  in  man,  and  man  in  God;  God  in  the  universe,  and  the  universe 
in  God. 

Sceptics  generally  are  more  witty  than  wise,  more  pert  than  pru- 
dent, more  talkative  than  learned.  I  have  not  had  the  good  fortune 
to  meet  with  a  learned,  well-read,  and  well-educated  infidel,  in  all  my 
acquaintance.  While  they  inveigh  against  Christian  sects  and  their 
speculative  and  dogmatic  controveVsies,  they  are,  to  say  the  least, 
quite  as  dogmatic,  controversial  and  sectarian,  as  Pagans,  Jews,  or 
Christians. 

Pyrrho,  the  first  distinguished  sceptic  among  the  Greek  philos- 
ophers, formed  the  first  Grecian  school  of  free  thinkers,  and  gloried  so 
much  in  scepticism  that  he  denominated  his  school  ''The  School  of 
Sceptics.''  His  fellow-citizens  in  Elea,  in  the  fourth  century  before 
Christ,  constituted  him  their  high-priest.  "He  denied  the  real  exist- 
ence of  all  qualities  in  bodies,  except  those  which  are  essential  to  pri- 
mary atoms,  and  referred  every  thing  else  to  the  perceptions  of  the 
jnind  produced  by  external  objects." 


THE    MILLEyXIAL    lIARlilXGEIi    AHIilDdEU.  395 

Hume,  among  the  moderns,  was  substantially  of  the  same  character 
of  philosophers.  "He  introduced  doubts  into  every  branch  of  physics, 
metaphysics,  ethics,  and  theology."  Gibbon,  more  eloquent  but  less 
philosophic  than  Hume,  drank  deeply  at  the  fountain  of  infidelity  in 
France  and  in  England.  He  poisoned  his  own  writings  by  a  large  infu- 
sion of  the  same  principles. 

Since  the  French  Revolution  till  now,  scepticism,  in  every  thing 
ancient  and  venerated,  whether  true  or  false,  has  been  subjected  to 
the  same  arbitrary  inquisition;  and  Christianity,  as  well  as  Judaism, 
has  largely  shared  in  its  indiscriminate  crusade. 

Kingcraft  and  priestcraft,  unfortunately  strongly  allied  in  the  dark 
ages,  became  equally  obnoxious  to  suspicion,  opposition,  and  public 
resentment,  and  largely  partook  of  the  same  fortunes.  But,  in  the 
long  crusade,  it  fared  worse  with  religion  than  it  did  with  politics. 
The  state  must  be  regarded  at  least  as  a  commonwealth,  and  as  such, 
governed  by  equal  laws  and  ordinances.  But  religion  was  discarded, 
not  merely  from  political  amalgamation,  but  from  the  consideration 
and  regard  of  the  leading  men  of  that  period,  as  a  subject  not  demand- 
ing immediate  attention,  and,  with  the  great  majority,  as  a  matter  of 
doubtful  disputation. 

"Free  thinking,"  as  it  was  facetiously  called,  became  fashionable, 
and,  with  the  down-trodden  and  priest-trodden  masses,  it  was  aped 
and  assumed  as  a  characteristic  of  at  least  a  clever  fellow,  if  not 
a  philosopher.  Thomas  Paine  began  with  his  book  on  ''Common 
Sense" — next  he  gave  to  his  countrymen  "The  Rkjiits  of  Man,"  then 
ended  with  "THE  AGE  OF  REASON!"  Volney,  born  twenty  years 
after  him,  gave  "T7ie  Ruins  of  Empire,"  or  rather  his  "meditations  on 
the  revolutions  of  empire,"  well  seasoned  with  innuendoes  against  the 
authority  of  religion  and  revelation.  But  Voltaire  had  profusely  sowed 
the  seed  "of  irreligion,  anarchy,  and  libertinism,"  before  either  of  them 
was  born.  They  only  watered  the  seeds  which  he  had  sown.  And 
what  an  abundant  harvest  of  dwarfed  philosophers,  reckless  declaimers, 
and  arrogant  dogmatists,  does  the  present  generation  exhibit  I 

Philosophic  Robert  Owen,  a  benevolent  and  urbane  gentleman,  of 
large  fortune  and  influential  friends,  well  read  in  the  light  readings 
of  early  life,  and  deeply  imbued,  not  merely  with  a  generous  senti- 
mentality, but  with  a  native  and  educated  benevolence,  in  quest  of  a 
proper  theatre  to  develop  a  politico-moral  problem,  visited  this  New 
World  some  twenty-five  years  ago.  Unfortunately,  he  had  not  discrimi- 
nated between  the  state-religions  of  Europe  and  the  Christian  religion 
of  the  New  Testament.  He  therefore  filed  them  all  together  on  the 
same  wire,  and  became  the  piiiLosoriiEn  of  circumstaxces.  With  the 
full  assurance  of  knowledge,  he  assaulted  the  full  assurance  of  faith, 
and  gave  utterance  to  principles  subversive  of  every  existing   social 


396  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

system,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  perfect  social  system.  Chris- 
tianity sternly  stared  him  in  the  face;  but  with  an  unblenching  eye 
he  gazed  and  gazed  upon  her  countenance,  and  challenged  her  to  deadly 
combat  or  to  an  instant  surrender.  In  placid  temper  she  refused  to 
give  place  to  his  mandates.  He  threw  down  the  gauntlet  with  the  air 
of  a  spirited  cavalier,  and  dared  her  to  a  deadly  combat.  The  glove 
was  promptly  lifted,  and  the  conditions  of  the  combat  amicably  settled. 
The  theatre  was  erected,  the  judges  elected,  the  spectators  convened, 
and  the  contest  began.  And  here  follows,  approved  by  the  combatants, 
sealed  by  the  reporter,  and  confirmed  by  the  auditory,  an  authentic 
report  of  it.  It  speaks  for  itself.  And  after  a  successful  mission 
across  the  continent  and  across  the  seas,  it  is  encored,  and  is  now 
about  to  commence  a  second  pilgrimage  from  the  very  city  where  it 
occurred,  and  whence  it  was  borne  triumphant  over  America  and 
over  the  British  Empire.  There  is  nothing  added,  there  is  nothing  sub- 
tracted, and  there  is  nothing  amended.  It  was,  on  our  side,  extem- 
poraneous; on  his,  mainly  premeditated,  and  written  out  in  extenso. 
It  carries  upon  its  visage  the  proofs  of  both.  It  was  not  as  diversified 
as  we  desire,  but  it  was  our  part  to  follow,  and  his  to  lead.  We 
wove  into  it  all  that  we  could  legitimately  introduce,  bearing  upon 
the  issue,  and  sowed  broadcast  the  seeds  and  elements  of  other  reasons 
and  evidences  than  a  stern  umpirage  would  have  allowed.  This  has 
its  advantages  on  the  principles  of  suggestion,  and  its  disadvantages 
in  point  of  method  and  concentrated  argument.  But  for  popular  con- 
sumption and  for  popular  effect,  it  appeared  to  be  the  most  eligible; 
and  the  result  has  greatly  transcended  our  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions. Thousands  have  been  reclaimed  from  their  scepticism,  and 
thousands,  that  needed  encouragement  and  corroboration,  have  been 
confirmed. 

The  forms  of  scepticism  are  Proteus  like,  multifarious;  and  if  any 
other  form,  than  those  in  this  volume  assailed  and  repelled,  should  be 
presented,  we  feel  it  our  duty,  and  would  regard  it  our  privilege,  to 
meet  it  calamo  vel  ore,  as  any  champion  of  infidelity  may  choose. 

There  is  much  latent  scepticism  in  the  present  church  establish- 
ments in  our  land — indeed  all  over  Christendom.  It  would  be  a  good 
work  to  circulate  the  present  volume  far  and  wide,  through  our  own 
counti-y,  as  well  as  abroad.  I  would  esteem  it  an  advantage  to  the 
church,  as  well  as  to  the  world,  to  have  many  discussions  of  this 
grandest  of  all  debatable  questions,  with  every  grade  of  mind,  intelli- 
gence, and  character,  entitled  to  public  respect. 

The  subject  is  itself  transcendent,  and  the  evidences  of  its  truth 
and  grandeur  are  commensurate  with  all  its  claims  and  pretensions 
and  with  all  the  wants  and  necessities  of  this,  alas!  too  lukewarm  and 
sectarian  generation.     See  also  the  Campbell  and  Owen  Debate. 


BOOK  YII. 

THE    GOSPEL. 


897 


BOOK   VII. 

THE    GOSPEL. 

Dr.  R.   R.   Richardson  writes  in  1839,  page  97: 

The  gospel  of  Christ,  presenting,  as  It  does,  eternal  life  and  hap- 
piness to  the  human  family,  deserves,  for  its  own  sake,  a  full,  careful, 
and  unprejudiced  examination.  The  mere  announcement  that  ever- 
lasting joys  and  undying  honors  are  placed  within  the  grasp  of  mortals, 
challenges  at  once  attention  and  respect.  The  lofty  hopes  which  it 
Inspires  are  allied  to  the  dearest  earthly  aspirations  of  the  human 
heart,  and  the  highest  aims  of  worldly  ambition;  yet  they  surpass  and 
include  them  all,  as  the  "glad  waters  of  the  dark  blue  sea"  overwhelm 
and  drink  up  the  glittering  spray  upon  the  mossy  rock  which  is 
covered  with  the  flowing  tide.  And,  as  to  the  permanency  of  their 
fruition,  contrasted  with  that  of  sublunary  anticipations,  they  are  like 
the  star-paved  heavens,  compared  with  the  fallen  domes  and  decaying 
palaces  of  ruined  Tyre;  or  as  the  ever-during  forests  of  Lebanon,  to 
the  broken  column  and  mouldering  capital  which  bears,  as  though  in 
mockery,  the  inscription  "Roma  Etenia." 

Such  Is  the  character  of  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises 
of  the  gospel  to  him  who  receives  It  in  its  original  purity  and  fullness. 

In  examining  a  subject  of  so  much  Importance,  the  most  particular 
attention  should  be  paid  to  those  rules  and  principles  which  the  expe- 
rience of  the  world  has  shown  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  the  dis- 
covery of  truth.     The  first  of  these  is,  that  the  mixd  must  be  free 

FROM    PREJUDICE. 

Prejudice  Is  pre-judgment — judgment  formed  beforehand  without 
examination.  It  Is  obvious  that  one  whose  mind  is  thus  pre-occu- 
pied  is  unable  to  receive  the  truth.  He  who  would  possess  himself  ol 
truth  must  have  the  tablets  of  his  judgment  pure  and  receptive. 

A  second  point  of  great  moment  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  is,  that 
the  whole  of  the  evidence  be  heard,  and  the  whole  truth  received. 
The  evils  which  may  arise  from  defective  testimony  and  partial  views 
of  truth  are  incalculably  great — greater  often  than  those  resulting 
from  falsehood  itself.  It  is  a  partial  exhibition  of  truth,  which,  liko 
the  gilding  upon  counterfeit  coinage,  gives  currency  to  delusion,  and 
success  to  Imposture. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  error  has  much  to  do  with  the  present 
disturbed  state  of  the  Christian  profession.  Partyism  springs  from 
partial   views  of  truth.     There  is  not  a  single  denomination   which, 

399 


400  THE   MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

along  with  its  peculiar  heresies,  does  not  acknowledge  some  tenets 
which  are  indubitably  true.  And  it  can  be  just  as  easily  shown,  that 
there  is  not  a  sect  in  Christendom  which  embraces  the  whole  truth, 
In  doctrine  and  practice,  as  it  was  received  by  the  first  Christian 
churches. 

It  is  a  melancholy  reflection  that  the  unity  of  the  church  and  the 
Integrity  of  truth — the  sparkling  diamond  which  once  graced  the  coro- 
nal of  apostolic  faithfulness,  should  be  thus  broken  up  into  so  many 
insignificant  fragments.  Christianity,  indeed,  may  now  be  compared 
to  a  ravelled  web:  each  party  has  run  off  with  a  few  of  its  threads, 
and  interwoven  them  with  the  flimsy  texture  of  its  own  many-colored 
robes — not  one  of  them  has  had  the  ability,  like  Sampson,  to  carry  off 
the  whole  of  it.  Or,  it  is  like  an  ancient  Grecian  temple,  erected 
for  a  Divinity,  and  once  magniflcent  and  perfect,  but  now  overthrown 
by  the  rude  hand  of  violence,  and  the  materials  carried  off  to  compose 
a  part  of  the  mean  fabric  of  the  peasant — the  richly  sculptured  marble, 
as  in  modern  Athens,  has  become  the  stepping-stone  to  the  mud-walled 
hut  of  squalid  poverty! 

But  again:  It  is  possible  for  the  whole  truth  to  be  received,  yet 
rendered  inoperative  by  dilution,  or  injurious  by  corrupt  additions. 
We  should  be  careful,  therefore,  to  embrace  nothing  but  the  truth,  and 
to  preserve  its  simplicity  unimpaired — to  seek  only  the  pure  bullion, 
and  to  keep  it  untarnished  and  undrossy. 

It  is  related  of  the  followers  of  the  celebrated  WickUffe,  that  the 
Papists  used  to  call  them,  in  derision.  Gospellers,  because  they  were 
wont  to  speak  so  often  of  the  original  gospel,  in  place  of  the  legends 
and  traditions  of  the  Catholic  superstition.  It  were  well  if  modern 
reformers  would  so  signalize  themselves  by  their  devotion  to  the  gospel 
in  its  simplicity  as  to  deserve  so  good  an  appellation. 

It  is  this  annunciation  which  Paul,  in  the  motto  which  we  have 
preflxed  to  these  papers,  denominates  "The  gospel;"  for  in  the  deflni- 
tion  which  he  there  supplies,  he  enumerates  in  substance  the  same 
facts  concerning  Christ,  of  which  Peter  speaks,  to  wit — "that  Christ 
died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  scriptures;  that  he  was  buried,  and 
that  he  ix>se  the  third  day  according  to  the  scriptures."  It  matters 
not  whether  we  say  with  Peter,  that  "Him  they  slew  and  hanged  on 
a  tree — and  that  to  him  bear  all  prophets  witness." 

And  is  it  then  the  gospel  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  was  buried 
and  rose  again?  Have  these  few  simple  facts  constituted  the  hope  of 
the  ancients  and  the  joy  of  the  moderns;  the  inspiration  of  the  prophet 
and  the  fortitude  of  the  martyr?  Are  these  the  theme  of  seraphic  and 
cherubic  song,  and  the  power  of  God  himself  to  the  salvation  of  the 
world?  Can  it  be  that  an  annunciation  so  brief,  and  ap::arently  so 
simple,  has  already  wrought  such  important  changes  in  the  affairs  of 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  401 

men,  and  is  yet  to  exert  so  predominant  an  influence  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  human  destiny? — that  the  same  truth  which  is  the  solace 
of  the  solitary  wanderer,  is  to  operate  upon  the  entire  mass  of  the 
human  family?  So  Paul  aflSrms,  and  both  history  and  prophecy  con- 
firm his  derlaration. 

Nor  need  we  be  surprised  that  so  great  effects  are  to  be  produced 
by  means  so  simple.  This  only  proves  the  perfection  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  is  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  divine  procedure  in 
other  cases.  To  combine  simplicity  and  power  is  regarded  as  a  maal- 
festation  of  consummate  skill.  No  one  is  rewarded  for  making  a 
machine  more  complicated.  Every  improver  aims  to  produce  the  same 
or  a  greater  effect  by  a  more  simple  mechanism.  The  very  simplicity, 
then,  of  the  gospel,  is  but  an  additional  evidence  of  its  divine  origin. 
It  is  also  in  harmony  with  other  exhibitions  of  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  God.  In  the  economy  of  nature,  for  instance,  there  is  noth- 
ing more  common  than  the  accomplisliment  of  the  greatest  purposes 
by  the  simplest  means;  nor  is  there  anything  more  familiar  than  the 
ready  applicability  to  particular  and  minor  things  of  principles  and 
powers  which  are  capable  of  exercising  supreme  and  universal  control. 
It  is  the  same  pervading  influence,  the  attraction  of  gravitation,  which 
brings  to  the  ground  a  sere  and  yellow  leaf  from  the  oak,  or  the  blaz- 
ing meteor  from  heaven,  and  sustains  in  their  orbits  the  immense 
planetary  bodies,  with  their  satellites.  It  is  the  same  power,  the 
attraction  of  cohesion,  which  moulds  the  dew-drop,  which,  poised  upon 
a  slender  blade  of  grass,  and  touched  by  the  sun's  first  rays,  appears 
bright  and  beautiful  as  the  diamond  or  pearl — "a  gem  of  purest  ray 
serene;"  and  lifts  to  the  clouds  the  rocky  precipice  where  the  eagle 
builds  her  eyrie,  and  against  whose  base  the  waves  of  ocean  rage  in 
vain.  It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  the  same  Divine  Mechanician  should 
In  the  religious  and  moral  world  endow  the  simplest  means  with  power 
to  accomplish  the  greatest  ends,  and  to  act  with  the  same  facility  upon 
individuals  and  upon  nations — upon  one  and  upon  all. 

But  again:  it  will  be  evident  that  the  gospel  must  be  of  necessity 
something  very  simple,  when  it  is  recollected  that  it  is  to  be  preached 
to  every  creature.  The  great  majority  of  the  human  race  are  ignorant 
and  debased,  slow  of  apprehension,  and  feeble  in  their  capacity.  The 
gospel  is  designed  to  open  their  blinded  eyes,  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  to  inform  the  understanding  and  to  move  the  heart. 
That  it  has  accomplished  this  purpose  wherever  it  has  been  faithfully 
exhibited,  and  that  the  present  civilization  and  refinement  of  the 
nations  is  mainly  owing  to  its  influence,  is  admitted  by  the  best 
Informed.  Being  then  suited  to  the  comprehension  of  all — the  Euro- 
pean, the  Indian,  the  Negro,  and  the  rude  Barbarian.  It  can  not  be 
anything  abstruse  or  remote,  but  must  necessarily  be  easily  perceived, 


402  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

understood,  and  felt.  Could  we  indeed  suppose  for  one  moment  that 
this  divine  and  glorious  gospel  had  transformed  itself  into  those  pon- 
derous and  complicated  bodies  of  divinity  which  life  will  scarce  afford 
time  to  read,  or  eternity  to  understand,  we  might  well  despair  of  our 
own  salvation  and  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

How  different  might  now  have  been  the  state  of  the  world  if  the 
gospel  in  its  simplicity  had  been  exhibited  to  mankind  since  the  days 
of  the  Apostles!  And  to  what  a  speedy  termination  it  would  bring 
the  discords,  feuds,  and  party  jealousies  of  Christendom,  if  all  would 
confine  themselves  to  the  joyful  tidings  that  Christ  has  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  Scriptures,  that  he  was  buried,  and  that  he  rose 
the  third  day  according  to  the  Scriptures!  These  are  facts,  not  opin- 
ions or  speculations.  These  are  easily  proved,  readily  understood,  and 
quickly  felt.  "And  by  these  also  we  are  saved,"  says  our  Apostle,  "if 
we  keep  them  in  remembrance."  R.  k. 

Among  the  causes,  indeed,  which  have  contributed  to-  produce  the 
present  confused  state  of  the  Christian  profession,  there  has  not  been 
one  more  efficient  than  the  sentiment  that  the  whole  Bible  is  a  doc- 
trinal treatise  upon  Christianity;  and  that  the  gospel  is  so  equally 
diffused  throughout  the  whole,  like  the  blood  in  the  human  system, 
which  may  be  made  to  flow  from  every  part,  that  it  may  be  found 
indifferently  anywhere  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  and  equally  in  the 
prophecies  of  Balaam,  or  the  song  of  Solomon,  as  in  the  testimony  of 
Matthew  Levi  or  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  This  view  of  the  Scriptures 
places  the  mind  at  once  upon  the  wide  ocean,  careless  by  what  gale 
or  to  what  country  it  may  be.  driven.  Where  every  fact  or  incident  Is 
regarded  as  equally  important,  all  become  at  the  same  time  alike  unin- 
teresting; where  there  is  no  distinction,  there  can  be  no  arrangement; 
where  there  is  no  beginning,  there  can  be  no  conclusion.  As  well 
might  a  person  suppose  that  light  is  universally  diffused  throughout 
nature,  and  that  he  could  possess  himself  of  it  by  putting  into  his 
pocket  the  shining  pebbles  by  which  it  is  reflected.  To  direct  his 
attention  to  the  sun  as  the  true  source  of  light,  would  not  sooner 
interrupt  the  labors  of  such  a  virtuoso,  than  would  the  proper  exhi- 
bition of  the  simple  facts  of  the  gospel  give  a  new  turn  to  the  inves- 
tigations of  the  modern  Bible  student. 

That  all  Scripture  given  by  inspiration  is  profitable  for  the  various 
purposes  for  which  its  different  parts  are  designed,  and  that  it  is  all 
necessary  to  the  perfection  of  the  godly  man,  is  cheerfully  admitted. 
But  what  we  would  insist  upon  is  this:  that  it  isi  with  the  gospel  facts 
we  have  first  and  chiefly  to  do;  that  it  is  by  these  we  are  first  met 
on  the  part  of  Heaven;  and  that  these  not  only  comprise  all  that  is 
necessary,  so  far  as  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  salvation  of  the  sinner 
is  concerned,   but  involve  necessarily  and  immediately  the   consider- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  403 

ation  of  all  preceding  and  succeeding  revelations.  Like  the  rich  clus- 
ters of  the  vine  in  which  the  new  wine  is  found,  there  is  a  blessing 
In  them;  and  like  these  same  clusters  also,  which  are  both  the  first 
in  design  and  the  last  in  production,  the  gospel  facts  (Christ  and  him 
1  rucified)  are  the  first  and  the  last,  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  rev- 
elation. In  short,  there  is  not  a  principle  of  action,  or  an  exhortation 
to  duty;  a  hope  or  a  privilege;  an  institution  or  a  doctrine  in  Chris- 
tianity, which  is  not  deducible  from  these  simple  facts,  as  the  oak 
is  evolved  from  the  acorn,  or  the  leaf  unfolded  from  the  bud.  We 
would  not  be  understood  to  say.  however,  that  human  reason  could  have 
made  these  deductions,  any  more  than  that  human  power  could  bring 
an  oak  OTit  of  an  acorn.  Christianity  is  as  much  beyond  the  reason 
of  man,  as  the  works  of  nature  are  beyond  his  power.  The  eyes  of 
Reason  could  not  even  perceive  its  existence,  unless  it  were  revealed 
by  the  light  of  faith,  and  unfolded  in  its  maturity  by  the  efficient  influ- 
ences of  a  divine  agency.  Yet  it  is  no  sooner  thus  presented,  than 
reason  at  once  perceives  the  absolute  and  necessary  connection  which 
subsists  between  its  different  parts;  the  relations  of  principles  and 
laws;  of  facts  and  results;  of  means  and  ends;  and  is  enabled  to  trace 
the  steps  of  that  inductive  process  by  which  the  whole  has  been  elab- 
orated from  a  single  germ. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  as  a  means  of  sal- 
vation, and  endeavored  to  show  that  this  simplicity  is  not  only  evi- 
dence of  its  divine  origin  and  perfection,  ajid  in  accordance  with  the 
economy  of  nature;  but  that  the  gospel  is  by  this  means  adapted  to 
the  capacity  and  understanding  of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed — 
human  beings  indiscriminately,  rich  and  poor;  high  and  low. 

He,  then,  who  believes  the  gospel,  believes  the  Bible;  believes 
everything  necessary  to  salvation;  everything  which  can  or  ever  did 
rejoice,  redeem,  or  exalt  one  of  Adam's  race.  What  can  be  added  to 
the  gospel?  What  more  can  be  desired  by  man,  sinful  and  mortal, 
than  to  be  delivered  from  sin  and  to  be  blessed  with  immortality' 
And  how  perfectly  suited,  then,  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the  wants  and 
circumstances  of  the  human  family! 

THE    GOSPEL— ITS    CREDIBILITY." 

All  revealed  religion  is  based  upon  facts.  Testimony  has  respect 
to  facts  only;  that  the  testimony  be  credible,  it  must  be  confirmed. 
These  points  are  of  so  much  importance  as  to  deserve  some  illustra- 
tion, and  much  consideration.  By  facts  we  always  mean  something: 
said  or  done.  The  works  of  God  and  the  words  of  God,  or  the  things 
done  and  spoken  by  God,  are  those  facts  which  are  laid  down  ami 
exhibited  in  the  Bible  as  the  foundation  of  all  faith,  hope,  love,  piety, 
and  humanity.    All  true  and  useful  knowledge  is  an  acquaintance  with 


404  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

facts.  And  all  true  science  is  acquired  from  the  observation  and  com- 
parison of  facts.  But  he  that  made  the  heart  of  man  and  gave  him 
an  intelligent  spirit  knows  that  facts  alone  can  move  the  affections, 
and  command  the  passions  of  man.  Hence  the  scheme  of  mercy  which 
he  has  discovered  to  the  world,  is  all  contained  in,  and  developed  by, 
the  works  of  mercy  which  he  has  wrought. 

Facts  have  a  meaning  which  the  understanding  apprehends  and  the 
heart  feels.  According  to  the  meaning  or  nature  of  the  fact,  is  its 
effect  upon  us.  If  a  friend  have  risked  his  life,  or  sacrificed  his  repu- 
tation or  fortune  to  relieve  us,  we  can  not  but  confide  in  him  and  love 
him.  If  an  enemy  have  attempted  our  life,  invaded  our  property,  or 
attacked  our  reputation,  we  can  not,  naturally,  but  hate  him.  Nothing 
but  the  command  of  a  benefactor,  or  the  will  of  some  dear  friend  who 
has  laid  us  under  obligation  to  himself,  can  prevent  us  from  hating 
our  enemies.  If  a  beloved  relative  have  sustained  some  great  misfor- 
tune, we  must  feel  sorry;  or  if  he  have  been  rescued  from  some  impend- 
ing calamity,  we  must  feel  glad.  Our  joy  in  the  latter  case,  and  our 
sorrow  in  the  former,  arise  from  the  meaning  or  nature  of  the  fact. 
The  feelings  corresponding  with  the  nature  of  the  fact,  are  excited  or 
called  into  existence  the  moment  the  fact  is  known  or  believed.  It  is 
known  when  we  have  witnessed  it  ourselves,  and  it  is  believed  when 
reported  to  us  by  credible  persons  who  have  witnessed  it.  This  is  the 
chief  difference  between  faith  and  knowledge. 

As  existences  or  beings  must  precede  knowledge,  so  facts  must 
precede  either  knowledge  or  belief.  An  event  must  happen  before 
it  can  be  known  by  man — it  must  be  known  by  some  before  it  can 
be  reported  to  others — it  must  be  reported  before  it  can  be  believed, 
and  the  testimony  must  be  confirmed,  or  made  credible,  before  it 
can  be  relied  on. 

Something  must  be  done  before  it  can  be  known,  reported,  or 
believed.  Hence,  in  the  order  of  nature,  there  is  first  the  fact,  then 
the  testimony,  and  then  the  belief.  A  was  drowned  before  B  reported 
it — B  reported  it  before  C  believed  it,  and  C  believed  it  before  he 
was  grieved  at  it.  This  is  the  unchangeable  and  universal  order  of 
things  as  respects  belief.  In  this  example  when  we  reason  from  effect 
to  cause,  it  is  grief,  belief,  testimony,  fact — and  from  cause  to  effect 
it  is  fact,  testimony,  belief,  grief.  We  ascend  from  grief  to  belief — 
from  belief  to  testimony — from  testimony  to  fact.  We  descend  from 
fact  to  testimony — from  testimony  to  belief,  and  from  belief  to  grief. 
To  this  there  is  no  exception,  more  than  against  the  universality  of 
the  laws  of  gravity.  If,  then,  there  was  nothing  said  or  done,  there 
could  be  no  testimony,  and  so  no  faith.  Religious  affections  spring 
from  faith;  and,  therefore,  it  is  of  importance  that  this  subject  should 
be  disintricated  from  the  mysticism  of  the  schools. 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  405 

Laws  call  for  obedience,  and  testimony  for  belief.  Where  there  is 
no  law,  there  can  be  no  obedience;  and  where  there  is  no  testimony, 
there  can  be  no  faith.  As  obedience  can  not  transcend  law,  so  faith 
can  not  transcend  testimony.  John's  testimony  went  to  so  many  facts. 
On  his  testimony  we  can  believe  only  as  far  as  he  has  testified.  And 
so  of  all  the  other  witnesses.  The  certainty  of  faith  depends  upon 
the  certainty  or  credibility  of  the  witnesses.  But  not  so  its  effects. 
The  effects  depend  upon  the  facts  believed— the  certainty  upon  the 
evidence.  I  may  be  equally  certain  that  John  was  beheaded— that 
Jesus  was  crucified.  Nay.  I  may  be  as  certain  of  the  birth  of  Jesua 
in  Bethlehem,  as  I  am  of  his  death  on  Calvary.  The  testimony  may 
be  equally  credible,  and  the  faith  equally  strong;  but  the  effects  pro- 
duced are  not  the  same.  The  facts  believed  have  not  the  same  mean- 
ing, are  not  of  the  same  nature,  and  do  not  produce  the  same  feelings 
or  effects.  I  may  be  as  certain  of  the  assassination  of  Cesar  in  the 
Senate  House,  as  I  am  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  on  Calvary:  but  as 
the  facts  believed  are  as  diverse  in  the  nature,  meaning,  an  I  bearings 
upon  me  as  the  East  and  the  West;  so  the  effects  or  fruits  of  my  faith 
are  as  different  as  Julius  Cesar  and  Jesus  Christ. 

The  more  ordinary  the  fact,  the  more  ordinary  the  testimony  neces- 
sary to  establish  it.  That  A  B,  aged  90,  and  confined  for  some  time 
■with  sickness,  died  last  night,  requires  only  the  most  ordinary  testi- 
mony to  render  it  credible.  But  that  C  D  lived  to  140,  enjoying  una- 
bated vigor  of  mind  and  body,  requires  stronger  testimony.  But  still 
all  facts  happening  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary  and  natural  laws 
of  things,  require  but  good  human  testimony  to  make  them  worthy 
of  credence.  'Tis  only  extraordinary  and  supernatural  facts  which 
require  supernatural  testimony,  or  testimony  supernaturally  con- 
firmed. This  is  the  point  to  which  we  have  been  looking  in  this  essay. 
And  now  that  we  have  arrived  at  it,  I  would  ask.  How  lias  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  l)een  confirmed? 

To  confirm  a  testimony  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  to  make  it 
crodible  to  those  to  whom  it  is  tendered;  or,  to  express  the  same  idea 
in  other  words,  it  is  to  give  men  power  to  believe  it.  Now  it  will 
not  require  the  same  amount  of  evidence  to  persuade  an  astronomer 
that  the  earth's  shadow  struck  the  moon  last  eclypse,  as  it  would  to 
convince  an  Indian;  or  it  would  not  require  the  same  amount  of  evi- 
dence to  convince  a  chemist  that  combustion  was  effected  bv  pouring 
water  on  a  certain  composition  of  mineral  substances,  as  it  would  an 
unlettered  swain.  To  make  any  testimony  credible  to  any  order  of 
beings,  regard  must  therefore  be  had  to  the  capacity,  attainments,  and 
habits  of  those  beings.  To  confirm  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  con- 
corning  the  Messiah's  death,  resurrection,  ascension  into  heaven,  and 
coronation  as  the  Lord  and  King  of  the  Universe,  imports  no  more  nor 


406  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

less  than  that  it  should  be  rendered  every  way  credible  to  such  beings 
as  we  are,  or  that  we  should  be  made  able  to  believe  it.  A  testimony 
confirmed,  and  yet  incredible  to  those  to  whom  it  is  tendered,  is  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  But  why  emphasize  on  the  word  confirmed? 
Because  the  holy  Apostles  have  emphasized  upon  it.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  that  we  should  pay  a  due  regard  to  the  confirmation  of  the 
testimony.  The  testimony  is  one  thing,  and  the  confirmation  is 
another.  It  is  necessary,  in  all  important  occasions  in  human  aifairs, 
that  the  testimony  which  is  received  between  man  and  man  should  be 
confirmed  by  some  sanction.  Hence  an  oath  for  confirmation  of  tes- 
timony is  an  end  of  all  strife.  The  highest  confirmation  which  men 
require  in  all  questions  of  fact,  is  a  solemn  oath  or  aflirmatioji  that  the 
things  affirmed  are  true. 

But  supernatural  facts  require  supernatural  confirmations.  Hence 
when  the  confirmation  of  the  gospel  is  spoken  of  in  the  apostolic  writ- 
ings, it  is  resolved  into  the  doings  or  works  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"Demonstrations  of  the  Holy  Spirit''  are  the  confirmatory  proofs  of 
the  gospel.  When  Paul  delivered  the  testimony  of  God,  or  the  testi- 
mony concerning  Jesus,  to  the  Corinthians,  he  says,  "It  was  confirmed 
among  them.'"  And  if  we  examine  into  the  confirmation  of  the 
testimony  as  Paul  explained  it,  we  shall  find  that  he  makes  the 
spiritual  gifts,  or  those  extraordinary  and  miraculous  powers  which 
the  Apostles  themselves  displayed,  and  which  so  many  of  their 
converts  also  possessed,  an  assurance  or  confirmation  of  what  he 
promulged. 

To  those  desirous  to  understand  this  subject,  an  examination  of 
this  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  can  not  fail  to  be  most  instructive; 
for  it  most  clearly  and  unequivocally  teaches  us  that  the  visible, 
audible,  sensible  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power  was  that 
supernatural  attestation  of  the  testimony  of  Christ  which  made  it 
credible,  so  that  no  man  could  have  acknowledged  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
to  be  the  Almighty  Lord  but  by  this  demonstration  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
Thus  was  the  testimony  confirmed — thus  was  Jesus  demonstrated  to 
be  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God — and  thus,  and  thus  only,  are  men 
enabled  to  believe  in  him. 

Some  mystics  in  ancient  times,  and  some  of  the  moderns  yet  affirm 
that  the  infusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  hearts  of  disciples  as 
the  spirit  of  adoption — as  the  Spirit  of  Christ — is  that  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  which  enables  men  to  believe.  But  this  is  as  unreason- 
able as  it  is  unscriptural:  unreasonable  because  no  such  inspiration, 
no  invisible,  inaudible,  or  insensible  operation  or  effect  can  be  called 
a  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  on  which  faith  rests — none  of  the  terms 
used  by  the  Apostle  can  bear  such  an  exposition.  And  it  is  unscrip- 
tural, for  none  of  the  converts  to  Christianity  in  the  New  Testament 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  407 

are  represented  as  converted  but  by  what  they  saw  and  heard;  and  the 
Spirit  of  Holiness  was  a  gift  promised  to  them,  and  to  them  only 
who  believe. 

A  demonstration  that  can  not  be  seen  or  heard,  is,  in  our  mother 
tongue,  no  demonstration  at  all;  and  a  faith  that  rests  upon  anything 
called  demonstrations  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power  which  are  only  felt 
in  the  heart,  is  a  faith  resting  upon  itself.  The  testimony  and  the 
confirmation  must  be  alike  extrinsic,  else  it  is  no  confirmation  at  all. 
No  feeling  in  the  heart  can  be  called  a  demonstration.  The  eye  or 
the  ear,  and  strictly  the  former,  but  figuratively  the  latter,  are  the 
senses  to  which  demonstrations  are  submitted.  None  but  mystica 
could  draw  a  demonstration  in  confirmation  of  a  fact  or  a  testimony 
from  the  effect  produced  in  the  heart.  What  would  a  person  of  com. 
mon  sense  say  to  a  mother  who  labored  to  prove  that  the  tidings  she 
had  heard  of  the  death  of  her  only  son  were  true,  because  she  felt 
sorry  to  hear  and  believe  them?  In  vain  would  she  call  her  grief,  her 
agony,  her  tears,  a  demonstration  that  the  testimony  was  true.  These 
might  be  proofs  that  she  believed  the  tidings,  but  never  can  they  prove 
the  tidings  to  be  true.  But  why  labor  to  tediousness  in  support  of 
that  which  is  almost  self-evident? 

The  narrative  of  the  labors  and  success  of  the  Apostles,  which  Luke 
gives,  corroborates,  by  the  examples  it  adduces,  the  above  statements. 
Take  Peter's  labors  for  examples.  His  testimony  on  Pentecost  was 
confirmed  by  a  sound  from  heaven,  by  tongues  of  fire;  and  when  they 
heard  his  testimony,  and  saw  the  signs  accompanying  it,  thousands 
believed  the  testimony.  "When  they  saw  him  cure  the  cripple,  and 
heard  him  announce  the  glad  tidings  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the 
Temple,  multitudes  believed.  When  he  cured  Eneas,  the  paralytic  of 
Lydda,  "all  the  inhabitants  of  Lydda  and  Saron  sew  him  and  turned 
to  the  Lord."  When  he  raised  to  life  again  Tabitha  of  Joppa,  "this 
was  known  throughout  all  Joppa,  and  many  brlicved  in  the  Lord." 
Euch  was  the  order  of  that  day.  And  thus  was  the  testimony  con- 
firmed, and  men  and  women  enabled  to  believe. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  the  following  conclusions  are  appar- 
ent, and  of  much  practical  importance,  at  least  to  all  who  labor  in 
the  word  and  teaching:  — 

1.  The  testimony  which  God  has  given,  or  the  testimony  which 
the  Apostles  gave  concerning  Jesus,  as  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  all-sufficient  Saviour  of  the  World,  is  a  credible  testimony,  a 
well  confirmed  testimony;  and  as  confirmed  by  the  demonstrations  of 
the  Spirit  and  power  of  God,  worthy  of  all  acceptation :  and  by  it 
men,  otherwise  without  strength,  are  made  able  to  believe.  Hence 
all  who  wait  for  the  testimony  to  be  specially  confirmed  to  them,  wait 
for  what  they  have  no  promise  nor  right  to  receive,  and  which  Goi 


408  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

can    not    bestow    without  implying   that   the    testimony    is    otherwise 
unworthy  of  belief;  or,  what  we  commonly  call  incredible. 

2.  Every  one  who  says  he  can  not  believe,  says  that  the  testimony 
is  incredible;  that  God  has  not  confirmed  it;  and  in  so  doing  expressly 
contradicts  the  Apostle,  who  says,  "The  report  is  credible,  or  true, 
and  worthy  of  all  reception;  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners;"  or  else  he  means,  that  he  will  not  believe,  and  there- 
fore will  not  hear  the  testimony  lest  he  should  believe  it.  He  that 
believeth  not,  makes  God  a  liar,  because  he  says  that  his  testimony 
is  not  true. 

3.  The  ancients  were  enabled  to  call  Jesus  Lord  of  All,  the  King 
eternal,  immortal,  and  invisible,  from  the  demonstrations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  confirming  the  testimony,  without  any  other  aid  than  the  power 
of  God  exhibited  in  attestation  of  the  testimony.  So  are  we  when  the 
testimony  is  fairly  and  ably  laid  before  us.  Hence  in  producing  faith 
in  the  minds  of  men,  all  that  is  necessary  is,  to  do  justice  to  the  whole 
testimony  of  God — to  do  what  Paul  said  he  did,  without  the  persuasive 
words  of  human  philosophy,  declare  the  testimony  of  God.  Hence  all 
men  who  believe  and  preach  Christ,  should  be  able  to  give  a  reason  of 
the  hope  which  they  entertain,  by  adducing  the  evidences  of  the  gospel 
— not  by  telling  their  experience,  which  will  never  convince  anybody 
but  an  enthusiast;  any  more  than  Mary's  testimony  concerning  her 
grief  will  be  a  demonstration  that  the  report  of  her  son's  death  is  true. 
Peter  never  commanded  any  man  to  narrate  his  own  feelings  as  a 
reason  of  the  hope  which  he  had  in  the  Messiah,  in  preference  to,  or 
in  competition  with,  the  confirmed  testimony.  No,  the  best  reason 
of  faith  is  a  well  authenticated  testimony,  or  confirmed  evidences. 
Our  experience  may  be  a  consolation  to  ourselves,  as  our  behavior  will 
be  a  corroboration  to  others;  but  the  demonstrations  which  the  Spirit 
has  afforded  alone  can  enable  any  man  to  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord. 

4.  As  the  first  Christians  were  convinced  by  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
enabled  to  believe  by  the  attestations  which  he  gave;  so,  after  they 
believed  and  obeyed  the  gospel,  they  had  the  Holy  Spirit  infused  into 
their  hearts;  and  were  then,  because  they  were  sons — (for  to  as  many 
as  received  him  to  them  he  gave  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,) 
enabled  by  the  spirit  imparted  to  them  to  say.  Our  Father — so  will  it 
be  with  them  who  now  believe  and  obey  the  same  gospel  upon  the 
same  evidences  and  for  the  same  reasons. 

5.  As  Jesus,  when  on  earth,  finished  the  work  of  redemption,  but 
in  heaven  he  is  our  High  Priest;  so  the  Holy  Spirit  on  earth,  after  his 
ascension,  finished  the  confirmation  of  the  testimony:  but  now,  in 
addition  to  that  work  which  makes  redemption  credible,  he  sheds  his 
influences  in  the  hearts  of  them  who  obey.  If  any  man  can  make 
himself  happy,   from  any   supposed   change   of  Leart,   before  he   has 


TIIH    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  409 

obeyed  the  gospel,  he  deludes  himself.  'Tis  only  by  obeying  the  truth 
that  any  man  can  be  sanctified  and  comforted  by  it  The  story  told 
by  some  of  their  happiness  before  obedience,  is  to  me  as  wild  and 
incredible  as  the  story  of  the  Phoenix  clapping  his  wings  over  dried 
sticks  until  it  sets  them  on  fire.  If,  then,  all  who  undertake  to  preach 
Christ,  would,  instead  of  preaching  their  own  dreams,  or  even  their 
real  experiences,  exhibit  the  evidences;  and  instead  of  telling  men  to 
wait  or  pray  for  good  signs,  or  for  power  to  believe,  persuade  them  lo 
obey  the  gospel,  the  gospel  would  run  and  be  glorified,  and  sectarian- 
ism would  wither  as  the  grass.  To  effect  this  is  the  leading  object  of 
this  paper;  and  if  it  fail  to  produce  this  conviction  in  any  attentive 
reader,  if  he  will  furnish  me  with  his  objections,  I  will  do  them  justice. 

THE   LAW   AND   THE   GOSPEL. 

In  the  Harbinger  for  1846,  p.  493,  the  famous  sermon  on  "The  Law" 
is  published.  The  delivery  of  this  sermon  (1816)  was  the  time  of  the 
beginning  of  the  end  of  organic  association  with  the  Baptists,  and  is 
accounted  by  many  as  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  Restoration  as 
an  independent  movement.  This  sermon  marks  the  distinction  between 
the  Law  and  the  Gospel.     The  sermon  is  as  follows: 

Requests  have  occasionally,  during  several  years,  been  made  for 
the  publication,  in  this  work,  of  a  discourse  on  the  Law,  pronounce-1 
by  me  at  a  meeting  of  the  Regular  Baptist  Association,  on  Cross  Creek, 
Virginia,  1816.  Recently  these  requests  have  been  renewed  with  more 
earnestness;  and,  although  much,  crowded  for  room,  I  have  concluded 
to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  my  friends.  It  was  rather  a  youthful  per- 
formance, and  is  in  one  particular,  to  my  mind,  long  since  exceptionable. 
Its  views  of  the  atonement  are  rather  commercial  than  evangelical. 
But  this  was  only  casually  introduced,  and  does  not  affect  the  object 
of  the  discourse  on  the  merits  of  the  great  question  discussed  in  it. 
I  thought  it  better  to  let  it  go  to  the  public  again  without  the  change 
of  a  sentiment  in  it.  Although  precisely  thirty  years  this  month  since 
I  delivered  it,  and  some  two  or  three  years  after  my  union  with  the 
Baptist  denomination,  the  intelligent  reader  will  discover  in  it  the 
elements  of  things  which  have  characterized  all  our  writings  on  the 
subject  of  modern  Christianity  from  that  day  to  the  present. 

But  as  this  discourse  was,  because  of  its  alleged  heterodoxy  by  the 
Regular  Baptist  Association,  made  the  ground  of  my  impeachment  and 
trial  for  heresy  at  its  next  annual  meeting,  it  is  as  an  item  of  ecclesi- 
astic history  interesting.  It  was  by  a  great  effort  on  my  part,  that  this 
self-same  sermon  on  the  Law  had  not  proved  my  public  excommuni- 
cation from  the  denomination  under  the  foul  brand  of  "damnable 
heresy."  But  by  a  great  stretch  of  charity  on  the  part  of  two  or  three 
old  men,  I  was  saved  by  a  derided  majority. 


410  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

This  unfortunate  sermon  afterwards  involved  me  in  a  seven  years' 
war  with,  some  members  of  said  Association,  and  became  a  matter 
of  much  debate.  I  found  at  last,  however,  that  there  was  a  principle 
at  work  in  the  plotters  of  said  crusade,  which  Stephen  assigns  as  the 
cause  of  the  misfortunes  of  Joseph. 

It  is,  therefore,  highly  probable  to  my  mind,  that  but  for  the  perse- 
cution begun  on  the  alleged  heresy  of  this  sermon,  whether  the  present 
reformation  had  ever  been  advocated  by  me.  I  have  a  curious  history 
of  many  links  in  this  chain  of  providential  events,  yet  unwritten  and 
unknown  to  almost  any  one  living — certainly  but  to  a  very  few  persons 
— which,  as  the  waves  of  time  roll  on,  may  yet  be  interesting  to  many. 
It  may  be  gratifying  to  some,  however,  at  present  to  be  informed  that 
but  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  this  presumptive  movement  yet  lives; 
and,  alas!  he  has  long  since  survived  his  usefulness.  I  may  farther 
say  at  present,  that  I  do  not  think  there  is  a  Baptist  Association 
on  the  continent  that  would  now  treat  me  as  did  the  Redstone  Asso- 
ciation of  that  day,  which  is  some  evidence  to  my  mind  that  the 
Baptists  are  not  so  stationary  as  a  few  of  them  would  have  the  world 
believe. 

But  the  discourse  speaks  for  itself.  It  was,  indeed,  rather  an  extem- 
poraneous address:  for  the  same  spirit  that  assaulted  the  discourse 
when  pronounced,  and  when  printed,  reversed  the  resolution  of  the 
Association  passed  on  Saturday  evening,  inviting  me  to  address  the 
audience  on  Lord's  day,  and  had  another  person  appointed  in  my 
place.  He  providentially  was  suddenly  seized  with  sickness,  and  I  was 
unexpectedly  called  upon  in  the  morning,  two  hours  before  the  dis- 
course was  spoken.  A  motion  was  made  in  the  interval  that  same 
day,  by  the  same  spirit  of  jealousy  or  zealousy,  that  public  opinion 
should  be  arrested  by  having  a  preacher  appointed  to  inform  the  con- 
gregation on  the  spot  that  my  "discourse  was  not  Baptist  doctrine." 
One  preacher  replied,  that  it  might  be  "Christian  doctrine;"  for  his 
part,  it  was  new  to  him,  and  desired  time  for  examination.  I  was, 
therefore,  obliged  to  gather  it  up  from  a  few  notes,  and  commit  it  to 
writing.  It  was  instantly  called  for  to  be  printed,  and  after  one  year's 
deliberation,  at  next  Association,  a  party  was  formed  to  indict  me  for 
heresy  on  the  published  discourse.  A  committee  met;  resolutions  were 
passed  on  Friday  night.  The  next  day  was  fixed  for  my  trial;  and 
after  asking  counsel  of  Heaven,  my  sermon  was  called  for,  and  the 
suit  commenced.  I  was  taken  almost  by  surprise.  On  my  offering 
immediately  to  go  into  an  investigation  of  the  matter,  it  was  partially 
discussed;  but  on  the  ground  of  having  no  jurisdiction  in  the  case, 
the  Association  resolved  to  dismiss  the  sermon,  without  any  fuller 
mark  of  reprobation,  and  leave  every  one  to  form  his  own  opinion 
of  it.    We  submit  it  to  the  candid  perusal  of  our  readers.  a.  c. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  411 

THE   SUBSTANCE   OF  A   SERMON, 

Delivered  before  the  Redstone  Baptist  Associatiori,  met  on  Cross 
Creek,  Brooke  County,  Ya.,  on  the  \st  of  September,  1816.  By  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  one  of  the  Pastors  of  the  Church  of  Brush  Run, 
Washington  County,  Pa. 

"The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus 
Christ." — John   i.  17. 

"The  law  and  the  prophets  were  until  John:  since  that  time  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  preached,  and  every  man  presseth  into  it." — Luke 
xvi.  16. 

PREFACE. 

To  those  who  have  requested  the  publication  of  the  following  dis- 
course, an  apology  is  necessary.  Though  the  substance  of  the  dis- 
course, as  delivered,  is  contained  in  the  following  pages,  yet  it  is  not 
verbatim  the  same.  Indeed,  this  could  not  be  the  case,  as  the  preacher 
makes  but  a  very  sparing  use  of  notes,  and  on  this  occasion,  had  but 
a  few.  In  speaking  extempore,  or  in  a  great  measure  so,  and  to  a 
people  who  may  have  but  one  hearing  of  a  discussion  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing, many  expressions  that  would  be  superfluous,  in  a  written 
discourse,  are  in  a  certain  sense  necessary.  When  words  are  merely 
pronounced,  repetitions  are  often  needful  to  impress  the  subject  on 
the  mind  of  the  most  attentive  hearer:  but  when  written,  the  reader 
may  pause,  read  again,  and  thus  arrive  at  the  meaning.  Some  addi- 
tions, illustrative  of  the  ideas  that  were  presented  in  speaking,  have 
been  made;  but  as  few  as  could  be  supposed  necessary.  Indeed,  the 
chief  difficulty  in  enforcing  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  following 
sheets,  either  in  one  spoken  or  written  sermon,  consists  in  the  most 
judicious  selection  of  the  copious  facts  and  documents  contained  in 
the  IJivine  Word  on  this  subject. 

We  have  to  regret  that  so  much  appears  necessary  to  be  said,  in 
an  argumentative  way,  to  the  professed  Christians  of  this  age,  on 
such  a  topic.  But  this  is  easily  accountcKi  for  on  certain  principles. 
For,  in  truth,  the  present  popular  exhibition  of  Christianity  is  a  com- 
pound of  Judaism,  Heathen  Philosophy,  and  Christianity;  which,  lik-j 
the  materials  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  image,  does  not  well  cement 
together. 

The  only  correct  and  safe  course,  in  this  perilous  age,  is,  to  take 
nothing  upon  trust,  but  to  examine  for  ourselves,  and  "to  bring  all 
things  to  the  test."  "But  if  any  man  will  be  ignorant,  let  him  be 
ignorant." 

As  to  the  style  adopted  in  this  discourse.  It  is  such  as  we  supposed 
would  be  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  those  who  are  chiefly  benefited  by 
such  discussions.    "For  their  sakes  we  endeavor  to  use  great  plainness 


412  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  speech."  As  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are  commonly  hid  from  the 
wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed  only  to  babes,  the  weak  and  fool- 
ish; for  their  sakes,  the  vail,  of  what  is  falsely  called  eloquence, 
should  be  laid  aside,  and  the  testimony  of  God  plainly  presented  to 
view. 

The  great  question  with  every  man's  conscience  is,  or  should  be, 
"What  is  truth?"  Not,  Have  any  of  the  scribes  or  rulers  of  the  people 
believed  it?  Every  man's  eternal  all,  as  well  as  his  present  comfort, 
depends  upon  what  answer  he  is  able  to  give  to  the  question  Pilate 
of  old  (John  xviii.  38)  proposed  to  Christ,  without  waiting  for  a  reply. 
Such  a  question  can  only  be  satisfactorily  answered  by  an  impartial 
appeal  to  the  oracles  of  truth — the  alone  standard  of  divine  truth.  To 
these  we  appeal.  Whatever  in  this  discourse  is  contrary  to  them,  let 
it  be  expunged;  what  corresponds  with  them,  may  the  God  of  truth 
bless,  to  those  to  whom  he  has  given  an  ear  to  discern,  and  a  heart 
to  receive  it. 

"For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the 
flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for 
sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh." — Rom.  viii.  3. 

Words  are  signs  of  ideas  or  thoughts.  Unless  words  are  understood, 
ideas  or  sentiments  can  neither  be  communicated  nor  received.  Words, 
that  in  themselves  are  quite  intelligible,  may  become  difficult  to  under- 
stand in  different  connections  and  circumstances.  One  of  the  most 
important  words  in  our  text  is  of  easy  signification,  and  yet,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  diverse  usages  and  epithets,  it  is  sometimes  difficult 
precisely  to  ascertain  what  ideas  should  be  attached  to  it.  It  is  the 
term  law.  By  a  close  investigation  of  the  context,  and  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  every  difficulty  of  this  kind  may  be  easily 
surmounted. 

In  order  to  elucidate  and  enforce  the  doctrine  contained  in  this 
verse,  we  shall  scrupulously  observe  the  following 

METHOD. 

1.  We  shall  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  ideas  we  are  to  attach  to 
the  phrase  "the  law,'"  in  this,  and  similar  portions  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures. 

2.  Point  out  those  things  which  the  laiv  could  not  accomplish. 

3.  Demonstrate  the  reason  why  the  law  failed  to  accomplish  those 
objects. 

4.  Illustrate  how  God  has  remedied  those  relative  defects  of  the 
law. 

5.  In  the  last  place,  deduce  such  conclusions  from  these  premises, 
as  must  obvioiis4y  and  necessarily  present  themselves  to  every  unbi- 
assed and  reflecting  mind. 


TIIH    MILLFXXIAL    HARBISGER    AHRIDOED.  413 

In  discussing  the  doctrine  contained  in  our  text,  we  are  then,  In 
the  first  place,  to  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  ideas  we  are  to  attach 
to  the  terms  "the  law,"  in  this,  and  similar  portions  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures. 

The  term  "laic"  denotes  in  common  usage,  "a  rule  of  action."  It 
was  used  by  the  Jews,  until  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  to  distinguish 
the  whole  revelation  made  to  the  Patriarchs  and  Prophets,  from  the 
traditions  and  commandments  of  the  Rabbies  or  Doctors  of  the  law. 
Thus  the  Jews  called  the  Psalms  of  David  laiv.  (John  xii.  34.)  Refer- 
ring to  the  110th  Psalm,  they  say,  "We  have  heard  out  of  the  law 
that  Christ  abideth  forever."  And  again,  our  Saviour  calls  the  Psalms 
of  David,  laic.  (John  x.  34.)  Referring  to  Ps.  Ixxxii.  C,  he  says,  "Is  it 
not  written  in  your  law,  I  said  ye  are  gods."  Thus  when  we  hear 
David  extolling  God's  law,  we  are  to  understand  him  as  referring  to 
all  divine  revelation  extant  in  his  time.  But  when  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  were  finished,  and  divided  according  to  their  contents  for 
the  use  of  synagogues,  the  Jews  styled  them  the  law,  the  prophets 
and  the  psalms.  Luke  xxiv.  44,  Christ  says,  "All  things  written  in  the 
law  of  Moses,  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  psalms,  concerning  me,  must 
be  fulfilled." 

The  addition  of  the  definite  article  in  this  instance  as  well  as  all 
others,  alters  the  signification  or  at  least  determines  it.  During  the 
life  of  Moses,  the  words  "the  law"  without  some  explicative  addition, 
were  never  used.  Joshua,  Moses'  successor,  denominates  the  writings 
of  Moses,  "the  book  of  the  law;"  but  never  uses  the  phrase  by  itself. 
Nor  indeed  have  we  any  authentic  account  of  this  phrase  being  used, 
without  some  restrictive  definition,  until  the  reign  of  Abijah  (II.  Chron. 
xiv.  4),  at  which  time  it  is  used  to  denote  the  whole  legal  dispensation 
by  Moses.  In  this  w^ay  it  is  used  alK)ut  thirty  times  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  as  often  with  such  epithets  as  show  that  the  whole  law  of 
Moses  is  intended. 

When  the  doctrines  of  the  reign  of  Heaven  began  to  be  preached, 
and  to  be  contrasted  in  the  New  Testament  with  the  Mosaic  economy, 
the  phrase  "the  law"  became  very  common,  and  wheji  used  without 
any  distinguishing  epithet,  or  restrictive  definition,  invariably  denoted 
the  whole  legal  or  Mosaic  dispensation.  In  this  acceptation  it  occurs 
al)out  150  times  in  the  New  Testament.  To  make  myself  more  intelli- 
gible, I  would  observe  that  when  the  terms  "the  laic."  have  such  dis- 
tinguishing properties  or  restrictive  definitions  as  "the  royal  law,"  "the 
law  of  faith,"  "the  law  of  liberty,"  "the  law  of  Christ,"  "the  law  of  the 
spirit  of  life,"  etc.,  it  is  most  obvious  the  whole  Mosaic  law  or  dispen- 
sation is  not  intended.  But  when  we  find  the  phraw  "the  law,"  without 
any  such  limitations  or  epithets  as  "the  law  was  given  by  Moses,"  "the 
law  and  the  prophets  were  until  John."  "if  ye  be  led  by  the  Spirit, 


414  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ye  are  not  under  the  law,"  "ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace," 
etc.,  we  must  perceive  the  whole  law  of  Moses,  or  legal  dispensation, 
is  intended. 

I  say  the  tohole  law,  or  dispensation  by  Moses;  for  in  modem  times 
the  law  of  Moses  is  divided  and  classified  under  three  heads,  denomi- 
nated, the  moral,  ceremonial,  and  judicial  law.  This  division  of  the 
law  being  unknown  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  of  course  never  used  by 
the  Apostles,  can  serve  no  valuable  purpose,  in  obtaining  a  correct 
knowledge  of  the  doctrine  delivered  by  the  Apostles  respecting  the  law. 
You  might  as  well  inquire  of  the  Apostles,  or  consult  their  writings, 
to  know  who  the  Supralapsarians  or  Sublapsarians  are,  as  to  inquire 
of  them,  what  is  the  moral,  ceremonial,  or  judicial  law.  But  like  many 
distinctions,  handed  down  to  us  from  mystical  Babylon,  they  bear  the 
mark  on  their  forehead  that  certifies  to  us,  their  origin  is  not  divine. 
If  this  distinction  were  harmless,  if  it  did  not  perplex,  bias,  and  con- 
found, rather  than  assist  the  judgment,  in  determining  the  sense  of 
the  apostolic  writings,  we  should  let  it  pass  unnoticed;  but  justice  to 
the  truth  requires  us  to  make  a  remark  or  two  on  this  division  of 
the  law. 

The  phrase,  the  moral  law,  includes  that  part  of  the  law  of  Moses, 
"written  and  engraved  on  two  tables  of  stone,"  called  the  ten  com- 
mandments. Now  the  word  moral,  according  to  the  most  approved 
lexicographers,  is  defined  "relating  to  the  practice  of  men  toward  each 
other,  as  it  may  be  virtuous  or  criminal,  good  or  bad."  The  French, 
from  whom  we  have  the  term  moral,  immediately,  and  the  Romans, 
from  whom  we  originally  received  it,  used  it  agreeably  to  the  above 
definition.  Of  course,  then,  a  moral  law,  is  a  law  which  regulates  the 
conduct  of  men  towards  each  other.  But  will  the  ten  commandments 
answer  this  definition?  No.  For  Doctors  in  Divinity  tell  us,  the  first 
table  of  the  Decalogue  respects  our  duty  to  God;  the  second  our  duty 
to  man.  Why  then  call  the  ten  commandments  "the  moral  laiv,"  seeing 
but  six  of  them  are  moral;  that  is,  relating  to  our  conduct  towards 
men?  In  modern  times,  we  sometimes  distinguish  between  religion  and 
morality;  but  while  we  affirm  that  r^igion  is  one  thing,  and  morality 
another;  and  then  affirm  that  the  ten  commandments  are  the  moral  law 
— do  we  not,  in  so  saying,  contradict  ourselves?  Assuredly  the  legs 
of  the  lame  are  not  equal! 

A  second  objection  to  denominating  the  ten  precepts  "the  moral 
law,"  presents  itself  to  the  reflecting  mind,  from  the  consideration  that 
all  morality  is  not  contained  in  them.  When  it  is  said  that  the  ten 
commandments  are  "the  moral  law,"  does  not  this  definite  phrase 
imply  that  all  morality  is  contained  in  them;  or,  what  is  the  same 
in  effect,  that  all  immorality  is  prohibited  in  them?  But,  is  this  the 
fact?    Are  the  immoralities  called  drunkenness,  fornication,  polygamy, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    IIAItBINGEIi    ABRIDGED.  4lC 

divorces  oa  trifling  accounts,  retaliation,  etc.,  prohibited  in  the  ten 
precepts?  This  question  must  be  answered  in  the  negative.  If  it  had 
been  asked,  is  all  immorality  prohibited  in  this  saying,  "Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself"? — we  would  readily  answer,  yes; — but 
it  is  the  so-called  moral  law  we  are  speaking  of.  We  affirm,  then,  that 
the  above  immoralities  are  not  prohibited  in  the  Decalogue,  according 
to  the  most  obvious  construction  of  the  words.  We  are  aware  that 
large  volumes  have  been  written  to  show  how  much  is  comprehended 
in  the  ten  precepts.  But,  methinks,  the  voluminous  works  of  some 
learned  men  on  this  subject,  too  much  resemble  the  writings  of  Peter 
D'Alva,  who  wrote  forty-eight  huge  folio  volumes  to  explain  the  mys- 
teries of  the  conception  of  the  Messiah  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary! 
And  what  shall  we  think  of  the  genius  who  discovered  that  singing 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs  was  prohibited,  and  the  office  of  the  ruling 
elder  pointed  out,  in  the  second  commandment?  that  dancing  and  stage 
plays  were  prohibited  in  the  seventh;  and  supporting  the  clergy 
enjoined  in  the  eighth!  I  According  to  this  latitude  of  interpretation, 
a  genius  may  arise  and  show  us  that  law  and  gospel  are  contained 
in  the  first  commandment,  and  of  course  all  the  others  are  superfluous. 
But  this  way  of  enlarging  on  the  Decalogue  defeats  the  division  of 
the  law  of  Moses,  which  these  Doctors  have  made.  For  instance,  they 
tell  us  that  witchcraft  is  prohibited  in  the  first  commandment — incest 
and  sodomy  in  the  seventh.  Now  they  afterwards  place  these  vices, 
with  the  laws  respecting  them,  in  their  judicial  law;  if  then  their  moral 
law  includes  their  judicial  law,  they  make  a  distinction  without  a 
difference. 

There  remains  another  objection  to  this  division  of  the  law.  It  sets 
itself  in  opposition  to  the  skill  of  an  Apostle,  and  ultimately  deters 
us  from  speaking  of  the  ten  precepts  as  he  did.  Paul,  according  to 
the  wisdom  given  unto  him,  denominated  the  ten  precepts  the  "min- 
istration of  condemnation  and  of  death"  (II.  Cor.  iii.  7,  14).  This  we 
call  the  moral  law.  Whether  he  or  we  are  to  be  esteemed  the  most 
able  ministers  of  Christ,  it  remains  for  you,  my  friends,  to  say.  Paul 
having  called  the  ten  precepts  the  ministration  of  death,  next  affirms 
that  it  was  to  be  done  away — and  that  it  was  done  away.  Now  the 
calling  the  ten  precepts  "the  moral  law,"  is  not  only  a  violation  of| 
the  use  of  words;  is  not  only  inconsistent  in  itself  and  contradictory 
to  truth,  but  greatly  obscures  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  Apostle  in 
II.  Cor.  iii.,  and  in  similar  passages,  so  as  to  render  it  almost,  if  not 
altogether,  unintelligible  to  us.  To  use  the  same  language  of  the 
moral  law  as  he  used  in  respect  to  the  ministration  of  condemnation 
and  death,  is  shocking  to  many  devout  ears.  When  we  say  the  moral 
law  is  done  away,  the  religious  world  is  alarmed;  but  when  we  declare 
the  ministration  of  condemnation  is  done  away,  they  hear  us  patiently, 


416  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

not  knowing  what  we  mean!  To  give  new  names  to  ancient  things, 
and  speak  of  them  according  to  their  ancient  names,  is  perplexing 
indeed.  Suppose,  for  example,  I  would  call  the  English  law  which 
governed  these  states  when  colonies,  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  then  affirm  that  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  is 
done  away,  or  abolished,  who  would  believe  me?  But  if  the  people 
were  informed  that  what  I  called  the  constitution  of  these  states  was 
the  obsolete  British  law,  they  would  assent  to  my  statement.  Who 
would  not  discover  that  the  giving  of  a  wrong  name  was  the  sole  cause 
of  such  a  misunderstanding?  Hence  it  is,  that  modern  teachers,  by 
their  innovations  concerning  law,  have  perplexed  the  student  of  the 
Bible,  and  caused  many  a  fruitless  controversy,  as  unnecessary  as  that 
relating  to  the  mark  set  on  Cain.  It  does  not  militate  with  this  state- 
ment to  grant  that  some  of  the  precepts  of  the  Decalogue  have  been 
re-promulgated  by  Jesus  Christ,  any  more  than  the  re-promulgation 
of  some  of  the  British  laws  does  not  prevent  us  from  affirming  that 
the  laws  under  which  the  colonies  existed  are  done  away  to  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States.     But  of  this,  more  afterwards. 

To  what  has  been  said,  it  may  be  added,  that  the  modern  division 
of  the  law  tends  very  much  to  perplex  any  person  who  wishes  to  under- 
stand the  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Galatians  and  Hebrews;  insomuch, 
that  while  the  hearer  keeps  this  distinction  in  mind,  he  is  continually 
at  a  loss  to  know  whether  the  moral,  ceremonial,  or  judicial  law  is 
intended. 

Before  dismissing  this  part  of  the  subject,  we  would  observe,  that 
there  are  two  principles,  commandments,  or  laws,  that  are  never 
included  in  our  observations  respecting  the  law  of  Moses,  nor  are  they 
ever  in  holy  writ  called  the  law  of  Moses: — These  are,  "Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  soul,  mind,  and  strength; 
and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  These,  our  Great  Prophet  teaches  us, 
are  the  basis  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  of  the  Prophets.  "On  these 
two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Indeed  the 
Sinai  law,  and  all  Jewish  law,  is  but  a  modification  of  them.  These 
are  of  universal  and  immutable  obligation.  Angels  and  men,  good  and 
bad,  are  for  ever  under  them.  God,  as  our  Creator,  can  not  require 
less;  nor  can  we,  as  creatures  and  fellow-creatures,  propose  or  expect 
less,  as  the  standard  of  duty  and  perfection.  These  are  coeval  with 
angels  and  men.  They  are  engraven  with  more  or  less  clearness  on 
every  human  heart.  These  are  the  ground  work  or  basis  of  the  law, 
written  in  the  heart  of  heathens,  which  constitute  their  conscience,  or 
knowledge  of  right  and  wrong.  By  these  their  thoughts  mutually 
accuse  or  else  excuse  one  another.  By  these  they  shall  be  judged,  or 
at  least  all  who  have  never  seen  or  heard  a  written  law,  or  revelation. 
But  for  these  principles  there  had  never  been  either  law  or  gospel. 


TJII-J    MILLESMAL    HARlilSGEJi    ABRIDCF.D.  417 

Let  it  then  be  remembered,  that  iu  the  Scriptures,  these  precepts  are 
considered  the  basis  of  all  law  and  prophecy;  consequently  when  we 
speak  of  the  law  of  Moses,  we  uo  not  include  these  commandments, 
but  that  whole  modification  of  them  sometimes  called  the  legal  dis 
pensation.  It  must  also  be  observed,  that  the  Apostles  sometimes  speak 
of  the  law,  when  it  is  obvious  that  a  certain  part  only  is  intended. 
But  this,  so  far  from  clashing  with  the  preceding  observations,  fully 
corroborates  them.  For  if  the  Apostle  refers  to  any  particular  part 
of  the  law,  under  the  general  terms,  the  law,  and  speaks  of  the  whole 
dispensation  in  the  same  terms,  without  any  additional  definition; 
then,  doubtless,  the  phrase,  the  law,  denotes  the  whole  legal  dispensa- 
tion; and  not  any  particular  law,  or  new  distinction,  to  which  we  may 
affix  the  words,  the  law. 

2d.  We  shall  now  attempt  to  point  out  those  things  which  the  law 
could  not  accomplish. 

In  the  first  place,  it  could  not  give  righteousness  and  life.  Right- 
eousness and  eternal  life  are  inseparably  connected.  Where  the  former 
is  not,  the  latter  can  not  be  enjoyed.  Whatever  means  put  us  in  the 
possession  of  the  one,  puts  us  in  the  possession  of  the  other.  But 
this  the  law  could  not  do.  "For  if  there  had  been  a  law  given,  which 
could  have  given  life,  verily,  righteousness  should  have  been  by 
the  law"  (Gal.  iii.  21).  "If  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  then 
Christ  is  dead  in  vain.  These  testimonies  of  the  Apostle,  with  the 
whole  scope  of  divine  truth,  teach  us  that  no  man  is  justified  by 
the  law,  that  righteousness  and  eternal  life  can  not  be  received 
through  it. 

Here  we  must  regret  that  our  translators,  by  an  injudicious  supple- 
ment, should  have  made  the  Apostle  apparently  contradict  himself.  I 
allude  to  the  supplement  in  the  10th  verse  of  Romans  vii.  From  the 
seventh  verse  of  this  chapter,  the  Apostle  narrates  his  experience  as 
a  Jew,  under  the  law,  and  then  his  experience  as  a  Christian,  under 
the  gospel,  freed  from  the  law.  The  scope  of  the  10th  verse,  and  its 
context,  is  to  show  what  the  Apostle  once  thought  of  the  law,  and 
how  his  mistakes  were  corrected.  If  any  supplement  be  necessary  in 
this  verse,  we  apprehend  it  should  be  similar  to  what  follows: — "And 
the  commandment  [which  I  thought  would  give  me]  life,  I  found  [to 
lead]  to  death."  This  doubtless  corresponds  with  the  scope  of  the  con- 
text, and  does  not,  like  the  present  supplement,  clash  with  Gal.  iii.  21. 
Indeed  the  law,  so  far  from  being  "ordained  to  give  life,"  was  merely 
"added  to  the  promise  of  life,  till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  th«» 
promise  was  made" — "Moreover  the  law  entered  that  the  offense  might 
abound" — "For  by  the  law  was  the  knowledge  of  sin."  For  these 
reasons  we  conclude  that  justification,  righteousness  and  eternal  life, 
can  not  by  any  means  be  obtained  by  tlie  law. 


418  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  the  law  could  not  exhibit  the  malignity  or 
demerit  of  sin.  It  taught  those  that  were  under  it,  that  certain  actions 
were  sinful — to  these  sinful  actions  it  gave  descriptive  names — one  is 
called  theft,  a  second  murder,  a  third  adultery.  It  showed  that  these 
actions  were  offensive  to  God,  hurtful  to  men,  and  deserved  death. 
But  how  extensive  their  malignity,  and  vast  their  demerit,  the  law  could 
not  exhibit.    This  remained  for  later  times  and  other  means  to  develop. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  the  law  could  not  be  a  suitable  rule  of  life 
to  mankind  in  this  imperfect  state.  It  could  not  to  all  mankind,  as 
it  was  given  to,  and  designed  only  for  a  part.  It  was  given  to  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  to  none  else.  As  the  inscription  on  a  letter  identifies 
to  whom  it  belongs;  as  the  preamble  to  a  proclamation  distinguishes 
who  is  addressed,  so  the  preface  to  the  law  points  out  and  determines 
to  whom  it  was  given.  It  points  out  a  people  brought  from  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  released  from  the  house  of  bondage,  as  the  subjects  of  it. 
To  extend  it  farther  than  its  own  preface,  is  to  violate  the  rules  of 
criticism  and  propriety.  How  unjust  and  improper  would  it  be  to 
convey  the  contents  of  a  letter  to  a  person  to  whom  it  was  not  directed 
—how  inconsistent  to  enjoin  the  items  of  a  proclamation  made  by  the 
President  of  these  United  States,  on  the  subjects  of  the  French  govern- 
ment. As  inconsistent  would  it  be  to  extend  the  law  of  Moses  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  Jewish  nation.  Do  we  not  know  with  Paul,  that 
what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to  them  that  are  under  the 
law?  But  even  to  the  Jews  it  was  not  the  most  suitable  rule  of  life. 
'Tis  universally  agreed  that  example,  as  a  rule  of  life,  is  more  influ- 
ential than  precept.  Now  the  whole  Mosaic  law  wanted  a  model  or 
example  of  living  perfection.  The  most  exemplary  characters  under 
the  law  had  their  notable  imperfections.  And  as  long  as  polygamy 
divorces,  slavery,  revenge,  etc.,  were  winked  at  under  that  law,  so  long 
must  the  lives  of  its  best  subjects  be  stained  with  glaring  imperfec- 
tions. But  when  we  illustrate  how  God  has  remedied  the  defects  oC 
the  law,  the  ideas  presented  in  this  particular  shall  be  more  fully 
confirmed. 

But  we  hasten  to  the  third  thing  proposed  in  our  method,  which 
is  to  demonstrate  the  reason  why  the  law  could  not  "accomplish  these 
objects. 

The  Apostle  in  our  text  briefly  informs  us  that  it  was  owing  to 
human  weakness  that  the  law  failed  to  accomplish  these  things — "In 
that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh."  The  defects  of  the  law  are  of 
a  relative  kind.  It  is  not  in  itself  weak  or  sinful — some  part  of  it 
was  holy,  just  and  good — other  parts  of  it  were  elementary,  shadowy, 
representations  of  good  things  to  come.  But  that  part  of  it  written 
and  engraven  on  tables  of  stone,  which  was  holy,  just  and  good,  failed 
in  that  it  was  too  high,  sublime,  and  spiritual,  to  regulate  so  weak  a 


THK    MILLESMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4iy 

mortal  as  fallen  man.  And  even  when  its  oblations  and  sacrifices  were 
presented,  there  was  something  too  vast  and  sublime,  for  such  weak 
means,  such  carnal  commandments— such  beggarly  elements— such  per- 
ishable and  insignificant  blood,  to  effect.  So  that  the  Apostle  saith. 
the  law  made  nothing  perfect,  it  merely  introduced  a  bettor  hope.  If 
the  law  had  been  faultless,  no  place  should  have  been  found  for  the 
gospel.  We  may  then  fairly  conclude  that  the  spirituality,  holiness, 
justice  and  goodness  of  one  part  of  the  law,  rendered  it  too  high;  and 
the  carnal,  weak  and  beggarly  elements  of  another  part,  rendered  it 
too  low;  and  both  together  became  weak  through  the  flesh.  Viewing 
the  law  in  this  light,  we  can  suitably  apply  the  words  of  the  Spirit 
uttered  by  Ezek.  xx.  25,  in  relation  to  its  incompetence— "I  gave  them," 
says  he,  "statutes  which  were  not  good,  and  judgments  whereby  they 
should  not  live." 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  fourth  head  of  our  discourse,  in  which 
we  proposed  to  illustrate  the  means  by  which  God  has  remedied  the 
relative  defects  of  the  law. 

All  those  defects  the  Eternal  Father  remedies,  by  sending  his  own 
Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemns  .sin  in  the 
flesh.  "That  the  whole  righteousness  which  the  law  required,  might 
be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  shall  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the 
Spirit.". 

The  primary  deficiency  of  the  law  which  we  noticed  was,  that  it 
could  not  give  righteousness  and  eternal  life.  Now,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Only  Begotten  of  the  Father,  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  makes 
an  end  of  sin.  makes  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  finishes  transgression, 
brings  in  an  everlasting  righteousness,  and  completes  eternal  redemp- 
tion for  sinners.  He  magnifies  the  law.  and  makes  it  honorable.  All 
this  he  achieves  by  his  obedience  unto  death.  He  finished  the  work 
which  the  Father  gave  him  to  do;  so  that  in  him  all  believers,  all  the 
spiritual  seed  of  Abraham,  find  righteousness  and  eternal  life;  not  by 
legal  works  or  observances,  in  whole  or  in  part,  but  through  the  abun- 
dance of  grace,  and  the  gift  of  righteousness,  which  is  by  him;— "For 
the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  This 
righteousness,  and  its  concomitant,  eternal  life,  are  revealed  from  faith 
to  faith— the  information  or  report  of  it  comes  in  the  divine  word  to 
our  ears,  and  receiving  the  report  of  it,  or  believing  the  divine  testi- 
mony concerning  it.  brings  us  into  the  enfoyment  of  its  blessings. 
Hence  it  is  that  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth.  Nor  is  he  on  this  account  the  minister  of 
sin— for  thus  the  righteousness,  the  perfect  righteousness  of  the  law. 
is  fulfilled  in  us  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit 
Do  we  then  make  void  the  law  or  destroy  the  righteousness  of  it  by 
faith?     God  forbid:   we  establish  the  law. 


420  THE    MILLElslsIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

A  second  thing  which  we  observed  the  law  could  not  do,  was  to  give 
a  full  exhibition  of  the  demerit  of  sin.  It  is  acknowledged  that  the 
demerit  of  sin  was  partially  developed  in  the  law,  and  before  the  law. 
Sin  was  condemned  in  the  deluge,  in  the  confusion  of  human  speech, 
in  turning  to  ashes  the  cities  of  the  plain,  in  the  thousands  that  fell 
in  the  wilderness.  But  these,  and  a  thousand  similar  monuments 
beside,  fall  vastly  short  of  giving  a  full  exhibition  of  sin  in  its  malig- 
nant nature  and  destructive  consequences.  But  a  full  discovery  of  its 
nature  and  demerits  is  given  us  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  God 
condemned  sin  in  him — God  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered 
him  up — It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  to  pour  out  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin.  When  we  view  the  Son  of  the  Eternal  suspended  on 
the  cursed  tree — when  we  see  him  in  the'  garden,  and  hear  his  petitions 
— when  we  hear  him  exclaim,  "My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me!"  in  a  word,  when  we  see  him  expiring  in  blood,  and  laid 
in  the  tomb,  we  have  a  monument  of  the  demerit  of  sin,  which  no  law 
could  give,  which  no  temporal  calamity  could  exhibit. 

We  sometimes  in  the  vanity  of  our  minds  talk  lightly  of  the  demerit 
of  sin,  and  irreverently  of  the  atonement.  In  this  age  of  novelty,  it 
is  said,  "that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  so  great  as  to  atone  for 
the  sins  of  worlds  on  worlds,"  or  at  least  for  the  sins  of  the  damned 
as  well  as  the  saved — that  "one  drop  of  his  blood  is  sufficient  to  atone 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  That  is,  in  other  words,  the  sufferings 
of  Christ  so  transcended  the  demerit  of  the  sins  of  his  people,  as  to 
be  sufficient  to  save  all  that  shall  eternally  perish.  These  assertions 
are  as  unreasonable  as  unscriptural.  In  our  zeal  to  exalt  the  merits 
of  the  atonement — I  say,  in  the  warmth  of  our  passions,  and  in  the 
fullness  of  our  hearts,  let  us  be  cautious  lest  we  impeach  the  Divine 
wisdom  and  prudence.  Doubtless,  if  the  merits  of  his  sufferings  tran- 
scend the  demerit  of  his  people's  sins,  then  some  of  his  sufferings  were 
in  vain,  and  some  of  his  merit  unrewarded.  To  avoid  this  conclusion, 
some  have  affirmed  that  all  shall  be  saved,  and  none  perish,  contrary 
to  the  express  word  of  God.  Indeed,  the  transition  from  these  incon- 
sistent views  of  the  atonement,  to  what  is  called  Universalism,  is  short 
and  easy.  But  I  would  humbly  propose  a  few  inquiries  on  this  subject. 
Why  do  the  Evangelists  inform  us  that  Christ  died  so  soon  after  his 
suspension  on  the  cross?  Why  so  much  marvel  expressed  that  he  was 
so  soon  dead? — so  much  sooner  than  the  malefactors  that  were  cruci- 
fied with  him?  It  might  be  presumed  Tiis  last  words  solve  these  dif- 
ficulties— "It  is  finished,  and  he  gave  up  the  ghost."  From  these  and 
similar  premises,  it  would  seem  that  his  life  and  sufferings  were  pro- 
longed just  so  long  as  was  necessary  to  complete  the  redemption  of 
his  people.  We  are  accustomed,  on  all  subjects  that  admit  of  it,  to 
distinguish  between  quantity  and  quality.     In  the  common  concerns  of 


THE    illLLEXMAL    IJARBINOER    ABltlDOED.  421 

human  intoiTOurse,  sometimes  the  quality  of  a  thing  is  acceptable  when 
the  quantity  is  not;  at  other  times  the  quantity  is  acceptable  when  the 
quality  is  not.  If  a  thousand  slaves  were  to  be  redeemed  and  emanci- 
pated by  means  of  gold,  the  person  in  whose  custody  they  were  could 
not  demand  any  more  precious  metal  than  gold — when  one  piece  of 
gold  was  presented  to  him,  he  might  object  to  the  quantity  as  deficient, 
though  the  quality  is  unobjectionable.  In  respect  of  the  means  of  our 
redemption,  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  they. 
These  sufferings,  then,  were  the  sufferings  of  a  divine  person — such 
doubtless  was  their  quality.  And  a  life  and  sufferings  of  any  other 
quality  could  avail  nothing  in  effecting  redemption  for  transgressors. 
It  but  one  of  Adam's  race  should  be  saved,  a  life  and  sufferings  of  such 
a  quality  would  have  been  indispensably  requisite  to  accomplish  such 
a  deliverance.  Again,  if  more  were  to  have  been  saved  than  what 
will  eventually  be  saved,  the  quantity  and  not  the  quality  of  his  suffer- 
ings would  have  been  augmented.  The  only  sentiment  respecting  the 
atonement  that  will  bear  the  test  of  Scripture,  truth,  or  sober  reason, 
is,  that  the  life  and  sufferings  of  Christ  in  quality,  and  in  length  of 
quantity,  were  such  as  sufficed  to  make  reconciliation  for  all  the  sin3 
of  his  chosen  race;  or  for  all  them  in  every  age  or  nation  that  shall 
believe  in  him.  There  was  nothing  deficient,  nothing  superfluous;  else 
he  shall  never  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied;  which 
would  be  the  reverse  of  his  Father's  promise,  and  his  own  expectation. 
When  the  life  and  sufferings  of  Christ  are  viewed  in  this  light,  the 
demerit  of  sin  appears  in  its  true  colors — all  inconsistencies  vanish, 
and  all  the  testimonies  of  sacred  truth,  of  patriarchs,  prophets,  and 
apostles,  harmoniously  correspond.  But  if  we  suppose  that  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  transcended  the  demerit  of  the  sins  of  "his  people,"  then 
we  shall  have  no  full  exhibition  of  the  demerit  of  sin.  Nor  are  "his 
people"  under  any  more  obligation  of  love  or  gratitude  to  him  than 
they  who  eternally  perish. 

That  which  remains  on  this  head  is  to  show  how  the  failure  of  the 
law  in  not  being  a  suitable  rule  of  life,  has  been  remedied. 

We  noticed  that  example  is  a  more  powerful  teacher  than  precept. 
Now  Jesus  Christ  has  afforded  us  an  example  of  human  perfection  never 
witnessed  before.  He  gave  a  living  form  to  every  moral  and  religious 
precept  which  they  had  never  before  possessed.  In  this  respect  he  was 
the  distinguished  Prophet  to  whom  Moses  and  all  the  inferior  propheta 
referred.  In  entering  on  this  prophetic  oflice,  he  taught  with  a  peculi- 
arity unexampled  by  all  his  predecessors — "He  spake  as  never  man 
spake."  The  highest  commendation  he  gave  of  Moses  was  that  he  wroto 
of  him,  and  that  he  was  a  faithful  servant  In  Christ's  house.  From 
the  beginning  of  his  ministry  to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  claimed  the 
honor  of  being  the  only  person  that  could  instruct  men  in  the  knowl- 


422  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

edge  of  God  or  of  his  will.  He  claimed  tlie  honor  of  being  the  author 
and  finisher  of  the  only  perfect  form  of  religion;  the  Eternal  Father 
attested  all  his  claims  and  honored  all  his  pretensions.  Respecting  the 
ancient  rules  of  life,  the  law  and  the  prophets,  he  taught  his  disciples 
they  had  lived  their  day — he  taught  them  they  were  given  only  for  a 
limited  time.  "The  law  and  the  prophets  prophesied  until  John" — 
then  they  gave  place  to  a  greater  Prophet,  and  a  more  glorious  law. 
Malachi,  the  last  of  the  ancient  prophets,  informed  Israel  that  they 
should  strictly  observe  Moses'  law,  until  a  person  should  come  in  the 
spirit  and  power  of  Blias.  Jesus  taught  us  that  John  the  Baptist  was 
he,  and  that  the  law  and  prophets  terminated  at  his  entrance  upon  his 
ministry;  for  since  that  time  the  kingdom  of  God  is  preached  and  all 
men  press  into  it.  To  attest  his  character,  and  to  convince  the  church 
of  his  being  the  great  Prophet,  to  whom  all  Christians  should  exclu- 
sively hearken  as  their  teacher;  to  weaken  the  attachments  of  his  dis- 
ciples to  Moses  and  the  prophets,  it  pleased  God  to  send  down  Moses 
and  Elias  from  heaven;  the  one  the  lawgiver,  and  the  other  the  law- 
restorer,  to  resign  their  prophetic  honors  at  the  feet  of  the  Messiah, 
in  presence  of  select  witnesses.  "Jesus  took  with  him  Peter,  James, 
and  John  into  a  high  mountain,  and  was  transfigured  before  them,  and 
his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
behold  there  appeared  Moses  and  Elias  talking  with  him."  Peter, 
enraptured  with  these  heavenly  visitants,  proposes  erecting  three  taber- 
nacles— one  for  Christ,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elias.  But  while 
he  was  thus  proposing  to  associate  Christ,  the  Prophet,  with  Moses  and 
Elias,  inferior  prophets,  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them,  and  a  voice 
out  of  the  cloud,  an  indirect  reply  to  Peter's  motion — "This  is  my 
beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  hear  ye  him.''  Thus  when 
these  ancient  and  venerable  prophets  were  recalled  to  heaven,  Christ 
alone  is  left  as  the  great  teacher,  to  whom,  by  a  commandment  from 
the  excellent  glory,  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  we  are  obliged  to  hearken. 
That  this  transaction  was  significant  of  the  doctrine  above  stated,  must 
be  manifest,  when  we  take  into  view  all  circumstances.  Might  it  not 
be  asked,  "Why  did  not  Abel,  Abraham,  or  Enoch  appear  on  this  occa- 
sion?" The  reason  is  plain — the  disciples  of  Christ  had  no  hurtful 
respect  for  them.  Moses  and  Elias,  the  reputed  oracles  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  were  the  two,  and  the  only  two,  in  respect  of  whom  this  solemn 
and  significant  revocation  was  needful.  The  plain  language  of  the 
whole  occurrence  was  this — Moses  and  Elias  were  excellent  men — they 
were  now  glorified  in  heaven — they  had  lived  their  day — the  limited 
time  they  were  to  flourish  as  teachers  of  the  will  of  Heaven  was  now 
come  to  an  end.  The  morning  star  had  arisen — nay,  was  almost  set, 
and  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  was  arising  with  salutiferous  rays.  Let 
us,  then,  walk  in  the  noon-day  light — let  us  hearken  to  Jesus  as  tho 


THE    MILLESMAL    HARBjyOER    ABRIDGED.  423 

Prophet  aud  Legislator,  Priest  and  King.  He  shall  reign  over  all  the 
ransomed  race.  We  find  all  things  whatsoever  the  law  could  not  do 
are  accomplished  in  him,  and  by  him — that  in  him  all  Christians  might 
be  perfect  and  complete — "for  the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grate 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ." 

It  now  remains,  in  the  last  place,  to  deduce  such  conclusions  from 
the  above  premises,  as  must  obviously  and  necessarily  present  them- 
selves to  every  candid  and  reflecting  mind. 

1st.  From  what  has  been  said,  it  follows  that  there  is  an  essential 
difference  between  law  and  gospel — the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.* 
No  two  words  are  more  distinct  in  their  signification  than  law  and 
gospel.  They  are  contradistinguished  under  various  names  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  law  is  denominated  "the  letter;"  "the  ministration  of 
condemnation;"  "the  ministration  of  death;"  "the  Old  Testament  or 
Covenant,  and  Moses."     The  gospel  is  denominated  "the  Spirit,"  "the 


•There  arc  not  a  few  professors  of  Christianity  who  suppo.se  themselves  under 
equal  obligations  to  obey  Mo.<cs  or  any  other  Prophet,  as  Christ  and  his  Apostles.  Tlu-y 
can  not  uiulerstand  why  any  part  of  divine  revelation  should  not  be  obligatory  on  a 
Christian  to  observe;  nor  can  they  see  any  reason  wliy  the  New  Testament  shoulil  bo 
preferred  to  the  Old;  or  wliy  they  should  not  be  regulated  equally  by  each.  They  say, 
"  Is  it  not  all  the  word  of  God.  and  are  not  all  mankind  addressed  in  it!  "  True,  all  the 
h(p|y  Prophets  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  men  were  the  objects 
<if  their  address.  It  is,  however,  equally  evident  that  God  at  sundry  times  and  in 
ilivers  manners  spake  to  men,  according  to  a  variety  of  circumstances,  which  diversi- 
lled  their  condition,  capacity,  and  opportunities.  Thus  he  a(ldi'ess<'d  individuals,  and 
classes  of  individiuils,  in  a  way  peculiar  to  themselves.  Witness  liis  addi-css  to  Noah, 
Abraham,  Daniel,  Jonah,  Paul,  and  Peter.  Witness  his  addresses  to  the  Patriarchs,  the 
Jews,  and  the  Christians.  Again,  men  are  addressed  as  magistrates,  fathers,  masters, 
husbands,  teachers,  with  their  correlates.  Now  to  apply  to  one  individual  what  is  said 
to  all  individuals  and  classes  of  individuals,  would,  methinks,  appear  egregious  folly. 
And  Would  it  not  be  as  absurd  to  say,  that  every  man  is  obliged  to  practice  every  diUy 
and  religious  precept  enjoined  in  the  Bible.  Might  we  not  as  reasonably  say,  that  every 
man  must  be  at  once  a  Patriarcli,  a  Jew,  and  a  Christian;  a  nuigistrate,  a  subject,  a 
father,  a  child,  a  nuister,  a  servant,  etc.,  etc.  And,  certainly,  it  is  as  inconsistent  to  say, 
that  Christians  should  equally  regard  and  obey  the  Old  and  New  Testanu'iit.  All 
Scripture  given  by  divine  inspiration,  is  prolltable  for  various  purposes  in  the  perfection 
of  saints,  when  rightly  divided,  and  not  handled  deceitfully.  But  when  the  above  con- 
siderations are  disregarded,  the  word  of  God  must  inevitably  be  perverted.  Hence  it  is 
that  many  preachers  deceive  themselves  and  their  hearers  by  selecting  an<l  api)lying  to 
themselves  and  their  hearers  such  portions  of  sacred  truth  as  belong  not  to  tliem  nor 
their  hearers.  Even  the  .\i)ostles  could  not  apply  the  words  of  Christ  to  themselves  or 
their  hearers  until  they  were  able  to  answer  a  pri'vious  ((uestion— "  Lord,  sayest  thou 
this  unto  t(«  or  unto  ullf"  Nor  could  the  Kiinuch  understand  tlie  Prophet  until  he  knew 
whether  he  spoke  of  himself  or  some  otlier  num.  Yet  many  preachers  and  hearers 
trouble  not  theniselv<'s  about  such  inciniries.  If  their  text  is  in  the  Bible,  it  is  no  matter 
where;  and  if  their  hearers  be  men  and  women,  it  is  no  matter  whether  Jews  or  chris- 
tians, believers  or  unbelievers.  Often  have  I  seen  a  preacher  and  his  hearers  undergo 
three  or  four  nietamorphoses  in  an  hour.  First,  he  is  a  moral  philosopher,  inculcating 
heathen  morality;  next  a  Jewish  Rabbi,  expounding  the  law;  then,  a  teacher  of  sonic 
Christian  i)recept;  and  lastly,  an  ambassador  of  Christ,  negotiating  between  God  and 
man.  Tlu'  congregation  undergo  the  correlate  revolutions;  flr.-t.  they  are  heathens; 
next.  Jews;  next.  (  lirislians;  and  lastly,  treating  with  the  anlba^-adors  for  salvation,  on 
what  is  called  the  terms  of  the  gospel.  Thus,  Proteu-i-Iike.  they  are  all  things  in  an 
hour. 


424  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ministration  of  the  Spirit,"  "the  ministration  of  righteousness,"  "the 
New  Testament,  or  Covenant,"  "the  law  of  liberty  and  Christ."  In 
respect  of  existence  or  duration,  the  former  is  denominated  "that  which 
is  done  away" — the  latter,  "that  which  remaineth" — the  former  was 
faulty,  the  latter  faultless — the  former  demanded,  this  bestows  right- 
eousness— that  gendered  bondage,  this  liberty — that  begat  bond-slaves, 
this  freemen — the  former  spake  on  this  wise,  "This  do  and  thou  shalt 
live" — this  says,  "Say  not  what  ye  shall  do;  the  word  is  nigh  thee, 
[that  gives  life,]  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach:  if  thou  believe  in 
thine  heart  the  gospel,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  The  former  waxed  old, 
is  abolished,  and  vanished  away — the  latter  remains,  lives  and  is  ever- 
lasting. 

2d.  In  the  second  place,  we  learn  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
"there  is  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  The 
premises  from  which  the  Apostle  drew  this  conclusion  are  the  same 
with  those  stated  to  you  in  the  discourse.  "Sin,"  says  the  Apostle, 
"shall  not  have  dominion  over  you;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but 
under  grace."  In  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  to  the  Romans,  the 
Apostle  taught  them  that  "they  were  not  under  the  law"— that  "they 
were  freed  from  it" — "dead  to  it" — "delivered  from  it."  In  the  eighth 
chapter,  first  verse,  he  draws  the  above  conclusion.  What  a  pity  that 
modern  teachers  should  have  added  to  and  clogged  the  words  of  inspi- 
ration by  such  unauthorized  sentences  as  the  following:  "Ye  are  not 
under  the  law"  as  a  covenant  of  works,  but  as  a  rule  of  life.  Who 
ever  read  one  word  of  the  "covenant  of  works"  in  the  Bible,  or  of  the 
Jewish  law  being  a  rule  of  life  to  the  disciples  of  Christ?  Of  these 
you  hear  no  more  from  the  Bible  than  of  the  "Solemn  League"  or 
"St.  Giles'  Day."  Yet  how  conspicuous  are  these  and  kindred  phrases 
in  the  theological  discussions  of  these  last  three  hundred  years!  But 
leaving  such  phrases  to  those  who  are  better  skilled  in  the  use  of 
them,  and  have  more  leisure  to  expound  them,  we  shall  briefly  notice 
the  reason  commonly  assigned  for  proposing  the  law  as  a  rule  of  life 
to  Christians.  "If  Christians  are  taught,"  say  they,  "that  they  are 
delivered  from  the  law,  under  it  in  no  sense;  that  they  are  dead  to  it, 
will  they  not  be  led  to  live  rather  a  licentious  life,  live  as  they  list; 
and  will  not  the  non-professing  world,  hearing  that  they  are  not  under 
the  law  of  Moses,  become  more  wicked,  more  immoral  and  profane!" 
Such  is  the  chief  of  all  the  objections  made  against  the  doctrine  incul- 
cated respecting  the  abolition  of  the  Jewish  law,  in  respect  of  Chris- 
tians, and  also  as  this  doctrine  respects  the  Gentile  or  Heathen  world. 
We  shrink  not  from  a  fair  and  full  investigation  of  this  subject.  Truth 
being  the  object  of  all  our  inquiries,  we  should  patiently  hear  all 
objections — coolly  and  dispassionately  hear,  examine,  and  weigh  all 
arguments  pro  and  con. 


THE    MILLENMAL    HARBINQER    ABRIDQED.  4iJ.i 

That  the  first  part  of  this  objection  is  very  natural,  has  been  very 
often  made,  and  strongly  urged  against  the  doctrine  we  advocate,  we 
cheerfully  acknowledge.  As  this  objection  was  made  against  the 
Apostle's  doctrine  concerning  the  law,  it  affords  a  strong  probability 
at  least,  that  our  views  on  this  subject  correspond  with  his.  We  shall 
then  hear  how  he  stated  and  refuted  it.  Rom.  vi.  15,  "What  then? 
Shall  we  sin  because  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace!" 
Here  he  admits  the  objection,  and  in  his  answer  incontestibly  shows 
that  Christians  are  not  under  the  law  in  any  sense.  If  they  were  In 
any  sense,  now  was  the  time  to  say,  "We  are  not  under  the  law  in 
some  sense,  or  under  a  certain  part  of  it;  but  in  one  sense  we  are 
under  it,  as  a  rule  of  life."  We  say  the  Apostle  was  here  called  upon, 
and  in  a  certain  sense  bound,  to  say  something  like  what  our  modern 
teachers  say,  if  it  had  been  warrantable.  But  he  admits  the  doctrine 
and  states  the  objection,  leaving  the  doctrine  unequivocally  established. 
He  guards  the  doctrine  against  a  licentious  tendency  thus — "God 
forbid!"  "How  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein? ' 
and  in  the  subsequent  verses'  shows  the  utter  impossibility  of  any 
servant  of  God,  or  true  Christian,  so  abusing  the  doctrine  we  hSLV?. 
stated.  Now  whether  the  ancient  way  of  guarding  the  New  Testament, 
or  Gospel,  against  the  charges  of  Antinomianism  or  a  licentious  ten- 
dency, or  the  modern  way  is  best,  methinks  is  easily  decided  amongst 
true  disciples.  Not  so  easy,  however,  amongst  learned  Rabbis  and 
Doctors  of  the  Law. 

But,  query. — "Is  the  law  of  Moses  a  rule  of  life  to  Christians?"  An 
advocate  of  the  popular  doctrine  replies.  "Not  all  of  it."  Query  again — 
What  part  of  it?  "The  ten  commandments."  Are  these  a  rule  of  life 
to  Christians?  "Yes."  Should  not,  then.  Christians  sanctify  the  sev 
enth  day?  "No."  Why  so?  "Because  Christ  has  not  enjoined  it." 
Oh!  then,  the  law  or  ten  commandments  is  not  a  rule  of  life  to  Chris- 
tians any  further  than  it  is  enjoined  by  Christ;  so  that  reading  the 
precepts  in  Moses'  words,  or  hearing  him  utter  them,  does  not  oblige 
us  to  observe  them:  it  is  only  what  Christ  says  we  must  observe.  So 
that  an  advocate  for  the  popular  doctrine,  when  closely  pressed,  can 
not  maintain  his  ground.  Let  no  man  say  we  have  proposed  and 
answered  the  above  queries  as  we  pleased.  If  any  other  answers  can 
be  given  by  the  advocates  themselves  than  we  have  given,  let  them 
do  it.  But  it  is  highly  problematical  whether  telling  Christians  that 
they  are  under  the  law  will  repress  a  licentious  spirit.  True  Christians 
do  not  need  it.  as  we  have  seen:  "How  shall  they  that  are  dead  to  sin. 
live  any  longer  therein?"  And  dare  we  tell  professing  Christians,  as 
such,  that  the  law,  as  a  rule  of  life,  is  a  condemning  law?  If  not.  then 
what  tendency  will  the  mere  affirmation  that  they  are  under  a  law  as 
a  rule  of  life  which  can  not  condemn  them,  have  to  deter  them  from 


426  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

living  as  they  list?  Upon  the  whole,  the  old  way  of  guarding  against 
immorality  and  licentiousness  amongst  Christians  will,  we  apprehend, 
be  found  the  most  consistent  and  etficacious.  And  he  that  has  tried 
the  old  way  and  the  new,  will  doubtless  say,  as  was  said  of  old,  "No 
man  also  having  drunk  old  wine,  straightway  desireth  new;  for  ho 
saith  the  old  is  better."  And,  indeed,  every  attempt  to  guard  the  New 
Testament,  or  the  Gospel,  by  extrinsic  means,  against  an  immoral  or 
licentious  tendency,  bears  too  strong  a  resemblance  to  the  policy  of  a 
certain  preacher  in  Norway  or  Lapland,  who  told  his  hearers  that  "hell 
was  a  place  of  infinite  and  incessant  cold."  "When  asked  by  an  acquaint- 
ance from  the  south  of  Europe  why  he  perverted  the  Scriptures,  he 
replied,  "if  he  told  his  hearers  in  that  cold  climate  that  hell  was  a 
place  of  excessive  heat,  he  verily  thought  they  would  take  no  pains 
to  avoid  going  there." 

But  as  to  the  licentious  tendency  this  doctrine  we  inculcate  is  sup- 
posed to  have  upon  the  non-professing  or  unbelieving  world,  it  appears 
rather  imaginary  than  real.  It  must,  however,  in  the  first  instance, 
be  ascertained  whether  the  Gentiles,  not  professing  Christianity,  were 
ever  supposed  or  addressed  by  the  Apostle  sent  to  the  Gentiles,  as 
being  under  the  law  of  Moses.  We  have  under  the  second  head  of  our 
discourse  particularly  demonstrated  that  the  Gentiles  were  never  under 
the  law,  either  before  or  after  their  conversion.  To  what  has  been  said 
on  this  subject  we  would  add  a  sentence  or  two.  It  was  prophesied  of 
the  Gentiles  that  they  should  be  without  law  till  Christ  came.  Isa.  xlii. 
4,  "And  the  isles  shall  tvait  for  his  law."  The  chief  glory  which 
exalted  the  Jews  above  the  Gentiles,  which  the  Jews  boasted  of  to  the 
Gentiles,  was,  that  to  them  "pertained  the  adoption,  the  covenants, 
and  the  giving  of  the  laio."'  They  exclusively  claimed  the  law  as  their 
own.  And  why  will  not  we  let  them  have'  it,  seeing  him  whose  law  the 
Gentiles  waited  for,  is  come,  and  has  given  us  a  more  glorious  law. 
Whatever  was  excellent  in  their  law  our  Legislator  has  re-promulgated. 
But  shall  we  say  that  we  are  under  the  law  as  a  rule  of  our  Christian 
life,  because  some  of  its  sublimest  moral  and  religious  precepts  havo 
been  re-promulgated  by  him,  who  would  not  suffer  one  tittle  of  it  to 
pass  till  he  fulfilled  it?  As  well  might  we  affirm  that  the  British  law 
which  governed  these  states  when  colonies,  is  the  rule  of  our  political 
life;  because  some  of  the  most  excellent  laws  of  that  code  have  been 
re-enacted  by  our  legislators.  Paul,  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  plainly 
acknowledged  in  his  addresses  to  them,  that  they  were  without  law, 
aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  having  no  hope,  etc.  And  of 
them  he  said  that  "when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by 
nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these  having  not  the  law,  are 
a  law  unto  themselves."  But,  in  so  saying,  does  he  or  do  we  excuse 
their  sins  or  lead  them  to  suppose  that  they  are  thereby  less  obnoxious 


THE    MlLLtl^^MAL    HAliBJXGJJJi    ABRIDGED.  42 T 

to  the  wrath  to  come?    By  no  means.    For  we  testify  that  even  natural 
conscience  accuses  them  of  sin  or  wrong  in  their  thoughts,  words,  and 
actions,  according  to  its  knowledge.     And  consequently   "as  many  as 
have  sinned  without  law,  shall  also  perish  without  law."     In  so  testi- 
fying, do  we  cherish  a  licentious  spirit?     By  no  means.     For  there 
stand  a  thousand   monuments  in  this  present  world,   independent  of 
Jewish  law,  on  whiih  is  inscril>ed  these  words,  "For  the  wrath  of  God 
is  revealed  from  heaven  agaiu&t  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness 
of  men."     But  one  thing  demands  our  observation,  that  the  Apostle 
sent  by  Heaven  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles,  in  accusing  them  of  sins  of 
the  deepest  dye,  and  of  the  most  malignant  nature,  dishonorable  to 
God   and   destructive  to   themselves;    never  accuses  them   of  any  sia 
which  the  light  of  nature  itself  would  not  point  out,  or  natural  con- 
science testify  to  be  wrong.    Hence  it  is  that  in  the  long,  black  catalogue 
of  sins  preferred  against  the  Gentiles,  is  never  to  be  found  the  crime 
of  Sabbath-breaking,  or  of  transgressing  any  of  the  peculiarities  of 
Judaism.     And  now  what  is  the  difference  between  an  ancient  Greek 
and   a   modern   American   or   European   who   disbelieves   the    gospel? 
Under  what  law  is  the  latter,  under  which  the  former  was  not?    Was 
the  former  a  sinner  and  chargeable  in  the  sight  of  God,  as  well  as 
the  latter?    Yes.    Would  not  natural  conscience  according  to  its  means 
of  knowing  right  and  wrong,  or  the  work  of  the  law  written  In  the 
heart,   condemn   the   unbelieving  Roman   as   well   as  the   unbelieving 
American?     Most  assuredly.     And  what  is  the  difference?     Not  that 
the  latter  is  under  any  law  that  the  former  was  not  under;   but  the 
means  of  discerning  right  and  wrong  in  the  latter  are  far  superior  to 
the  former,  and  consequently  their  overthrow  or  ruin  will  be  the  more 
severe.     In  point  of  law  or  obligation  there  is  no  difference  between 
the  unbelieving  American  and  the  rudest  barbarian;  though  the  former 
is   polished   with   science,   morals,   etc.,   like   the   ancient   Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  the  latter  remains  an  uncultivated  savage.     They  will  bo 
judged  and  condemned  by  the  same  law  which  condemned  the  Roman 
who  died  nineteen  hundred  years  agx).     And  the  condemnation  of  the 
latter  shall  be  more  tolerable  than  the  former,  not  by  a  milder  law, 
but  because  his  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong  was  much  inferior  to 
the  former;  and  having  heard  the  gospel  of  salvation  and  disbelieved 
it,  he  adds  to  his  natural  corruption  and  accumulated  guilt  the  sin  of 
making  God  a  liar,  and  preferring  darkness  to  light,  because  he  believed 
not  the  testimony  of  God.     This  is  the  sole   difference  In  respect  of 
condemnation  between  the  Indian  and  the  most  accomplished  citizen. 
From   these   few   remarks   it  will   appear,   we   trust,   obvious  to   every 
person  who  has  an  ear  to  distinguish  truth  from  falsehood,  that  there 
is  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus — that  they  are 
under  no  law  that  can  condemn  them — that  he  who  was  made  under 


428  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  law  is  become  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  them — that 
being  dead  to  sin,  they  should  live  no  longer  therein — that  there  is  no 
necessity,  but  a  glaring  impropriety  in  teaching  the  law  as  a  rule  of 
life  to  Christians — that  all  arguments  in  favor  of  it  are  founded  on 
human  opinion,  and  a  mistaken  view  of  the  tendency  of  the  gospel  and 
Christian  dispensation — that  all  objections  against  the  doctrine  we 
have  stated,  as  licentious  in  its  tendency,  are  totally  groundless.  "For 
the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  teacheth  us  that  denying 
ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly  in  this  present  world.  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  the  glo- 
rious appearing  of  the  great  God,  even  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who 
gave  himself  for  us  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works." 

3d.  In  the  third  place,  we  conclude  from  the  above  premises,  that 
there  is  no  necessity  for  preaching  the  law  in  order  to  prepare  men  for 
receiving  the  gospel. 

This  conclusion  perfectly  corresponds  with  the  commission  given 
by  our  Lord  to  the  Apostles,  and  with  their  practice  under  that  com- 
mission. "Go,"  saith  he,  "into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel 
unto  every  creature."  "Teach  the  disciples  to  observe  all  things  what- 
soever I  command  you."  Thus  they  were  authorized  to  preach  the 
gospel,  not  the  law,  to  every  creature.  Thus  they  were  constituted 
ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  not  of  the  Old.  Now  the  sacred  his 
tory,  called  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  affords  us  the  most  satisfactory 
information  on  the  method  the  Apostles  preached  under  this  commis- 
sion, which,  with  the  epistolary  part  of  the  New  Testament,  affords  us 
the  only  successful,  warrantable,  and  acceptable  method  of  preaching 
and  teaching.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  see  the  Apostles  and 
first  preachers  paid  the  most  scrupulous  regard  to  the  instructions  they 
received  from  the  great  Prophet.  They  go  forth  into  all  nations  pro- 
claiming the  gospel  to  every  creature;  but  not  one  word  of  law-preach- 
ing in  the  whole  of  it.  We  have  the  substance  of  eight  or  ten  sermons 
delivered  by  Paul  and  Peter  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  and  not  one  precedent  of  preaching  the  law  to  prepare  their 
hearers,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  for  the  reception  of  the  gospel. 

This  conclusion  corresponds,  in  the  next  place,  with  the  nature  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  or  Christian  Church,  and  with  the  means  by 
which  it  is  to  be  built  and  preserved  in  the  world.  The  Christian 
dispensation  is  called  "the  ministration  of  the  Spirit,"  and  accordingly 
everything  in  the  salvation  of  the  church  is  accomplished  by  the  imme- 
diate energy  of  the  Spirit.  Jesus  Christ  taught  his  disciples  that  the 
testimony  concerning  himself  was  that  only  which  the  Spirit  would 
use  in  converting  such  of  the  human  family  as  should  be  saved.  He 
was  not  to  speak  of  himself,  but  what  he  knew  of  Christ.    Now  he  was 


THE    MILLEAMAL    HAHBISGEU    ABRIDGED.  A2'A 

to  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment;  not  by 
applying  the  law  of  Moses,  but  the  facts  concerning  Christ,  to  the 
consciences  of  the  people.  The  Spirit  accompanying  the  words  which 
the  Apostles  preached,  would  convince  the  world  of  sin,  not  by  the 
ten  precepts,  but  because  they  believed  not  on  him — of  righteousness, 
because  he  went  to  the  Father — and  of  judgment,  because  the  prince 
of  this  world  was  judged  by  him.  So  that  ChrLst,  and  not  law.  was 
the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  their  sermons;  and  this  the  Spirit  made 
effectual  to  the  salvation  of  thousands.  Three  thousand  were  convinced 
of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment,  in  this  precise  way  of  hear- 
ing of  Christ,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost;  and  we  read  of  many  afterwards. 
Indeed,  we  repeat  it  again,  in  the  whole  history  of  primitive  preaching, 
we  have  not  one  example  of  preaching  the  law  as  preparatory  to  tho 
preaching  or  reception  of  the  gospel. 

This  conclusion  corresponds,  in  the  third  place,  with  the  fitness  of 
things.*  That  men  must  be  convinced  of  sin  by  some  means,  prior  to 
a  welcome  reception  of  saving  truth,  is  generally  acknowledged.  Now 
as  the  gospel  dispensation  is  the  most  perfect  revelation  of  salvation, 
it  must  be  supposed  that  it  possesses  the  best  means  of  accomplishing 
everything  connected  with  the  salvation  of  its  subjects.  It  must,  of 
course,  possess  the  best  means  of  convincing  of  sin.     This  truth,  how- 


*  Indeed  we  have  yet  to  learn  what  advantapo  can  accrue  from  preachinp  the  po- 
called  "  moral  law,"  to  prepare  sinners  for  the  gospel.  In  the  nature  ami  fltnc-s  of 
things  it  can  not  prepare  or  dispose  the  mind  to  a  belief  of  the  gospel.  The  Aposile 
teaches  U.9  that  "  tho  law  worketh  wrath."  This  is  inevitahir  its  effect  on  every  mind 
which  does  not  believe  the  gospel.  It  irritates  and  excites  tlie  natural. enniily  of  tho 
mind  against  Gotl.  A.  clear  exhibition  of  the  divine  character  in  the  law  apart  fmm 
the  gospel,  tends  more  to  alienate  than  to  reconcile  the  mind  to  God  When  a  prcaclier 
of  the  law  has  laboreil  to  show  his  hearers  the  immaculate  holiness,  the  inllexible  jus- 
tice the  inviolate  truth,  and  consuming  jealousy  of  Jehovah  manifested  in  tlie  fiery 
faw,  supposing  the  gospel  kept  out  of  view,  he  nas  rather  incapacitated  and  disqualified 
their  minds  from  crediting  the  gospel  or  testimony  of  the  condescension,  love  mercy, 
and  grace  of  the  eternal  Father  to  mankind.  How  opposite  is  the  divine  wisdom  to  the 
wisdom  of  many  modern  scribes  and  teachers  of  the  lawl  They  preach  first  the  law 
to  natural  fallen  man  then  the  gosi)eI.  But  He,  who  seeth  not  as  man  seeth,  preached 
first  the  gospel  to  fallen  man,  and  afterwards  added  the  law,  because  of  transgressions, 
till  the  seed  should  come.  Eternal  life  was  promised  through  tho  seed,  and  the  law 
added  till  the  seed  come. 

Nothing  can  be  more  inconsistent  than  the  conduct  of  tho  law  preachers.  When 
they  have  echoed  the  thunders  of  Mt.  Sinai  in  the  ears  of  their  hearers  almost  to  drive 
them  to  despair,  and  to  produce  what  they  call '•  legal  repentance,'-  then  they  begin  to 
pulldown  the  work  of  their  own  hands  by  demonstrating  the  inenicacy,  unprofitable- 
ness, and  danger  of  legal  repentance,  flight  they  not  as  well  at  once  imitate  the  apos- 
tles and  primitive  preachers — preach  the  gospel,  which,  when  receive<l,  produces  re- 
pentance not  to  be  repented  of?  >Iiglit  they  not  preach  Christ  crucified  in  whom  is 
manifested  the  wrath  and  judgment  of  (Jod  again>t  sin;  and  his  condescending  Jove, 
mercy,  and  grace  to  the  sinner?  Might  they  not,  knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord  per- 
Biiaile  men  b)' the  persuasives  of  the  doctrine  of  reconciliation,  rather  than  t<i  increa.«e 
their  enmity,  awaken  their  suspicions,  and  work  wrath  in  their  minds,  bv  an  unlawful 
use  of  the  law?  But  in  order  to  this,  their  minds  must  be  revolutionized;  they  must 
taki-upa  cross  which  they  at  present  refuse;  and  what  is  difllcult  indeed,  they  must 
unlearn  what  they  have  themselves  taught  others. 


430  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

ever,  does  not  depend  on  mere  supposition.  The  fact  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  makes  an  exclusive  use  of  it  in  convincing  of  sin,  is  a  striking 
demonstration  of  its  superior  excellence  for  that  purpose.  But  inde- 
pendent of  these  considerations,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  gospel 
or  testimony  concerning  Christ  affords  the  fullest  proof  of  divine 
justice  and  indignation  against  sin — it  presents  the  clearest  view  of 
the  demerit  of  sin,  and  of  all  divine  perfections  terrible  to  sinners — 
it  exhibits  the  most  alarming  picture  of  human  guilt  and  wretchedness 
that  ever  was  given,  and  on  these  accounts  is  of  all  means  the  most 
suitable  to  convince  of  sin.  It  was  already  observed  that  the  eternal 
Father  condemned  sin  in  the  person  of  his  Son,  more  fully  than  it 
ever  was,  or  could  be,  condemned  in  any  other  way.  Suppose,  for  illus- 
tration, a  king  put  to  death  his  only  son,  in  the  most  painful  and 
ignominious  way,  for  a  crime  against  the  government;  would  not  this 
fact  be  the  best  means  of  convincing  his  subjects  of  the  evil  of  crime, 
and  of  the  king's  detestation  of  it?  Would  not  this  fact  be  better  than 
a  thousand  lectures  upon  the  excellency  of  the  law  and  the  sanctions 
of  it?  But  every  similitude  of  this  kind  falls  infinitely  short  of  afford- 
ing a  resemblance  of  the  eternal  Father  not  sparing  his  Sole  Delight 
when  sin  was  but  imputed  to  him.  Having  seen  that  this  conclusion 
corresponds  with  the  commission  given  by  the  Redeemer  to  his  Apostles 
— with  their  practice  under  that  commission — with  the  nature  of  his 
kingdom,  and  with  the  fitness  of  things,  one  would  suppose  that  no 
objection  could  be  preferred  against  it.  But  what  doctrine  of  divine 
truth  is  it,  against  which  objections  numerous  indeed,  and  strongly 
urged,  and  by  men  who  profess  to  be  zealous  for  the  truth,  have  not 
been  made?  Is  it  the  doctrine  of  sovereign,  free,  and  abundant  grace? 
No.  Is  it  the  doctrine  of  the  natural  sinfulness  and  corruption  of  all 
men?  No,  no.  Against  these,  many  objections,  yea,  very  many,  are 
urged.  We  must  not  suppose,  then,  that  this  doctrine  we  now  main- 
tain shall  be  free  from  objections.  We  shall,  then,  attend  to  some 
of  those  objections  which  have  been  made,  or  which  we  anticipate  may 
be  made  against  this  conclusion. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected  that  there  are  some  expressions  in 
the  apostolic  epistles,  which  imply  that  the  law  was  necessary  to 
convince  of  sin,  as  pre-requisite  to  a  welcome  reception  of  the  gospel, 
such  as  "by  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin" — "for  without  the  law 
sin  was  dead."  There  is  no  authority  from  the  original  for  varying 
the  supplements  in  these  two  clauses.  If  it  corresponds  with  the  con- 
text or  with  the  analogy  of  faith,  to  supply  teas  in  the  last  clause,  it 
doubtless  corresponds  as  well  in  the  first  clause.  But  we  lay  no  stress 
on  the  one  or  the  other;  for  before  Christ  came  all  knowledge  of  sin 
loas  by  the  law;  and  "the  law  entered  that  the  offense  might  abound." 
For  the  law  was  added  to  the  promise  of  life,  because  of  transgression, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  431 

till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  the  promise  was  made.  Now  we 
would  suppose  that  when  the  Heed  is  come,  and  the  time  expired  for 
which  the  law  was  added,  it  is  superfluous  to  annex  it  to  the  gospel, 
for  the  same  reason  it  was  annexed  to  the  promise  made  to  Abraham. 
And  although  it  should  be  allowed  that  Christians  derive  knowledge 
of  sin  from  the  law,  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  the  best  means  of 
communicating  this  knowledge — that  Christians  are  dependent  on  it 
for  this  purpose— nor  that  it  should  be  preached  to  unbelievers  to  pre- 
pare them  for  receiving  the  gospel. 

The  seventh  chapter  to  the  Romans  contains  the  fullest  illustration 
of  the  once  excellence  and  utility  of  the  law,  that  is  to  be  found  in 
all  the  New  Testament;  and  as  this  chapter  will  doubtless  be  the 
strong  hold  of  our  opponents,  we  shall  make  a  remark  or  two  on  the 
contents  of  it. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  let  it  be  remembered  that  In  the  fourteenth 
verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  Apostle  boldly  aflRrms  that  Chris- 
tians are  not  under  the  law.  To  the  conclusion  of  the  sixth  chapter 
he  refutes  an  objection  made  to  his  assertion  in  the  fourteenth  verse. 
In  the  first  six  verses  of  the  seventh  chapter  he  repeats  his  assertion, 
and  uses  an  apt  similitude  to  illustrate  it.  Having,  then,  demonstrated 
that  Christians  are  not  under  the  law,  in  the  seventh  verse  of  the 
seventh  chapter  he  states  an  objection  which  had  been  made,  or  he 
anticipated  would  be  made,  against  his  doctrine— ^'If  Christians  are 
not  under  the  law,  if  they  are  dead  to  it,  if  they  are  delivered  from  it, 
is  it  not  a  sinful  thing?"  "Is  the  law  sin,  then?"  This  objection 
against  the  nature  of  the  law,  the  Apostle  removes  in  the  next  six 
verses  by  showing  the  utility  of  the  law  in  himself  as  a  Jew,  under 
that  law;  and  concludes  that  the  law  is  holy,  just,  and  good.  To  the 
end  of  the  chapter  the  Apostle  gives  an  account  of  his  experience  as 
a  Christian  freed  from  the  law,  and  thus  manifests  the  excellency  of 
his  new  mind  or  nature  by  its  correspondence  to  the  holiness  of  the 
law;  so  that  he  most  effectually  removes  the  objection  made  against 
the  law  as  being  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  establishes  the  fact  that 
Christians  are  delivered  from  it.  Such  evidently  is  the  scope  of  th.? 
latter  part  of  the  sixth  and  all  of  the  seventh  chapter.  We  can  not 
dismiss  this  chapter  without  observing  first,  that  the  law,  or  that 
part  of  the  law  which  the  Apostle  here  speaks  of,  is  what  modern 
teachers  call  "the  moral  law."  If  so,  then  Christians  are  not  under 
it:  for  the  law  which  the  Apostle  affirms  Christians  are  delivered  from 
in  the  sixth  verse,  in  the  seventh  verse  he  shows  it  is  not  sin;  and  the 
law  which  he  shows  is  not  sin,  he  demonstrates  to  be  holy,  just,  and 
good.  So  that  here,  as  well  as  in  the  third  chapter  of  his  second  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  Christians  are  expressly  said  to  be  delivered  from 
the  so-called   moral   law;    and   that  it  is  abolished   or  done  away  in 


432  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

respect  of  them.  We  must  remark  again,  that  before  anything  said 
in  this  chapter  respecting  the  utility  or  excellence  of  the  law  can  be 
urged  as  a  precedent  for  what  we  condemn — namely,  preaching  the 
law  as  preparatory  to  the  gospel,  or  a  law  work  as  preparatory  to  genu- 
ine conversion,  it  must  be  shown  that  the  Apostle  gave  this  account 
of  his  experience  under  the  law  as  preparative  to  his  conversion.  Oth- 
erwise no  objection  can  be  made  from  anything  in  this  chapter  to  the 
conclusion  before  stated.  But  this  can  not  be,  for  the  account  we  have 
of  his  conversion  flatly  contradicts  such  a  supposition.  Previous  to 
his  conversion  he  was  a  very  devout  man  in  his  own  way — "touching 
the  righteousness  which  was  in  the  law  he  was  blameless."  See  the 
account  he  gives  of  himself,  Phil.  iii.  4,  5,  compared  with  Rom.  vii, 
7,  12;  Acts  xxii.  1;  xxiii.  1;  from  which  we  learn  that  he  was  taught 
according  to  the  most  perfect  manner  of  the  law,  and  was  a  Pharisee 
of  the  strictest  kind;  had  clear  ideas  of  sin  and  righteousness;  and, 
externally  considered,  was  blameless  and  lived  in  all  good  conscience 
until  the  day  of  his  conversion.  But  it  was  not  the  law,  it  was  not  a 
new  discovery  of  its  spirituality,  but  a  discovery  of  Christ  exalted,  that 
convinced  him  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment;  and  instanta- 
neously converted  him.  So  that  nothing  in  his  previous  life  or  attain- 
ments, nothing  of  his  experience  as  a  Jew,  nothing  of  his  knowledge 
of  sin  or  of  righteousness  by  the  law  previous  to  his  conversion,  can 
be  urged  in  support  of  preaching  the  law  or  a  law  work  to  unbelievers, 
to  prepare  their  mind  for  a  welcome  reception  of  the  truth. 

When  we  shall  have  mentioned  a  favorite  text  of  the  law  preachers, 
and  considered  it,  we  shall  have  done  with  objections  of  this  sort.  It 
is  Gal.  iii.  24.  We  shall  cite  from  the  23d  verse.  "Before  faith  [Christ] 
came  we  were  kept  under  the  law,  shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should 
afterwards  be  revealed.  Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to 
bring  lis  to  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith.  But  after  that 
faith  [Christ]  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster.' 
Methinks  it  looks  rather  like  an  insult  to  the  understanding  of  any 
person  skilled  in  the  use  of  words,  to  offer  a  refutation  of  the  use  that 
is  frequently  made  of  the  24th  verse.  But  let  the  censure  rest  upon 
them  who  render  it  needful.  Every  smatterer  in  Greek  knows  that 
the  24th  verse  might  read  thus: — "The  law  was  our  schoolmaster  until 
Christ"  came;  and  this  reading  unquestionably  corresponds  with  the 
context.  Now  is  it  not  most  obvious  that  instead  of  countenancing  law- 
preaching,  this  text  and  context  condemn  it?  The  scope  of  it  is  to 
show  that  whatever  use  the  law  served  as  a  schoolmaster  previous  to 
Christ,  it  no  longer  serves  that  use.  And  now  that  Christ  is  come, 
we  are  no  longer  under  it.  We  see,  then,  that  this  conclusion  not  only 
corresponds  with  the  commission  to  the  Apostles;  with  the  nature  of 
Christ's  kingdom;   with  the  apostolic  preaching;   and  with  the  fitness 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  43J 

of  things:  but  that  no  valid  objection  can  be  presented  against  it,  from 
anything  in  the  apostolic  epistles. 

Some,  notwithstanding  the  Scriptural  plainness  of  this  doctrine, 
may  urge  their  own  experience  as  contrary  to  it.  It  would,  however, 
be  as  safe  for  Christians  to  make  divine  truth  a  test  of  their 
experience,  and  not  their  experience  a  test  of  divine  truth.  Some 
individuals  have  been  awakened  by  the  appearance  of  the  Aurora  Bore- 
alis,  by  an  earthquake,  by  a  thunderstorm,  by  a  dream,  by  sickness, 
etc.  How  inconsistent  for  one  of  these  to  affirm  from  his  own  expe- 
rience, that  others  must  be  awakened  in  the  same  way!  How  incom- 
patible \\ith  truth  for  others  to  preach  such  occurrences  as  preliminary 
to  saving  conversion! 

But  the  difference  between  ancient  and  modern  conversions  is  so 
striking  as  to  merit  an  observation  or  two.  Now  that  the  law  is  com- 
monly preached  to  prepare  men  for  Christ,  it  must  be  expected  that 
modern  conversions  will  be  very  systematic,  and  lingering  in  all. 
While  preachers  will  not  condescend  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings  until 
they  have  driven  their  hearers  almost  to  despair  by  the  thunders  of 
Mount  Sinai — while  they  keep  them  in  anxious  suspense  for  a  time, 
whether  the  wounds  of  conviction  are  deep  enough;  whether  their 
sense  of  guilt  is  sufficiently  acute;  whether  their  desires  are  sufficiently 
keen;  whether  their  fears  are  sufficiently  strong;  in  short,  whether 
the  law  has  had  its  full  effect  upon  them:  1  say,  when  this  is  the 
case,  conversion  work  must  go  on  slow;  and  so  it  is  not  rare  to  find 
some  in  a  way  of  being  converted  for  years;  and,  ir.deed,  it  5s  gen- 
erally a  work  of  many  months.  It  would  be  well,  however,  if,  after 
all,  it  were  commonly  genuine.  Contrast  these  conversions  with  those 
of  which  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  what  a  contrast! 
There  we  read  of  many  converted  in  a  day,  who  yesterday  were  as 
ignorant  of  law  and  gospel  as  the  modern  Hindoos  or  Birmans.  To 
account  for  this  we  have  only  to  consider  and  compare  the  different 
sorts  of  preaching  and  means,  by  which  those  were,  and  these  are, 
effected. 

But  some  may  yet  inquire,  Are  unbelievers  under  no  law  or  obliga- 
tion by  which  conviction  may  be  communicated  to  their  minds?  Or 
they  may  ask,  in  other  words.  How  does  the  testimony  of  Christ  take 
hold  of  them?  And  why  do  they  welcome  the  gospel?  We  have  already 
shown  that  there  is  a  law  written  on  every  human  heart,  which  is  th3 
foundation  of  both  law  and  prophets,  under  which  both  angels  and 
men  exist;  whose  obligation  is  universal  and  eternal.  It  is  inscribed 
more  or  less  distinctly  on  every  heathen's  heart.  It  is  sometimes  called 
the  law  of  nature,  but  more  correctly  called  by  the  Apostle,  conscience. 
This  natural  conscience,  or  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  which  all  men 
possess  in  different  degrees,  according  to  a  variety  of  circumstances, 


434  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

but  all  in  some  degree,  is  that  in  them  which  God  addresses.  This 
natural  conscience  is  fitted  to  hear  the  voice  of  God,  as  exactly  as  the 
ear  is  fitted  to  hear  sounds.  This  renders  the  savage  inexcusable.  For 
the  invisible  things  of  God,  even  his  eternal  power  and  godhead,  are 
manifested  to  his  conscience  in  the  natural  world.  Now  God  addresses 
conscience  in  those  whom  he  brings  to  himself  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
Sometimes  even  where  his  word  is  come,  he  speaks  by  awful  events 
to  the  consciences  of  men.  In  this  way  he  awakens  inquiries  that 
lead  to  the  saving  truth.  Witness  the  jailor  and  his  house,  of  whom 
we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  God  spake  to  his  conscience  by 
an  earthquake,  and  put  an  inquiry  in  his  mouth,  that  was  answered  to 
his  salvation  and  that  of  his  house.  That  which  fits  the  savage  to 
hear  God's  voice  in  the  natural  world,  fits  him,  or  the  man  of  civili- 
zation, to  hear  his  voice  in  the  gospel,  when  it  is  sent  to  them  in  power. 

Are  we  to  preach  this  law  of  nature,  then,  some  will  inquire;  or,  Are 
we  to  show  men  that  they  possess  this  natural  conscience,  previous  to 
a  proclamation  of  the  glad  tidings?  I  would  answer  this  question  by 
proposing  another.  Am  I  to  tell  a  man  he  has  an  ear,  and  explain 
to  him  the  use  of  it,  before  I  condescend  to  speak  to  him?  One  answer 
suits  both  inquiries.  We  should  consider  the  circumstances  of  any 
people  before  we  addrss  them.  Do  we  address  Jews?  Let  us  address 
them  as  the  Apostles  did.  Persuade  them  out  of  their  own  law  that 
Jesus  is  the  Messiah.  Do  we  address  professed  Christians?  Let  us 
imitate  the  apostolic  addresses  in  the  epistles.  Do  we  preach  to  Bar- 
barians? Let  us  address  them  as  Paul  preached  to  the  Lycaonians, 
Speak  to  their  consciences.  Do  we  preach  to  polished  infidels  or  idola 
tors?  Let  us  speak  to  them  as  Paul  spake  to  the  Athenians.  Speak 
to  their  consciences. 

4th.  A  fourth  conclusion  which  is  deducible  from  the  above  prem- 
ises is,  that  all  arguments  and  motives,  drawn  from  the  law  or  Old 
Testament,  to  urge  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  baptize  their  infants;  to 
pay  tithes  to  their  teachers;  to  observe  holy  days  or  religious  fasts, 
as  preparatory  to  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  supper;  to  sanctify  the 
seventh  day;  to  enter  into  national  covenants;  to  establish  any  form 
of  religion  by  civil  law: — and  all  reasons  and  motives  borrowed  from 
the  Jewish  law,  to  excite  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  a  compliance  with 
or  an  imitation  of  Jewish  customs,  are  inconclusive,  repugnant  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  fall  ineffectual , to  the  ground;  not  being  enjoined  or  coun- 
tenanced by  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ. 

5th.  In  the  last  place  we  are  taught  from  all  that  has  been  said, 
to  venerate  in  the  highest  degree  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  to  receive  Him, 
as  the  Great  Prophet,  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law.  and  all  the  prophets 
did  write.  To  receive  him  as  the  Lord  our  righteousness,  and  to  pav 
the  most  punctilious  regard  to  all  his  precepts  and  ordinances.     "If 


THE    MILLKAMAL    IJARBlKOElt    ABRIDGED.  435 

we  continue  in  his  word,  then  are  we  his  disciples  Indeed,  and  we 
shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  us  free — if  the  Son 
shall  make  us  free,  we  shall  be  free  indeed." 

It  is  remarkable  how  strong  our  attachments  are  to  Moses  as  a 
teacher;  though  Moses  taught  us  to  look  for  a  greater  prophet  than 
he,  and  to  hearken  to  him!  It  is  strange  that  three  surprising  inci- 
dents in  the  history  of  Moses  would  not  arrest  our  attention  and  direct 
us  to  Christ.  With  all  his  moral  excellence,  unfeigned  piety,  and  legis- 
lative dignity,  he  fell  short  of  Canaan.  So  all  who  cleave  to  him  will 
come  short  of  the  heavenly  rest!  His  mortal  remains,  and  his  only, 
the  Almighty  buried  in  secret;  and  yet  we  will  not  suffer  his  ashes  to 
rest  in  peace!  He  came  down  from  heaven  to  give  place  to  the  Messiah, 
to  lay  down  his  commission  at  his  feet;  and  we  will  not  accept  it! 
Strange  infatuation! 

If  Moses  was  faithful  in  Christ's  house  as  a  servant,  shall  not  Christ 
be  faithful  as  a  son  over  his  own  house!  Let  us  as  his  disciples  believe 
all  he  teaches,  and  practice  all  he  enjoins  in  religion  and  morality:  let 
us  walk  in  all  his  commandments  and  ordinances;  and  inquire  indi- 
vidually. What  lack  I  yet?  If  we  are  then  deficient,  let  us  say,  with 
the  Jews  who  disowned  him,  "We  are  Moses'  disciples,  but  as  for  this 
fellow,  we  know  not  whence  he  is."  But  let  all  remember  that  if  he 
that  despised  Moses'  law,  died  without  mercy,  of  how  much  sorer  pun- 
ishment, suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  despised  Christ 
as  a  teacher!  His  commandments  are  not  grievous  to  his  disciples — 
his  yoke  is  easy,  and  his  burden  is  light. 

Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  from  all 
iniquity.  Let  us  walk  worthy  of  him.  Let  us  take  heed  lest  by  our 
conduct  we  should  represent  Christ  as  the  minister  of  sin.  Let  us 
not  walk  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit;  and  then  we  shall  show 
that  the  rigliteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  us.  Then  shall  no 
occasion  be  given  to  the  adversary  to  speak  reproachfully.  And  if  any 
should  still  urge  the  stale  charge  of  Antinomianism,  or  affirm  that  we 
lived  in  sin  that  grace  might  abound;  did  evil  that  good  might  come; 
or  made  void  the  law  through  faith;  let  us  put  to  silence  the  ignorance 
of  foolish  men,  by  adorning  the  doctrine  we  profess  with  a  blameless 
conduct.  Let  us  not  merely  rebut  such  insinuations  with  a — God  forbid! 
but  evince,  how  shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein. 
May  he  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  who  openeth  and  no  man  shut- 
teth,  and  .shutteth  and  none  can  open,  open  your  hearts  to  receive  the 
truth  in  the  love  of  it.  and  incline  you  to  walk  in  the  light  of  it,  and 
then  ye  shall  know  that  the  ways  thereof  are  pleasantness,  and  all  the 
paths  thereof  are  peace!     Amen. 


BOOK  YIII. 

DOCTRINES   OF  REDEMPTIOK 


4S7 


BOOK    YIII. 

DOCTHmES    OF    HEDEMPTIOIT. 

In  1833  Mr.  Campl>ell  issued  an  extra  number  of  the  Harbinger 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  Regeneration,  as  follows; 

REGENERATION. 

f"I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth."— I.^ii.  Ixv.  18.  "Behold,  I  make  all  things 
uew."— Rev.  xxi.  &.] 

We  intend  an  essay  full  of  "the  seeds  of  things."  The  topic  is 
a  common  one,  a  familiar  one,  and  yet  it  is  an  interesting  one.  Much 
has  been  said,  much  has  been  written  uijon  it;  and  yet  it  is  no  better 
understood  than  it  ought  to  be.  Few  give  themselves  the  trouble  of 
thinking  much  on  the  things  which  they  think  they  understand;  and 
many  would  rather  follow  the  thoughts  of  others,  than  think  for  them- 
selves. Suspense  is  painful,  much  study  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh; 
and  therefore,  the  majority  are  content  with  the  views  and  opinions 
handed  to  them  from  those  who  have  gone  before. 

We  wish  to  treat  this  subject  as  if  it  were  a  new  one;  and  to 
examine  it  now,  as  if  we  had  never  examined  it  before.  It  is  worthy 
of  it.  Generation  is  full  of  wonders,  for  it  is  full  of  God's  physical 
grandeur;  yet  regeneration  is  still  more  admirable,  for  in  it  the  moral 
attributes  of  Jehovah  are  displayed.  But  we  aim  not  at  a  develop- 
ment of  its  wonders,  but  at  a  plain,  common-sense.  Scriptural  exposi- 
tion of  its  import. 

We  have  not  learned  our  theology  from  Athanasius,  nor  our  morality 
from  Seneca;  and  therefore  we  shall  not  call  upon  them  for  illustra- 
tion, argument,  or  proof.  To  the  Sacred  Records,  in  which  alone  Chris- 
tianity yet  remains  in  all  its  freshness,  we  look  for  light;  and  thither 
would  we  direct  the  eyes  of  our  readers.  It  is  not  the  regeneration 
of  the  schools,  in  which  Christianity  has  been  lowered,  misappre- 
hended, obscured,  and  adulterated,  of  which  we  are  to  write;  but 
that  regeneration  of  which  Jesus  spoke,  and  the  Apostles  wrote. 

A  few  things  must  be  premised — a  few  general  views  expressed, 
before  we,  or  our  readers,  are  prepared  for  the  more  minute  details; 
and  to  approach  the  subject  with  all  unceremonious  despatch,  we 
observe,  that — 

Man  unregenerate  is  ruined  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit;  a  frail  and 
mortal  creature.  From  Adam  his  father  he  inherits  a  shattered  con- 
stitution. He  is  the  child  of  a  fallen  progenitor;  a  siion  from  a  degen- 
erate stock. 

43tf 


440  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Superior  to  Adam,  the  exile  from  Eden,  in  physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral  nature,  none  of  his  descendants  can  rise.  It  is  not  in  nature 
to  improve  itself;  for  above  its  fountain  the  stream  can  not  rise.  Cain, 
the  firstborn  of  Eve,  v^^as  in  nature  the  image  and  likeness  of  him 
that  begat  him.  Education  failed  to  improve  him,  while  Abel,  his 
j^ouuger  brother,  obtained  the  excellency  which  faith  in  God's  promise 
alone  bestows.  The  first  born,  it  will  be  conceded,  was  at  least  equal 
to  his  younger  brother:  and  who  can  plead  that  in  nature  he  excels 
Eve's  eldest  son! 

Man  in  hia  ruins  is,  however,  a  proper  subject  of  a  remedial 
system.  He  is  susceptible  of  renovation.  Therefore  God  has  placed 
him  under  a  regenerating  economy.  This  economy  contemplates  the 
regeneration  of  the  whole  human  constitution,  and  proposes  as  its 
consummation  the  transformation  of  spirit,  soul,  and  body.  The 
destiny  of  the  regenerate  is  deccribed  by  Paul  in  one  sentence:  "As 
we  now  bear  the  image  of  the  earthy  Adam,  we  shall  then  bear  the 
image  of  the  heavenly  Adam." 

God's  own  Son  is  proposed  as  the  model.  Conformity  to  him  in 
glory,  honor  and  immortality,  as  the  perfection  of  the  regenerate,  is 
the  predestination  of  him  who  speaks  of  things  that  be  not,  as  though 
they  were. 

Regeneration  is,  therefore,  moral  and  physical:  or,  in  other  words, 
there  is  now  a  renovation  of  the  mind — of  the  understanding,  will, 
and  affections; — and  there  will  hereafter  be  a  renovation  of  the  body: 
"For  this  corruptible  body  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal 
body  shall  put  on  immortality." 

The  renovation  of  the  mind  and  character  is,  therefore,  that  moral 
regeneration  which  is  to  be  effected  in  this  life;  for  which  the  reme- 
dial system,  or  kingdom  of  heaven,  was  set  up  on  earth:  and  this, 
therefore,  first  of  all,  demands  our  attention. 

Before  we  attempt  an  answer  in  detail  to  the  question,  How  is  this 
moral  regeneration  effected?  we  shall  attend  to  the  principle  on  which 
the  whole  remedial  system  proceeds.  The  grand  principle,  or  means 
which  God  has  adopted  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  moral  regen- 
eration, is  the  full  demonstration  and  proof  of  a  single  proposition 
addressed  to  the  reason  of  man.  This  sublime  proposition  is,  that 
God  is  love. 

The  reason  and  wisdom  of  this  procedure  will  suggest  itself  to 
every  one  who  can  understand  the  views  and  feelings  of  all  unregen- 
erated  man.  Man,  in  a  state  of  alienation  and  rebellion,  naturally 
suspects,  that  if  he  be  a  sinner,  and  if  God  hate  sin,  he  must  hate 
him.  As  love  begets  love,  so  hatred  begets  hatred;  and  if  a  sinner 
suspects  that  God  hates  him,  he  can  not  love  God.  He  must  know 
that  God  loves  him,  before  he  can  begin  to  love  God.     "We  [says  an 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  441 

Apostle]  love  God  because  he  first  loved  us."  While  alienated  in 
heart,  through  the  native  darkness  of  his  understanding,  the  sinner 
misinterprets  every  restraint  which  God  has  placed  in  his  way  to  pre- 
vent his  total  ruin,  as  indications  of  the  wrath  of  heaven.  His  trans- 
gression of  these  restraints,  and  his  consciousness  of  having  defied 
the  veracity  and  power  of  God,  only  increase  his  enmity,  and  urge  him 
onward  in  his  apostacy  and  wanderings  from  his  creator.  The  good- 
ness of  God,  l>eing  misunderstood,  furnishes  to  him  no  incentive  to 
repentance  and  reformation.  Guilt  and  fear,  and  shame,  the  fruits  of 
his  apostacy,  becloud  his  understanding,  and  veil  from  his  eye  all  the 
demonstrations  of  benevolence  and  goodness  with  which  the  creation 
abounds.  Adam  under  a  tree,  hiding  from  God,  trembling  with  fear, 
suspicious  of  the  movements  of  every  leaf,  and  covered  with  shame  as 
with  a  garment,  is  both  an  illustration  and  proof  of  these  views  of  the 
state  of  mind  which  obtains  in  the  unregenerate. 

Neither  the  volume  of  creation,  nor  that  of  God's  providence,  is 
sufl!icient  to  remove  from  the  natural  man  these  misconceptions,  and 
the  consequent  alienation  of  heart  The  best  proof  that  these  two 
volumes  can  not  do  this,  is,  that  they  never  have,  in  any  one  instance, 
yet  done  it.  From  the  nature  oi  things  it  is  indeed  evident  that  they 
can  not  do  it.  The  elements  are  too  often  at  war  with  the  happiness 
of  man.  The  ever-changing  attitude  of  the  natural  world  in  reference 
to  health,  and  life,  and  comfort,  render  it  at  best  doubtful,  whether 
the  laws  of  nature,  which  ultimately  bring  man  down  to  the  grave,  are 
the  effect  of  benevolence,  or  of  malevolence  towards  mankind.  A 
third  volume,  explanatory  of  both,  and  replete  also  with  supernatural 
developments,  is  wanting,  to  furnish  the  most  diligent  student  ot 
nature  and  providence,  with  the  means  of  learning  the  true  and  full 
character  of  him  against  whom  we  have  rebelled. 

That  volume  is  the  Bible,  Holy  Prophets  and  Apostles  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  Knowledge  and  Revelation.  Its 
records,  its  history,  its  prophecy,  its  precepts,  its  laws,  its  orditiances, 
and  its  examples,  all  develop  and  reveal  God  to  man,  and  man  to 
himself. 

But  it  is  in  the  person  and  mission  of  the  Incarnate  Word  that 
we  learn  that  God  is  love.  That  God  gave  his  Son  for  us,  and  yet 
gives  his  Spirit  to  us — and  thus  gives  us  himself — are  the  mysteries 
and  transcendent  proofs  of  the  most  august  proposition  in  the  uni- 
verse. The  gospel.  Heaven's  wisdom  and  power  combined,  God's  own 
expedient  for  the  renovation  of  human  nature,  is  no  more  nor  less  than 
the  illustration  and  proof  of  this  regenerating  proposition. 

Thus  we  hasten  to  our  subject.  Having  glanced  at  the  great  land- 
marks of  the  plantations  of  nature  and  grace,  now  that  we  may,  in 
the  light  of  truth,  ascertain   the  true  and   hoaven-taught  doctrine  of 


442  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

regeneration,  we  shall  cautiously  survey  the  whole  process  as  devel- 
oped by  the  commissioned  teachers  of  the  deep  counsels  of  the  only 
true  God. 

That  certain  things,  parts  of  this  great  process,  may  be  well  un- 
derstood, certain  terms  which  we  are  wont  to  use  to  represent  them, 
must  be  well  defined,  and  accurately  apprehended.  These  terms  are 
Fact,  Testimony,  Faith,  Repentance,  Reformation,  Bath  of  Regeneror 
Hon,  New  Birth,  Renexcing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Neivness  of  Life. 

"All  things  are  of  God"  in  the  regeneration  of  man,  is  our  motto; 
because  our  Apostle  affirmed  this  as  a  cardinal  truth.  He  is  the  au- 
thor of  the  facts,  and  of  the  testimony  which  declares  them;  and  be- 
ing the  author  of  these,  he  ia  the  author  of  all  the  effects  produced  by 
these  facts.  The  Christian  is  a  new  creation,  of  which  God  is  the 
Creator,  The  change  of  heart  and  of  character,  which  constitute  moral 
regeneration,  is  the  legitimate  impression  of  the  facts,  or  things  which 
God  has  wrought.  The  facts  constitute  the  moral  seal  which  stamps 
the  image  of  God  upon  man.  In  the  natural  order  we  must  place  them 
first,  and  therefore  we  must  first  define  the  term. 

FACT. 

Fact  means  something  done.  The  term  deed,  so  common  in  the 
reign  of  James  the  First,  is  equivalent  to  our  term  fact.  Truth  and 
fact,  though  often  confounded,  are  not  the  same.  All  facts  are  truths, 
but  all  truths  are  not  facts.  That  God  exists,  is  a  truth,  but  not  a 
fact;  that  he  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  is  a  fact  and  a  truth. 
That  Paul  was  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  is  a  truth,  but  not  a  fact; 
and  that  he  preached  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  is  both  a  fact  and  a  truth. 
The  simple  agreement  of  the  terms  of  any  proposition  with  the  sub- 
ject of  that  proposition,  or  the  representation  of  any  thing  as  it 
exists,  is  a  truth.  But  something  must  be  done,  acted,  or  effected, 
before  we  have  a  fact.  There  are  many  things  in  religion,  morals, 
politics,  and  general  science,  which  are  not  facts;  but  these  are  all 
but  the  correspondence  of  words  and  ideas  with  the  things  of  which 
they  treat. 

Facts  have  a  power  which  simple  truth  has  not;  and,  therefore, 
we  say,  that  facts  are  stubborn  things.  They  are  things,  not  words. 
The  power  of  any  fact,  is  the  meaning;  and  therefore  the  measure  of 
its  power  is  the  magnitude  of  its  import.  All  moral  facts  have  a 
moral  meaning;  and  those  are  properly  called  moral  facts,  which 
either  exhibit,  develope,  or  form  moral  character.  All  those  facts, 
or  works  of  God,  which  are  purely  physical,  exhibit  what  have  been 
commonly  called  his  natural  or  physical  perfections;  and  all  those 
facts,  or  works  of  God,  which  are  purely  moral,  exhibit  his  moral 
character.     It  so  happens,  however,  that  all  his  works,  when  properly 


Tilt:    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  443 

understood,  exhibit  both  his  physical  and  moral  character,  when  viewed 
in  all  their  proper  relations.  Thus  the  deluge  exhibited  his  power, 
his  justice,  and  his  truth;  and,  therefore,  displayed  both  his  physical 
and  moral  grandeur.  The  turning  of  water  into  wine,  apart  from  its 
design,  is  purely  a  demonstration  of  physical  power;  but  when  its 
design  is  apprehended,  it  has  a  moral  force  equal  to  its  physical 
majesty. 

The  work  of  Redemption  is  a  system  of  works,  or  deeds,  on  the 
part  of  heaven,  which  constitute  the  most  splendid  series  of  moral 
facts  which  man  or  angel  ever  saw.  And  they  are  the  proof,  the  argu- 
ment, or  the  demonstration,  of  that  regenerating  proposition  which 
presents  God  and  love  as  two  names  for  one  idea. 

When  these  facts  are  understood,  or  brought  into  immediate  con- 
tact with  the  mind  of  man,  as  a  moral  seal  or  archetype,  they  delineate 
the  image  of  God  upon  the  human  soul.  All  the  means  of  grace 
are,  therefore,  only  the  means  of  impressing  this  seal  upon  the  heart ; 
of  bringing  these  moral  facts  to  make  their  full  impression  on  the 
soul  of  man.  Testimony  and  faiih  are  but  the  channel  through  whicli 
these  facts,  or  the  hand  of  God,  draws  his  image  on  the  heart  and 
character  of  man.  If  then  the  fact  and  the  testimony  are  both  the 
gift  of  God,  we  may  well  say  that  faith  and  eternal  life  are  also  the 
gift  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

To  enumerate  the  gospel  facts,  would  be  to  narrate  all  that  is 
recorded  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Jesus  Christ,  from  his  birth  to 
his  coronation  in  the  heavens.  They  are,  however,  concentrated  in 
a  few  prominent  ones,  which  group  together  all  the  love  of  God  in 
the  gift  of  his  Son.  rie  died  for  our  sins,  He  was  buried  in  our  grave. 
He  rose  from  the  dead  for  our  justification,  and  is  ascended  to  the 
skies  to  prepare  mansions  for  his  disciples,  comprehend  the  whole,  or 
are  the  heads  to  the  chapters  which  narrate  the  love  of  God,  and  dis- 
play I'.is  moral  niajrsty  and  glory  to  our  view. 

These  moral  facts  unfold  all  the  moral  grandeur  of  Jehovah,  and 
make  Jesus  the  effulgence  of  his  glory,  the  express  image  of  his  sub- 
stance. These  are  the  moral  seal  which  testimony  conveys  to  the 
understanding,  and  faith  brings  to  the  heart  of  sinners,  by  which  God 
creates  them  anew,  and  forms  them  for  his  glory.  It  is  the  Spirit 
which  bears  witness — the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  Christ  which  gives 
the  testimony,  and  confirms  it  in  the  disciples.  But  let  us  next  pro- 
ceed to  testimony. 

TESTIMONY. 

The  Romans,  from  whom  we  have  borrowed  much  of  our  language^ 
called  the  witness  the  testis.  The  declaration  of  this  testis  is  still 
called  testimony.  In  reference  to  the  material  system  around  us.  to 
all  objects  and  matters  of  sense,  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  smell,  the  taste, 


444  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  feeling,  are  the  five  witnesses.  What  we  call  the  evidence  ot 
sense,  is,  therefore,  the  testimony  of  these  witnesses,  which  constitute 
the  five  avenues  to  the  human  mind  from  the  kingdom  of  nature. 
They  are  figuratively  called  witnesses,  and  their  evidence,  testimony. 
But  the  report  or  declaration  of  intelligent  beings,  such  as  God, 
angels,  and  men,  constitute  what  is  properly  and  literally  called 
testimony. 

As  light  reflected  from  any  material  object  upon  the  eye  brings 
that  object  into  contact  with  the  eye,  or  enables  the  object  to  make 
its  image  on  the  eye,  so  testimony  concerning  any  fact,  brings  that 
fact  into  contact  with  the  mind,  and  enables  it  to  impress  itself,  or 
to  form  its  image  upon  the  intellect,  or  mind  of  man.  Now,  be  it 
observed,  that  as  by  our  five  external  senses  we  acquire  all  informa- 
tion of  the  objects  of  sense  around  us,  so  by  testimony,  human  or 
divine,  we  receive  all  our  information  upon  all  facts  which  are  not 
the  objects  of  the  immediate  exercise  of  our  five  senses  upon  the  things 
around  us. 

To  appreciate  the  full  value  of  testimony  In  the  divine  work  of 
regeneration,  we  have  only  to  reflect,  that  all  the  moral  facts  whicn 
can  form  moral  character,  after  the  divine  standard,  or  which  can  effect 
a  moral  or  religious  change  in  man,  are  found  in  the  testimony  of 
God;  and  that  no  fact  can  operate  at  all  where  it  is  not  present,  or 
where  it  is  not  known.  The  love  of  God  in  the  death  of  the  Messiah 
never  drew  a  tear  of  gratitude  or  joy  from  any  eye,  or  excited  a  grate- 
ful emotion  in  any  heart  among  the  nations  of  our  race  to  whom  the 
testimony  never  came.  No  fact  in  the  history  of  six  thousand  years, 
no  work  of  God  in  creation,  providence,  or  redemption,  has  ever 
influenced  the  heart  of  man  or  woman  to  whom  it  has  not  been  tes- 
tified. Testimony  is,  then,  in  regeneration,  as  necessary  as  the  fact 
of  which  it  speaks. 

The  real  value  of  anything,  is  the  labor  which  it  cost,  and  its 
utility  when  acquired.  If  reason  and  justice  arbitrated  all  questions 
upon  the  value  o,f  property,  the  decision  would  be,  that  every  article 
is  worth  the  amount  of  human  labor  which  is  necessary  to  obtain  it; 
and  when  obtained,  it  is  again  to  be  tried  in  the  scales  of  utility. 
Now  as  all  the  facts,  and  all  the  truth,  which  can  renovate  human 
nature,  are  in  the  testimony  of  God;  and  as  that  testimony  cost  the 
labor  and  the  lives  of  the  wisest  and  best  that  ever  lived,  that  testi- 
mony to  us,  is  just  as  valuable  as  the  facts  which  it  records,  and 
the  labors  and  the  lives  which  it  cost,  and  just  as  indispensable  in  the 
process  of  regeneration,  as  were  the  labors  and  the  lives  of  Prophets, 
Apostles,  and  the  Son  of  God. 

History,  or  narrative,  whether  oral  or  written,  is  only  another  name 
for  testimony.    When,  then,  we  reflect  how  large  a  proportion  of  both 


^ 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  445 

Testamenta  is  occupied  in  history,  we  may  judge  of  how  much  import- 
ance it  is  in  the  judgment  of  God.  Prophecy  also,  being  the  history 
of  future  facts,  or  a  record  of  things  to  be  done,  belongs  to  the  same 
chapter  of  facts  and  record.  Now  if  all  past  facts,  and  all  future 
facts,  or  all  the  history  or  testimony  concerning  them,  was  erased 
from  the  volumes  of  God's  inspiration,  how  small  would  the  remainder 
be!  Tnese  considerations,  added  together,  only  in  part  exhibit  the 
value  and  utility  of  testimony  in  the  regeneration  of  mankind.  But 
its  value  will  be  still  more  evident  when  the  proper  import  of  the  term 
faith  is  fully  set  before  us. 

FAITH. 

No  testimony,  no  faith:  for  faith  is  only  the  belief  of  testimony, 
or  confidence  in  testimony  as  true.  To  believe  without  testimony,  is 
just  as  impossible  as  to  see  without  light  The  measure,  quality,  and 
power  of  faith  are  always  found  in  the  testimony  believed. 

Where  testimony  begins,  faith  begins;  and  where  testimony  ends, 
faith  ends.  We  believe  Moses  just  as  far  as  Moses  speaks  or  writes: 
and  when  Moses  has  recorded  his  last  fact,  or  testified  his  last  truth, 
our  faith  in  Moses  terminates.  His  five  books  are,  therefore,  the 
length  and  breadth,  the  height  and  depth,  or  in  other  words,  the 
measure  of  our  faith  in  Moses.  The  quality  or  value  of  faith  is  found 
in  the  quality  or  value  of  the  testimony.  The  certainty  of  faith  is 
the  certainty  of  testimony.  If  the  testimony  be  valid  and  authorita- 
tive, our  faith  is  strong  and  operative.  "If,"  says  John,  "we  receive 
the  testimony  of  men,  the  testimony  of  God  is  greater,"  stronger  and 
more  worthy  of  credit.  The  value  of  a  bank  bill,  is  the  amount  of 
the  precious  metals  which  it  represents,  and  the  indisputable  evidence 
of  its  genuineness;  so  the  value  of  faith  is  the  importance  of  the  facts 
which  the  testimony  presents,  and  the  assurance  afforded  that  the 
testimony  is  true.  True,  or  unfeigned  faith,  may  be  contrasted  with 
feigned  faith,  but  true  faith  is  the  belief  of  truth;  for  he  that  believes 
a  lie,  believes  in  vain. 

The  power  of  faith  is  ali?o  the  power,  or  moral  meaning  of  the  tes- 
timony, or  of  the  facts  which  the  testimony  represents.  If  by  faith 
I  am  transported  with  joy,  or  overwhelmed  in  sorrow,  that  joy  or  sor- 
row is  in  the  facts  contained  in  the  testimony,  or  in  the  nature  and 
relation  of  those  facts  to  me.  If  faith  purifies  the  heart,  works  by 
love,  and  overcomes  the  world,  this  power  is  in  the  facts  believed.  If 
a  father  has  more  Joy  in  believing  that  a  lost  son  has  been  found, 
than  in  believing  that  a  lost  sheep  has  been  brought  home  to  his  fold, 
the  reason  of  this  greater  joy  is  not  in  the  nature  of  his  faith,  but  in 
the  nature  of  the  facts  believed. 


446  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Here  I  am  led  to  expatiate  on  a  very  popular  and  pernicious  error 
of  modern  times.  That  error  is,  that  the  nature,  or  power  and  saving 
efficacy  of  faith,  is  not  in  the  truth  believed,  but  in  the  nature  of  our 
faith,  or  in  the  manner  of  believing  the  truth.  Hence  ail  that  unmean- 
ing jargon  about  the  nature  of  faith,  and  all  those  disdainful  sneers 
at  what  is  called  "historic  faith" — as  if  there  could  be  any  faith  with- 
out history,  written  or  spoken.  Who  ever  believed  in  Jesus  Christ, 
without  hearing  the  history  of  him?  ''How  shall  they  believe  in  him 
of  whom  they  have  not  heard?"  Faith  never  can  be  more  than 
the  receiving  of  testimony  as  true,  or  the  belief  of  testimony;  and 
if  the  testimony  be  written,  it  is  called  history — though  it  is  as 
much  history  when  flowing  from  the  tongue,  as  when  flowing  from  the 
pen. 

Let  it  be  again  repeated,  and  remembered,  that  there  is  no  other 
manner  of  believing  a  fact,  than  receiving  it  as  true.  If  it  is  not 
received  as  true,  it  is  not  believed;  and  when  it  is  believed,  it  is  no 
more  than  regarded  as  true.  This  being  conceded,  then  it  follows  that 
the   efficacy   of   faith   is   always   in   the   fact   believed,   or   the   object 


received,  and  not  in  the  nature  or  manner  of  believfiig. 

"  Paith  was  bewildered  much  by  men  who  meant 

To  make  it  clear,  so  simple  in  itself, 

A  thoi'gbt  so  rudimental  and  so  plain, 

That  none  by  comment  could  it  plainer  make. 

All  faith  was  one.    In  object,  not  in  kind. 

The  difference  lay.    The  faith  that  saved  a  soul, 

And  that  which  in  the  common  truth  believed, 

In  essence,  were  the  same.    Hear,  then,  what  faith, 

True,  Christian  faith,  which  brought  salvation,  was: 

Belief  in  all  that  God  revealed  to  men; 

Observe,  in  all  that  God  revealed  to  men. 

In  all  he  promised,  threatened,  commanded,  said, 

Without  exception,  and  without  a  doubt." 

— PoUok's  Course  of  Time,  Book  viii.,  p.  189. 

This  holds  universally  in  all  the  sensitive,  intellectual,  and  moral 
powers  of  man.  All  our  pleasures  and  pains,  all  our  joys  and  sorrows, 
are  the  effects  of  the  objects  of  sensation,  reflection,  faith,  etc.,  appre- 
hended or  received,  and  not  in  the  nature  of  the  exercise  of  any  power 
or  capacity  with  which  we  are  endowed.  We  shall  illustrate  and  con- 
firm this  assertion  by  an  appeal  to  the  experience  of  all. 

Let  us  glance  at  all  our  sensitive  powers.  If  on  surveying  with  tho 
eye  a  beautiful  landscape,  I  am  pleased,  and  on  surveying  a  battle- 
field strewed  with  the  spoils  of  death,  I  am  pained,  is  it  in  accord- 
ance with  truth  to  say,  that  the  pleasure  or  the  pain  received  was 
occasioned  by  the  nature  of  vision,  or  the  mode  of  seeing?  Was  it 
not  the  sight,  the  thing  seen,  the  object  of  vision,  which  produced 
the  pleasure  and  the  pain?  The  action  of  looking,  or  the  mode  of 
seeing,   was   in   both    cases   the   same;    but   the   things   seen,    or   th« 


TUB    MILLENNIAL    JIARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  447 

objects  of  vision,  were  ditferent; — consequently,   the  effects  produced 
were  different. 

If  on  hearing  the  melody  of  the  grove  I  am  delighted,  and  on  hear- 
ing the  peals  of  thunder  breaking  to  pieces  the  cloud,  dark  with  horror, 
hanging  over  my  head,  1  am  terrified,  ia  the  delight  or  the  terror 
to  be  ascribed  to  the  manner  or  nature  of  hearing,  or  to  the  thing 
heard?  Is  it  not  the  thing  heard,  which  produces  the  delight  and 
the  terror? 

If  I  am  refreshed  by  the  balmy  fragrance  of  the  opening  bloom  of 
spring,  or  sickened  by  the  fetid  effluvia  of  putrid  carcases,  are  these 
effects  to  be  ascribed  to  the  peculiar  nature  or  mode  of  smelling,  or 
to  the  thing  smelt?  Or  when  the  honey  or  the  gall  come  in  contact 
with  my  taste,  is  the  sweet  or  the  bitter  to  be  regarded  as  the  effect 
of  my  manner  of  tasting,  or  to  the  object  tasted?  And  when  I  touco 
the  ice.  or  the  blazing  torch,  is  the  effect  or  feeling  produced  to  be 
imputed  to  the  manner  of  feeling  them,  or  to  the  thing  felt?  May 
■we  not,  then,  affirm  that  all  the  pleasures  and  pains  of  sense;  all  th« 
effects  of  sensation,  are  the  results,  not  of  the  manner  in  which  our 
five  senses  are  exercised,  but  of  the  objects  on  which  they  are  exer- 
cised? It  may  be  said,  without  in  the  least  invalidating  this  conclu- 
sion, that  the  more  intimate  the  exercise  of  our  senses  is  with  the 
things  on  which  they  are  exercised,  the  stronger  and  more  forcible 
will  be  the  impressions  made;  but  still  it  is  the  object  seen,  heard, 
smelt,  tasted,  or  felt,  which  affects  us. 

Passing  from  the  outward  to  the  inward  man,  and  on  examining 
the  powers  of  intellection  one  by  one,  we  shall  find  no  exception  to 
the  law  which  pervades  all  our  sensitive  powers.  It  is  neither  the 
faculty  of  perception,  nor  the  exercise  of  perception,  nor  the  manner 
of  perception,  but  the  thing  perceived,  that  excites  us  to  action:  it  is 
not  the  exercise  of  reflection,  but  the  thing  reflected  upon:  it  is  not 
memory,  nor  the  exercise  of  recollection,  but  the  thing  remembered: 
it  is  not  imagination,  but  the  thing  imagined;  it  is  not  reason  itself, 
nor  the  exercise  of  reason,  but  the  thing  reasoned  upon,  which  affords 
pleasure  or  pain — which  excites  to  action — which  cheers,  allures,  con- 
soles— which  grieves,  disquiets,  or  discommodes  us. 

Ascending  to  our  volitions  and  our  affections,  we  shall  find  the 
same  universality.  In  a  word,  it  is  not  choosing,  nor  refusing;  it  is 
not  loving,  hating,  fearing,  desiring,  nor  hoping;  it  is  not  the  nature 
of  any  power,  faculty,  or  capacity  of  our  nature,  nor  the  simple 
exercise  of  them,  but  the  objects  or  things  upon  which  they  are  exer- 
cised, which  give  ua  pleasure  or  pain;  which  induces  us  to  action,,  or 
influences  our  behaviour.  Faith,  then,  or  the  power  of  believing,  must 
be  an  anomalous  thing;  a  power  ski  generis;  an  exception  to  the 
laws  under  which  every  power,  faculty,  or  capacity  of  man  is  placed, 


448  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

unless  its  measure,  quality,  power,  and  efficacy,  be  in  the  things 
believed,  in  the  facts  which  are  testified,  in  the  objects  on  which 
it  terminates. 

There  is  no  connection  of  cause  and  effect  more  intimate;  there  is 
no  system  of  dependencies  more  closely  linked;  there  is  no  arrange- 
ment of  things  more  natural  or  necessary,  than  the  ideas  represented 
by  the  terms  fact,  testimony,  faith,  and  feeling.  The  first  is  for  the 
last,  and  the  two  intermediates  are  made  necessary  by  the  force  of 
circumstances,  as  the  means  for  the  end.  The  fact,  or  the  thing  said 
or  done,  produces  the  change  in  the  frame  of  mind.  The  testimony, 
or  report  of  the  thing  said  or  done,  is  essential  to  belief;  and  belief 
of  it,  is  necessary  to  bring  the  thing  said  or  done  to  the  heart.  The 
change  of  heart  is  the  end  proposed  in  this  part  of  the  process  of 
regeneration;  and  we  may  see  that  the  process  on  the  part  of  heaven 
is,  thus  far,  natural  and  rational:  or,  in  other  words,  consistent  with 
the  constitution  of  our  nature. 

REPENTANCE. 

Repentance  is  usually  defined  '"sorrow  for  any  thing  past,"  and  in 
the  religious  vocabulary  it  is  simply  "sorrow  for  sin."  This  is  one, 
but  it  is  only  one  of  the  natural  effects  of  the  belief  of  the  testimony 
of  God.  The  gospel  facts,  testimony  and  faith,  contemplate  more 
than  this.  But  yet  it  is  necessary  that  this  point  of  faith  should  be 
distinctly  apprehended,  especially  in  this  age,  when  it  occupies  so 
large  a  space  in  the  systems  of  theology. 

Repentance,  in  our  current  acceptation,  is  sorrow  for  sin;  and  cer- 
tainly there  is  no  man  who  believes  the  revealed  facts  found  in  the 
testimony  of  God,  who  will  not  be  sorry  for  his  sins.  But  simple 
sorrow  for  the  past,  is  but  a  feeling  of  the  heart  which,  unless  it 
excite  to  reformation,  or  the  abandonment  of  sin,  is  of  no  more  use 
than  the  regrets  of  Judaa  after  he  had  sold  his  Master  for  fifteen 
dollars.  Repentance  must,  however,  precede  reformation:  for  unless 
we  are  sorry  for  the  past,  and  grieved  with  ourselves,  we  will  not 
think  of  a  change  of  conduct  Repentance  is  to  reformation,  what 
motive  is  to  action,  or  resolution  to  any  undertaking.  It  was  well  tor 
David  to  resolve  to  build  the  temple;  and  so  it  is  well  to  form  any 
good  design,  but  much  better  to  execute  it.  To  feel  sorry  for  the  poor 
and  the  afflicted,  and  to  resolve  to  assist  and  comfort  them,  is  well, 
but  to  go  and  do  it  is  better:  and,  indeed,  unless  our  sorrow  for  the 
past  terminates  in  reformation  for  the  future,  it  is  useless  in  the  esti- 
mation of  heaven  and  earth;  as  useless  as  to  say  to  the  hungry,  Be 
filled;  or  to  the  naked.  Be  clothed. 

Genuine  repentance  does  not  always  issue  in  reformation.  Judas 
was  sorrowful  even  to  death,  but  could  not  reform.     Many  have  been 


THE   MILLEIfNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  44'J 

so  genuiuely  sorry  for  their  sins,  as  to  become  suicides.  Speak  we 
of  "a  godly  sorrow"'?  ^^o;  this  is  not  to  be  expected  from  unconverted 
and  ungodly  persons.  Christians,  Paul  teaches,  when  they  err  may 
repent  with  a  godly  sorrow;  but  this  is  not  to  be  expected  from  the 
unregenerate,  or  from  those  who  have  not  reformed.  It  is  not,  then, 
the  genuineness  of  repentance  that  is  to  be  appreciated,  unless  by 
genuine  repentance  is  meant  more  than  simple  sorrow  for  the  past — 
unless  by  genuine  repentance  is  meant  reformation.  Yet  without  sin- 
cere or  unfeigned  repentance,  there  can  not  be  real  or  genuine 
reformation. 

This  leads  us  to  observe,  that  the  only  unequivocal  evidence  of  sin- 
cere repentance,  is  the  actual  redress  of  the  injury  done;  not  only  a 
cessation  from  ihe  sin,  but  a  restitution  for  the  sin,  as  far  as  restitu- 
tion can  possibly  be  made.  No  restitution,  no  repentance — provided 
restititlion  can  he  made.  And  may  I  be  permitted  to  add,  that  with- 
out repentance,  and  restitution  %chen  possible,  there  can  be  no 
remission. 

The  preachers  of  repentance — of  the  necessity  of  repentance  in 
order  to  remission,  ought  to  set  this  matter  fairly  and  fully  before 
sinners.  Do  they  represent  repentance  as  sorrow  for  the  past,  and  a 
determination  to  reform?  How  then  will  the  sinner  know  that  he  is 
sorry  for  his  sins  against  men,  or  how  will  the  community  know  that 
he  has  repented  of  such  sins,  unless  full  restitution  be  made?  It  is 
impossible  that  either  the  sinner  himself,  or  the  community  who  know 
his  sins  against  men,  can  have  any  certain  evidence  that  he  is  peni- 
tent, unless  by  making  all  possible  restitution. 

Peccator  wounded  the  reputation  of  his  neighbor  Hermas,  and  on 
pnother  occasion  defrauded  him  of  ten  pounds.  Some  of  the  neighbor- 
hood were  apprized  that  he  had  done  both.  Peccator  was  converted 
under  the  preaching  of  Paulinus,  and  on  giving  in  a  relation  of  his 
sorrow  for  his  sins,  spoke  of  the  depth  of  his  convictions,  and  of  his 
abhorrence  of  his  transgressions.  He  was  received  into  the  congre- 
gation, and  sat  down  with  the  faithful  to  commemorate  the  great  sin 
offering.  Hermas  and  his  neighbors  were  witnesses  of  all  this.  They 
saw  that  Peccator  was  penitent,  and  much  reformed  in  his  behaviour; 
but  they  could  not  believe  him  sincere,  because  that  he  had  made  no 
restitution.  They  regarded  him  as  either  a  hypocrite,  or  self-deceived; 
because,  having  it  in  his  power,  he  repaid  not  the  ten  pounds,  nor 
once  contradicted  the  slanders  he  had  propagated.  Peccator,  how- 
ever, felt  little  enjoyment  in  his  profession,  and  soon  fell  back  into 
his  former  habits.  He  became  again  penitent,  and  on  examining  the 
giounds  of  his  falling  off,  discovered  that  he  had  never  cordially 
turricd  away  from  his  sins.  Overwhelmed  in  sorrow  for  the  past,  he 
resolved  on  giving  himself  up  to  the  Lord;  and,  reflecting  on  his  past 


450  THtj    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

life,  set  about  the  work  of  reformation  in  earnest.  He  called  on 
Hermas,  paid  him  his  ten  pounds  and  the  interest  for  every  day  he 
had  kept  it  back,  went  to  all  the  persons  to  whom  he  had  slandered 
him,  told  them  what  injustice  he  had  done  him,  and  begged  them,  if 
they  had  told  it  to  any  other  persons,  to  contradict  it.  Several  other 
persons  whom  he  had  wronged  in  his  dealings  with  them,  he  also 
visited;  and  fully  redressed  all  those  wrongs  against  his  neighbors. 
He  also  confessed  them  to  the  Lord,  and  asked  him  to  forgive  him. 
Peccator  was  then  restored  to  the  church,  and  better  still,  he  enjoyed 
a  peace  of  mind  and  a  confidence  in  God,  which  was  a  continual  feast. 
His  example,  moreover,  did  more  to  enlarge  fbe  congregation  at  the 
Cross-roads,  than  did  the  preaching  of  Paulinas  in  a  whole  year.  This 
was  unequivocally  sincere  repentance. 

This  is  the  repentance  which  Moses  preached,  and  which  Jesus 
approbated.  Under  the  law,  confession  to  the  priest,  and  the  present- 
ing of  a  trespass  offering,  availed  nothing  to  forgiveness  without  resti- 
tution. As  the  theory  of  repentance  is  much  lost  sight  of  in  this  our 
degenerate  age,  and  as  the  practice  is  still  more  rare,  we  think  it  not 
amiss  to  be  still  more  explicit  on  this  topic.  We  shall  therefore  hear 
the  law  and  the  gospel  both  on  this  subject. 

In  Leviticus,  chap.  vi.  1-7,  we  have  the  word  of  the  Lord  upon 
this  subject: — "And  the  Lord  spake  to  Moses,  saying,  If  a  soul  sin. 
and  commit  a  trespass  against  the  Lord,  and  lie  to  his  neighbor  in 
that  which  was  delivered  him  to  keep,  or  in  fellowship,  {i.  e.,  dealing,) 
or  in  a  thing  taken  away  by  violence,  or  has  deceived  his  neighbor; 
or  have  found  that  which  was  lost  and  lies  concerning  it,  and  swears 
falsely;  in  any  of  these  that  a  man  does,  sinning  therein:  then  it 
shall  be  because  he  has  sinned,  and  is  guilty,  that  he  shall  restore  that 
which  he  took  violently  away,  or  the  thing  which  he  has  deceitfully 
gotten,  or  that  which  was  delivered  him  to  keep,  or  the  lost  thing 
which  he  has  found,  or  all  that  about  which  he  has  sworn  falsely:  he 
shall  even  restore  it  in  the  principal,  and  shall  add  the  fifth  part 
more  thereto,  and  give  it  to  him  to  whom  it  appertaineth,  in  the  day 
of  his  trespass  offering.  And  he  shall  bring  his  trespass  offering  to 
the  Lord,  a  ram  without  blemish  out  of  the  flock,  with  thy  estima- 
tion, for  a  trespass  offering  to  the  priest.  And  the  priest  shall  make 
an  atonement  for  him  before  the  Lord;  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him, 
for  any  thing  of  all  that  he  has  done,  in  trespassing  therein." 

Thus  spoke  the  Lord  to  Moses.  From  which  we  learn  that,  under 
the  former  economy,  a  trespass  offering  to  the  Lord  without  restitution 
to  man.  or  restitution  to  man  without  a  trespass  offering  to  the  Lord, 
availed  not  to  forgiveness.  Thus  was  repentance  preached  by  Moses. 
But  the  law  went  into  details  still  more  minute  than  these;  for  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  case  in  which  the   sinner  could  not  find   the 


THE    M1LLE^MAL    JJARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  451 

person  against  whom  he  had  sinned.  In  such  a  case,  the  penitent 
sinner  was  to  seek  out  the  kindred  of  the  injured  party,  and  If  he 
could  find  any  kinsman,  he  was  to  recompense  this  kinsman-  but  if 
he  could  not  find  a  kinsman,  he  must  recompense  it  to  the  Lord, 
besides  offering  his  trespass  offering.  It  was  to  go  into  the  Lord's 
treasury.  (See  Num.  v.  7,  8.)  The  principle  uniformly,  in  all  cases 
of  sin  against  man,  was,  that  the  sinner  "shall  make  amends  for 
the  harm  he  hath  done,  .  .  .  and  shall  add  the  fifth  part  thereto" 
(Lev.   V.   16). 

If  any  one  suppose  that  repentance  is  to  be  less  sincere  or  unequiv- 
ocal under  the  gospel,  let  him  remember  that  Zaccheus  proposed  more 
than  adding  a  fifth,  he  would  restore  fourfold,  and  that  Jesus  appro- 
bated him  for  so  doing.  Indeed,  John  the  Immerser  demanded  fruits 
worthy  of  repentance  or  of  reformation,  and  Paul  proclaimed  that 
those  who  turn  to  God  should  do  works  meet  or  worthy  of  repentance. 
(Acts  xxvi.  20.) 

"Works  worthy  of  repentance"  is  a  phrase  which  can  be  understood 
in  no  other  sense  than  those  works  which  make  amends  for  the  harm 
done  to  men,  and  the  dishonor  done  to  God,  as  far  as  both  are  pos- 
sible. Can  any  man  think  that  he  is  sorry  for  that  sin  or  wrong  which 
he  has  done,  when  he  makes  no  effort  to  make  amends  to  him  who 
was  injured  in  person,  character,  or  property,  by  it?  Works  worthy 
of  hia  professed  repentance  are  wanting,  so  long  as  any  being  whom 
he  has  injured  in  person,  property,  or  reputation,  is  unredressed  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  his  ability. 

One  of  our  most  popular  commentators  says — and  with  much  truth 
—"No  man  should  expect  mercy  at  the  hand  of  God,  who  having 
wronged  his  neighbor,  refuses,  when  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  make 
restitution.  Were  he  to  weep  tears  of  blood,  both  the  justice  and 
mercy  of  God  would  shut  out  his  prayer,  if  he  make  not  his  neigh- 
bor amends  for  the  injury  he  has  done  him.  He  is  a  dishonest  man, 
who  illegally  holds  the  property  of  another  in  his  hands."— Ar/aw 
Clarke  on  Gen.  xl.  2. 

Every  preacher  of  repentance  should  insist  upon  these  evidences  of 
sincerity,  both  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  penitent  himself,  and  for 
the  good  of  the  community.  Acts  xix.  18-20  is  quite  to  the  point: 
"Many  that  believed  came  and  confessed,  and  showed  their  deeds- 
many  of  them  also  who  used  curious  arts,  bringing  their  books  together, 
burnt  them  before  all:  and  they  computed  the  value  of  them,  and 
found  it  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver."  This  was  making  restitution, 
in  their  case,  as  far  as  possible;  and  the  principle  here  evinced  is 
applicable  in  every  other  case. 

But  in  pursuing  this  subject  so  far,  we  have  passed  over  the  Iwund- 
aries  of  repentance,  and   sometimes  confounded  it  with  reformation. 


452  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

This  is  owing  to  the  licentious  use  of  language  to  which  modern 
theology  has  so  richly  contributed.  We  shall,  however,  redress  this 
wrong  as  far  as  practicable,  by  a  few  remarks  on 

REFORMATION. 

The  word  metanoia,  used  by  the  sacred  writers  and  heaven-taught 
preachers  of  the  New  Economy  as  indicative  of  the  first  effect  of  faith, 
as  has  been  often  showed,  is  different  from  that  which  our  word 
repentance  fitly  represents.  It  literally  imports  a  change  of  mind; 
but,  as  Parkhurst,  Campbell,  and  many  others  say,  such  a  change  of 
mind  "as  influences  one's  subsequent  behaviour  for  the  better."  Dr. 
Campbell  (Diss,  vi.,  p.  3)  says:  "It  has  been  observed  by  some,  and 
I  think  with  reason,  that  the  former  Imetanoeo]  denotes,  properly,  a 
change  to  the  better;  the  latter  [metamelomai']  barely  a  change, 
whether  to  the  better  or  to  the  worse;  that  the  former  marks  a  change 
of  mind  that  is  durable,  and  produces  consequences;  the  latter 
expresses  only  a  present  uneasy  feeling  of  regret,  without  regard  to 
duration  or  effects:  in  fine,  that  the  first  may  be  translated  into  Eng- 
lish, 7  reform,  the  second,  I  repent,  in  the  familiar  acceptation  of  the 
words."  Now  as  every  one  who  reforms  repents,  but  as  every  one  who 
repents  does  not  reform,  this  distinction  is  necessary  and  proper;  and 
there  is  nothing  hazarded,  nothing  lost  by  translating  the  former  I 
reform,  and  the  latter  I  repent.  There  is  something  gained,  especially 
in  all  places  where  we  have  the  word  in  the  imperative  mood,  because 
then  it  is  of  importance  to  know  precisely  what  is  intended.  If  we  are 
commanded  only  to  change  our  mind,  or  to  be  sorry  for  the  past,  we 
have  obeyed  when  we  feel  regret;  but  if  more  than  mere  change  of 
mind  or  regret  is  intended,  we  have  not  obeyed  the  commandment 
until  we  change  for  the  better.  Now  it  is,  we  think,  very  evident  from 
various  passages  of  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Apostles,  and  from  their 
speeches,  that  they  commanded  more  than  a  simple  change  of  mind  as 
respected  past  conduct,  or  mere  sorrow  for  the  past.  Peter  commanded 
the  thousands  assembled  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  who  had  changed 
their  minds,  and  who  were  sorry  for  the  past,  to  do  something  which 
they  had  not  yet  done;  and  that  something  is  in  the  common  version 
rendered  repent,  and  in  the  new  version  reform,  and  in  the  old  Eng- 
lish Bible  "amend  your  lives."  The  word  here  used  is  the  imperative 
of  metanoeo.  Judas  repented,  and  many  like  him,  who  never  re- 
formed; and,  therefore,  it  is  of  importance  that  this  distinction  should 
be  kept  in  view.  But  for  a  more  full  illustration  and  proof  of  this  we 
must  refer  our  readers  to  Note  39,  page  74,  Family  Testament. 

Repentance  is  not  reformation,  but  is  necessary  to  it;  for  whoever 
reforms,  must  first  repent.  Reformation  is,  indeed,  the  carrying  out 
of  the  purpose  into  our  conduct.    But  as  reformation  belongs  rather  to 


THE    MILLE^^'IAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  453 

another  part  of  our  essay  than  the  present,  we  shall,  on  the  premises 
already  before  us,  pause  and  offer  a  few  reflections. 

lu  the  preceding  definitions  of  words  and  ideas,  it  would  appear 
that  we  have  a  literal  and  unfigurative  representation  of  the  whole 
process  of  what  is  figuratively  called  regeneration.  For,  as  we  shall 
soon  see,  the  term  rtytneration  is  a  figure  of  speech  which  very  appro- 
priately, though  analogically,  represents  the  reformation  or  renovation 
of  life  of  which  we  have  now  spoken. 

That  the  preceding  arrangement  is  not  arbitrary,  but  natural  and 
necessary,  the  reader  will  perceive  when  he  reflects,  that  the  thing 
done,  or  the  fact,  must  precede  the  report  or  testimony  concerning  it; 
that  the  testimony  concerning  it  must  precede  the  belief  of  it;  that 
belief  of  the  testimony  must  precede  any  feeling  in  correspondence 
with  the  fact  testified;  and  that  feeling  must  precede  action  in  con- 
formity to  it.  Fact,  testimony,  faith,  feeling,  action,  are  therefore 
bound  together  by  a  natural  and  gracious  necessity,  which  no  inge- 
nuity can  separate.  And  will  not  every  Christian  say,  that  when  a 
person  feels  and  acts  according  to  the  faith,  or  the  testimony  of  God, 
he  is  a  new  creature — regenerate — truly  converted  to  God?  He  that 
believes  the  facts  testified  in  the  record  of  God,  understands  them, 
feels  according  to  their  nature  and  meaning,  and  acts  in  correspon- 
dence with  them — has  undergone  a  change  of  heart  and  of  life  which 
makes  him  a  new  man. 

This  is  that  moral  change  of  heart  and  life  which  is  figuratively 
called  regeneration.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  regeneration  is  some- 
thing which  must  be  added  to  the  faith,  the  feeling,  and  the  action  or 
behavior,  which  are  the  effects  of  the  testimony  of  God  understood 
and  embraced;  or  which  are  the  impress  of  the  divine  facts  attested 
b>  Prophets  and  Apostles.  It  is  only  another  name  for  the  same  proc- 
ess in  all  its  parts. 

It  may  also  be  observed  that  numerous  figures  and  analogies  are 
used  by  the  inspired  writers  to  set  forth  this  change,  as  well  as  other 
leading  truths  and  lessons  in  the  Bible.  In  their  collective  capacity 
Christians  are  called  a  kingdom,  a  nation,  a  generation,  a  family,  a 
house,  a  flock,  a  city,  a  temple,  a  priesthood,  etc.  In  their  individual 
capacity  they  are  called  kings,  priests,  soldiers,  citizens,  children, 
sheep,  branches,  stones,  etc.  They  are  said  to  be  begotten,  born,  regen- 
erated, builded,  engrafted,  converted,  created,  planted.  Now,  under 
whatever  figure  they  are  considered  or  introduced,  reason  argues  that 
every  thing  said  of  them  should  be  expressed  in  conformity  with  the 
figure  under  which  they  are  presented.  Are  they  called  sheep f  Then 
he  that  presides  over  them  is  called  a  f^hephcrd ;  their  enemies  are 
icolves  and  dogs:  their  sustenance  is  the  green  pasture:  their  place  of 
safety   and   repose,    the   sheepfoUl ;   their   errors   are   wanderings   and 


454  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

sprayings;  their  conversion,  a  return;  and  their  good  behavior  a  hear- 
ing of  the  voice,  or  a  following  ol  the  Shepherd.  Are  they  called  chil- 
dren? Then  collectively  they  are  a  family;  they  are  begotten  and 
born  again;  God  is  their  Father ;  their  separation  is  an  adoption;  Jesus 
is  their  elder  brother ;  they  are  heirs  of  God;  they  live  and  walk  with 
God.  Are  they  priests?  Jesus  is  their  High  Priest;  the  church  is 
their  temple;  the  Saviour  is  their  altar;  their  songs,  their  praises  are 
incense  ascending  to  heaven;  and  their  oblations  to  the  poor,  their 
•works  of  love,  are  sacrifices  most  acceptable  to  God.  Are  they  called 
citizens?  The  church  is  then  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  Jerusalem  is 
the  mother  of  them  all;  formerly  they  were  aliens,  and  their  naturali- 
zation is  regeneration.  Are  they  called  branches?  Then  Jesus  is  the 
true  vine;  his  Father,  the  vine-dresser ;  their  union  with  Christ,  an 
engrafting;  the  disciple  of  the  gospel,  a  pruning ;  and  their  good  works 
are  fruits  of  righteousness. 

Thus  there  is  no  confusion  of  metaphors  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth, 
in  the  dialect  of  heaven.  It  is  the  language  of  Ashdod,  it  belongs  to 
the  confusion  of  Babel,  to  mingle  and  confound  all  figures  and  anal- 
ogies. Hence  we  so  often  hear  of  being  born  again,  without  any  allu- 
sion to  a  family  or  a  kingdom!  and  of  regeneration  as  antecedent  to 
faith  or  repentance!  Had  a  modern  assembly  of  Divines  been 
employed  to  accommodate  the  Scripture  style  to  their  orthodox  senti- 
ments, we  should  not  have  had  to  read  all  the  Old  Testament  and  all 
the  historic  books  of  the  New,  to  find  the  subject  of  regeneration  but 
once  proposed  to  an  alien,  as  the  fact  is;  but  then  we  should  have 
found  it  in  the  history  of  Abel,  of  Enoch,  of  Noah,  and  of  Abraham, 
if  not  in  every  section  of  the  law  of  Moses,  in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the 
Psalms.  John  the  Baptist,  Jesus,  and  the  Holy  Twelve  would  have  had 
it  in  every  sermon;  and  true  faith  would  have  been  always  defined  as 
the  fruit  of  regeneration. 

But  Jesus  had  a  kingdom  in  his  eye  and  in  his  discourse  before  he 
ever  mentioned  being  "born  again"  to  Nicodemus:  for  unless  there 
was  a  family,  a  state,  or  a  kingdom  to  be  born  into,  it  is  impossible 
for  any  one  to  be  born  into  it.  And  if  the  kingdom  of  heaven  only 
began  to  be  after  Jesus  entered  into  heaven;  or,  if  it  was  only  ap- 
proaching from  the  ministry  of  John  to  the  day  of  Pentecost,  then 
it  would  have  been  preposterous  indeed — an  incongruity  of  which  no 
inspired  man  was  ever  guilty — to  call  any  change  of  heart  or  life 
a  regeneration  or  a  new  birth.  It  is  true  that  good  men  in  all  ages 
were  made  such  by  facts,  testimony,  faith,  and  feeling,  by  a  change 
of  heart,  by  the  Spirit  of  God;  but  the  analogy  or  figure  of  being 
born,  or  of  being  regenerated,  only  began  to  be  used  wh'en  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  began  to  be  preached,  and  when  men  began  to 
press  into  it. 


THK    MILLENNIAL    HAItBIXOER    ABRIDGED.  4o6 

Wo  are  now,  perhaps,  better  prepared  to  consider  the  proper  Import 
and  meajiing  of  "regeneration"  in  general,  and  of  "the  hath  of  regen- 
eration" in  particular. 

REGENERATION. 

This  word  is  found  but  twice  in  all  the  oracles  of  God — once  in 
Matt.  xix.  28,  and  once  in  Tit  iii.  5.  In  the  former  it  is  almost 
universally  understood  to  mean  a  new  state  of  tilings,  not  of  persons — 
a  peculiar  era,  in  which  all  things  are  to  be  made  new: — such  as  the 
formation  of  a  new  church  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  or  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Millennium,  or  the  general  resurrection.  The  Biblical 
critics  oif  eminence  have  assigned  it  to  one  or  other  of  these  great 
changes  in  the  state  of  things.  So  we  use  the  word  revolution,  and 
the  phrase  the  Rcvohition,  to  express  a  change  in  the  political  state  of 
things.  The  most  approved  punctuation  and  version  of  this  passage 
renders  it  altogether  evident  that  a  new  era  is  alluded  to:  "Jesus 
answered,  Indeed,  I  say  to  you,  that  at  the  renovation  [regeneration] 
when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  seated  on  his  glorious  throne,  you,  my 
followers,  sitting  also  upon  twelve  thrones,  shall  judge  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel."  This  being  so  evident,  and  so  often  alluded  to  in. 
our  former  writings,  we  shall  proceed  to  the  remaining  occurrence. 
Tit.  iii.  5. 

All  the  new  light  which  we  propose  to  throw  on  this  passage  will 
be  gathered  from  an  examination  of  the  acceptation  of  the  word 
generation  in  the  sacred  writings.  One  reason  for  this  is,  that  we 
object  to  a  peremptory  decision  of  the  meaning  of  a  word  which 
occurs  only  in  the  passage  under  discussion,  from  our  reasonings  upon 
the  isolated  passage  in  which  it  is  found.  In  such  a  case,  if  we  can 
not  find  the  whole  word  in  any  parallel  passages,  the  proper  substi- 
tute is  the  root  or  branches  of  that  word,  so  far  as  they  are  employed 
by  the  same  writers.  Moreover,  we  think  it  will  be  granted,  that  what- 
ever may  be  the  Scriptural  acceptation  of  the  word  generation,  regen- 
eration is  only  the  repetition  of  that  act  or  process. 

After  a  close  examination  of  all  the  passages  in  which  generation 
occurs  in  the  writings  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets  and  Apostles,  we  find 
it  used  only  in  two  acceptations — as  descriptive  of  the  whole  process 
of  creation  and  of  the  thing  created.  A  race  of  men,  or  a  particular 
class  of  men,  is  called  a  generation ;  but  this  is  its  figurative,  rather 
than  its  literal  meaning.  Its  literal  meaning  is  the  formation  or 
creation  of  any  thing.  Thus  it  is  first  used  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
Moses  (Gen.  ii.  4)  calls  the  creation,  or  whole  process  of  formation 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  "the  generations  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  The  account  of  the  formation  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  also 
the  account   of   the   creations   of   Adam    and    Eve,    are,   by   the   same 


456  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

writer,  called  "the  book  or  record  of  the  generations  of  Adam"  (Gen. 
V  1).  This  is  the  literal  import  of  the  word;  consequently,  regen- 
eration literally  indicates  the  whole  process  of  renovating  or  new- 
creating  man. 

This  process  may  consist  of  numerous  distinct  acts;  but  it  is  in 
accordance  with  general  usage  to  give  to  the  beginning,  or  consumma:- 
ing  act,  the  name  of  the  whole  process.  For  the  most  part,  however, 
the  name  of  the  whole  process  is  given  to  the  consummating  act, 
because  the  process  is  always  supposed  incomplete  until  that  act  is  per- 
formed. For  example:  in  the  process  of  tanning,  fulling,  forging,,  etc., 
the  subject  of  these  operations  is  not  supposed  to  be  tanned,  fulled, 
forged,  until  the  last  act  is  performed.  So  in  all  the  processes  of 
nature — in  the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms — the  last 
act  consummates  the  process.  To  all  acquainted  with  the  proces.s 
of  animalization,  germination,  crystalization,  etc.,  no  further  ar- 
gument is  needed.  But,  in  the  style  of  our  American  husbandmen, 
no  crop  or  animal  is  made,  until  it  come  to  maturity.  We  often 
hear  them  say  of  a  good  shower,  or  of  a  few  clear  days,  "This  is 
the  making  of  the  wheat,  or  com."  In  the  same  sense  it  is  thai 
most  Christians  call  regeneration,  the  new  birth;  though  being 
born  is  only  the  last  act  in  natural  generation,  and  the  last  act  in 
regeneration. 

In  this  way  the  new  birth  and  regeneration  are  used  indiscrimi- 
nately by  commentators  and  writers  on  theology;  and,  by  a  figure  tf 
speech,  it  is  justified  on  well-established  principles  of  rhetor'c.  This 
leads  us  to  speak  particularly  of 

THE   BATH"  OF  REGENERATION. 

By  "the  bath  of  regeneration"  is  not  meant  the  first,  second,  or  third 
act;  but  the  last  act  of  regeneration  which  completes  the  whole,  and 
is,  therefore,  used  to  denote  the  new  birth.  This  is  the  reason  why  our 
Lord  and  his  Apostles  unite  this  act  with  water.  Being  born  of  water, 
in  the  Saviour's  style,  and  the  bath  of  regeneration,  in  the  Apostles' 
style,  in  the  judgment  of  all  writers  and  critics  of  eminence,  refer  to 
one  and  the  same  act — viz.:  Christian  baptism.  Hence  it  came  to  pass 
that  all  the  ancients  (as  fully  proved  in  our  first  Extra  on  Remission) 
used  the  word  regeneration  as  synonymous  in  signification  with  immer- 
sion. In  addition  to  the  numerous  quotations  made  in  our  Essay  on 
Remission,  from  the  creeds  and  liturgies  of  Protestant  churches,  we 
shall  add  another  from  the  Common  Prayer  of  the  Church  of  England, 
showing  unequivocally  that  the  learned  Doctors  of  that  church  used 
the  words  regeneration  and  baptism  as  synonymous.  In  the  address 
and  prayer  of  the  minister  after  the  baptism  of  the  child,  he  is  com- 
manded to  say: 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  457 

"Seeing  now,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  this  child  is  r?generate, 
and  grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's  church;  let  us  give  thanks  unto 
Almighty  (lod  for  these  benefits,  and  with  one  accord  make  our  prayer 
unto  him,  that  this  child  may  load  the  rest  of  his  life  according  to 
this  beginning." 

Then  shall  be  said,  all  kneeling: 

"We  yield  thee  hearty  thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath 
pleased  thee  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  thy  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive 
him  for  thine  own  child  by  adoption,  and  to  incorporate  him  into  thy 
holy  church.  And  humbly  we  beseech  thee  to  grant  that  he,  being 
dead  unto  sin,  and  living  unto  righteousness,  and  being  buried  with 
Christ  in  his  death,  may  crucify  the  old  man,  and  utterly  abolish  the 
whole  body  of  sin;  and  that  as  he  is  made  partaker  of  the  death  of 
thy  Son,  he  may  also  be  partaker  of  his  resurrection;  so  that  finally, 
with  the  residue  of  thy  holy  church,  he  may  be  an  inheritor  of  thine 
everlasting  kingdom,  through  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen." 

Eusebius,  in  his  Life  of  Constantine,  p.  628,  shows  that  St.  Cyprian, 
St.  Athanasius,  and,  indeed,  all  the  Greek  Fathers,  did  regard  baptism 
as  the  consummating  act;  and  therefore  they  called  it  teliosis,  the  con- 
summation. These  authorities  weigh  nothing  with  us;  but  as  they 
weigh  with  our  opponents,  we  think  it  expedient  to  remind  them  on 
which  side  the  Fathers  depose  in  the  case  before  us.  By  these  quota- 
tions we  would  prove  no  more  than  that  the  ancients  understood  the 
washing  of  regeneration;  and,  indeed,  used  the  term  regeneration  as 
synonymous  with  baptism. 

But  were  we  asked  for  the  precise  import  of  the  phrase,  "washing 
or  bath  of  regeneration,"  either  on  philological  principles,  or  as 
explained  by  the  Apostles,  we  would  give  it  as  our  judgment  that  the 
phrase  is  a  circumlocution  or  periphrasis  for  water.  It  is  loutron,  a 
vord  which  more  properly  signifies  the  vessel  that  contains  the  water 
than  the  water  itself;  and  is,  therefore,  by  the  most  learned  critics 
and  translators,  rendered  bath,  as  indicative  either  of  the  vessel  con- 
taining the  fluid,  or  of  the  use  made  of  the  fluid  in  the  vessel.  It  is 
therefore  by  a  metonymy  the  water  of  baptism,  or  the  water  in  which 
we  are  regenerated.  Paul  was  a  Hebrew,  and  spoke  in  the  Hebrew  style. 
We  must  learn  that  style  before  we  fully  understand  the  Apostle's 
style.  In  other  words,  we  must  studiously  read  the  Old  Testaments 
before  we  can  accurately  understand  the  New.  What  more  natural 
for  a  Jew  accustomed  to  speak  of  "the  water  of  purification,"  of  "the 
water  of  separation."*  to  speak  of  "the  bath  of  regeneration"?  If 
the  phrase  "water  of  purification"  meant  water  used  for  the  purpose 
of  purifying  a  person — if  "the  water  of  separation"  meant  water  used 
for  separating  a  person,  what  more  natural  than  "the  bath  of  regen- 
eration" should  mean  water  used  for  regenerating  a  person? 


•See  Num.  viii.  7;  xix.  9.  i:!.  '20,  21;  xxxi.  2.T 


458  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

But  the  New  Testament  itself  confirms  this  exposition  of  the  phrase. 
We  find  the  word  loutron  once  more  used  by  the  same  Apostle,  in  the 
same  connection  of  thought.  In  his  letter  to  the  Ephesians,  chap.  v. 
26,  he  affirms  that  Jesus  has  sanctified  (sieparated,  purified  with  the 
water  of  purification)  the  church  by  a  louiron  of  water — "a  bath 
of  water,  with  the  word" — "having  cleansed  it  by  a  bath  of  water, 
with  the  word."  This  is  still  more  decisive.  The  common  version,  sd 
fully  aware  that  the  sense  of  this  passage  agrees  with  Tit.  iii.  5. 
has  in  both  places  used  the  word  ivashing,  and  Macknight  the 
term  Mth,  as  the  import  of  loutron.  What  is  called  the  washing, 
or  iath  of  regeneration,  in  the  one  passage,  is,  in  the  other,  called 
"the  washing,"  or  "bath  of  water."  What  is  called  "saved"  in  one, 
is  called  "cleansed"  in  the  other;  and  what  is  called  "the  renewal  of  the 
Holy  Spirit"  in  the  one,  is  called  "the  word"  in  the  other;  because 
the  Holy  Spirit  consecrates  or  cleanses  through  the  word.  For  thus 
prayed  the  Messiah,  "Consecrate  them  through  the  truth:  thy  word 
is  the  truth."  And  again, "You  are  clean  through  the  word  that  I 
have  spoken  to  you." 

To  the  same  effect,  Paul,  to  the  Hebrew  Christians,  says,  "Having 
your  hearts  sprinkled  from  a  guilty  conscience,  and  your  bodies 
washed  with  pure  water" — the  water  of  purification,  the  water  of  re- 
generation. For  the  phrase  "pure  water"  must  be  understood,  not  of 
the  quality  of  the  water,  but  metonymically,  of  the  effect,  the  cleans- 
ing, the  washing,  or  the  purifying  of  the  person — "having  your  bodies 
or  persons  tcashed  with  pure  water,"  or  water  that  purifiss  or  cleanses. 

None,  acquainted  with  Peter's  style,  will  think  it  strar.ge  that  Paul 
represents  persons  as  saved,  cleansed,  or  sanctified  by  water;  seeing 
Peter  unequivocally  asserts  that  "we  are  saved"  through  water,  or 
through  baptism,  as  was  Noah  and  his  family  through  water  and  faith 
in  God's  promise.  "The  antitype"  (like  figure)  "immersion,  does  also 
now  save  us." 

Finally,  our  great  Prophet,  the  Messiah,  gives  to  water  the  same 
iplace  and  power  in  this  work  of  regeneration.  For  when  speaking 
of  being  horn  again — when  explaining  to  Nicodemus  the  neic  birth,  he 
says,  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God."  May  we  not,  then,  supported  by  such 
high  authorities,  call  that  water  of  which  a  person  is  born  again,  the 
water  or  bath  of  regeneration? 

NEW  BIRTH. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  consummation  of  the  process  of  gen- 
eration or  creation  is  in  the  birth  of  the  creature  formed.  So  it  \°i 
in  the  moral  generation,  or  in  the  great  process  of  regeneration.  Thery 
is  a  state  of  existence  from  which  he  that  is  born  passes;   and  there 


THE    MILLESNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  459 

is  a  state  of  existence  into  which  he  enters  after  birth.  This  is  true 
of  the  whole  animal  creation,  whether  oviparous  or  viviparous.  Now 
the  manner  of  existence,  or  the  mode  of  life,  is  wholly  changed;  and 
he  is,  in  reference  to  the  former  state,  dead,  and  to  the  new  state  alive. 
So  in  moral  regeneration.  The  subject  of  this  great  change  before  his 
new  birth  existed  in  one  state;  but  after  it  he  exists  in  another.  He 
stands  in  a  new  relation  to  God,  angels,  and  men.  He  is  now  born 
Oi  God,  and  has  the  privilege  of  being  a  son  of  God,  and  is  conse- 
quently pardoned,  justified,  sanctified,  adopted,  saved.  The  state  which 
he  left  was  a  state  of  condemnation,  what  some  call  "the  state  of 
nature."  The  state  into  which  he  enters  is  a  state  of  favor,  in  which 
he  enjoys  all  the  heavenly  blessings  through  Christ:  therefore  it  is 
called  "the  kingdom  of  heaven."  All  this  is  signified  in  his  death, 
burial,  and  resurrection  wuth  Christ;  or  in  his  being  born  of  water. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  being  buried  with  Christ  in  water,  that  he 
may  be  born  of  water,  that  he  may  enjoy  the  renewal  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  be  placed  under  the  reign  of  favor. 

All  the  means  of  salvation  are  means  of  enjoyment,  not  of  procure- 
ment.  Birth  itself  is  not  for  procuring,  but  for  enjoying  the  life  pos- 
sessed before  birth.  So  in  the  analogy — no  one  is  to  be  baptized,  or 
to  be  buried  with  Christ;  no  one  is  to  be  put  under  the  water  of 
regeneration  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  life,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
enjoying  the  life  of  which  he  is  possessed.  If  the  child  is  never  bom, 
all  its  sensitive  powers  and  faculties  can  not  be  enjoyed;  for  it  is  after 
birth  that  these  are  fully  developed  and  feasted  upon  all  the  aliments 
and  objects  of  sense  in  nature.  Hence  all  that  is  now  promised  in  the 
gospel  can  only  be  enjoyed  by  those  who  are  born  again  and  placed  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  under  all  its  influences.  Hence  the  philosophy 
of  that  necessity  which  Jesus  preached, — "Unless  a  man  be  born  again 
he  can  not  discern — unless  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  Spirit  he 
can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

But  let  no  man  think  that  in  the  act  of  being  born,  either  naturally 
or  metaphorically,  the  child  purchases,  procures,  or  merits  either  life 
or  its  enjoyments.  He  is  only  by  his  birth  placed  in  circumstances 
favorable  to  the  enjoyment  of  life  and  all  that  makes  life  a  blessing. 
"To  as  many  as  received  him,  believing  in  his  name,  he  granted  th»> 
privilege  of  being  children  of  God,  who  derive  their  birth  not  from 
blood,  nor  from  the  desire  of  the  flesh,  nor  from  the  will  of  man.  but 
from  God." 

RENEWING    OF   THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

"He  has  saved  us,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "by  the  bath  of  regen- 
eration and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  he  poured  on  us 
richly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour;  that,  being  Justified  by  his 
favor,  [in  the  bath  of  regeneration.]  we  might  be  made  heirs  according 


460  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

to  the  hope  of  eternal  life."  Thus,  and  not  by  works  of  righteousness, 
he  has  saved  us.  Consequently,  being  born  of  water  and  the  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  not  works  of  merit  or  of  righteousness,  but 
only  means  of  enjoyment.  But  this  pouring  out  of  the  influences,  this 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  as  necessary  as  the  bath  of  regeneration 
to  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  hope  of 
heaven,  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks.  In  the  kingdom  into  which  we 
are  born  of  water,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  as  the  atmosphere  in  the  kingdom 
of  nature — we  mean  that  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  as  neces- 
sary to  the  new  life  as  the  atmosphere  is  to  our  animal  life  in  the 
kingdom  of  nature.  But  on  this  topic  we  have  said  so  much  in  our 
"Extra  Defended,"  that  to  it  we  must  refer  our  readers  who  are  still 
inquisitive  on  the  subject.  All  that  is  done  in  us  before  regeneration, 
God  our  Father  effects  by  the  loord.  or  the  gospel  as  dictated  and  con- 
firmed by  his  Holy  Spirit.  But  after  we  are  thus  begotten  and  born 
by  the  Spirit  of  God — after  our  new  birth,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  shed  on 
us  richly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour;  of  which  the  peace  ot 
mind,  the  love,  the  joy,  and  the  hope  of  the  regenerate  is  full  proof: 
for  these  are  amongst  the  fruits  of  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise  of 
which  we  speak.     Thus  commences 

THE   NEW   LIFE. 

"Newness  of  life"  is  a  Hebraism  for  a  new  life.  The  new  birth 
brings  us  into  a  new  state.  "Old  things  have  passed  away;  all  things 
have  become  new,"  says  an  Apostle:  "for  if  any  one  be  in  Christ  he 
is  a  new  creature."  A  new  spirit,  a  new  heart,  and  an  outward  char- 
acter corresponding  to  this  change,  are  the  effects  of  the  regenerating 
process:  "for  the  end  of  the  charge,"  the  grand  result  of  the  remedial 
system,  is  "love  out  of  a  pure  heart,  a  good  conscience,  and  faitl' 
unfeigned."  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  whole  law,"  and  the  fruit  of 
the  whole  gospel.  It  is  the  cardinal  principle  of  all  Christian  beha- 
viour, the  soul  of  the  new  man,  the  breath  of  the  new  life.  Faith 
works  by  no  other  rule.  It  is  a  working  principle,  and  love  is  the 
rule  by  which  it  operates.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  spirit  of  love  and 
the  health  of  a  sound  mind.  Every  pulsation  of  the  new  heart  is  the 
impulse  of  the  spirit  of  love.  Hence  the  brotherhood  is  beloved,  and 
all  mankind  embraced  in  unbounded  good  will.  When  the  tongue 
speaks,  the  hands  and  feet  move  and  operate  under  the  unrestrained 
guidance  of  this  principle,  we  have  the  Christian  character  drawn  to 
the  life.  For  meekness,  humility,  mercy,  sympathy,  and  active  benev- 
olence, are  only  the  names  of  the  various  workings  of  this  all  reno- 
vating, invigorating,  sanctifying,  and  happifying  principle.  "He  that 
dwells  in  love  dwells  in  God  and  God  in  him." 


THE   MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  461 

The  Christian,  or  the  new  man,  is  then  a  philanthropist  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  the  meaning  of  that  word.  Truth  and  love  have  made 
him  free  from  all  the  tyrannies  of  passion,  from  guilt,  and  fear,  and 
shame;  have  filled  him  with  courage,  active  and  passive.  Therefore, 
his  enterprise,  his  capital  enterprise,  to  which  all  others  minister,  is 
to  take  part  with  the  Saviour  in  the  salvation  of  the  world.  "If  oy 
any  means  I  may  save  some,"  are  not  the  words  of  Paul  only,  but  of 
every  neic  mari.  Are  they  merchants,  mechanics,  husbandmen;  are 
they  magistrates,  lawyers,  judges,  or  unofficial  citizens;  are  they  mas- 
ters, servants,  fathers,  sons,  brothers,  neighbors;  whatever,  or  wherever 
they  may  be,  they  live  for  God  and  his  city,  for  the  King  and  his 
Empire.  They  associate  not  with  the  children  of  wrath — the  miser, 
the  selfish,  the  prodigal,  the  gay,  the  proud,  the  slanderer,  the  tattler, 
the  rake,  the  libertine,  the  drunkard,  the  thief,  the  murderer.  Every 
new  man  has  left  these  precincts;  has  broken  his  league  with  Satan 
and  his  slaves,  and  has  joined  himself  to  the  family  of  God.  These  he 
complacently  loves,  those  he  pities,  and  does  good  to  all. 

The  character  of  the  new  man  is  an  elevated  character.  Feeling 
himself  a  son  and  heir  of  God,  he  cultivates  the  temper,  spirit,  and 
behaviour,  which  correspond  with  so  exalted  a  relation.  He  despises 
everything  mean,  grovelling,  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.  As  the  only 
begotten  and  well  beloved  Son  of  God  is  to  be  the  model  of  his  future 
personal  glory,  so  the  character  which  Jesus  sustained  amongst  men, 
is  the  model  of  his  daily  imitation.    His  every  day  aspiration  is — 

"  Thy  fair  example  I  would  trace, 
To  teach  me  what  I  ought  to  be; 
Make  me  by  thy  transforming  grace. 
Lord  .Tcsus.  daily  more  like  thee." 

The  law  of  God  is  hid  in  his  heart.  The  living  oracles  dwell  in  his 
mind;  and  he  grows  in  favor  with  God  as  he  grows  in  the  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Lord.  As  a  newborn  babe  he  desires 
the  unadulterated  milk  of  the  word  of  God,  that  he  may  grow  by  it; 
for  as  the  thirsty  hart  pants  after  the  brooks  of  water,  so  pants  his 
soul  after  God.  Thus  he  lives  to  God,  and  walks  with  him.  This  is 
the  character  of  the  regenerate,  of  him  that  is  born  of  God,  of  the  new 
man  in  Christ  Jesus.  This  is  that  change  of  heart,  of  life,  and  of 
character,  which  is  the  tendency  and  the  fruit  of  the  process  of  regen- 
eration as  taught  and  exemplified  by  the  Apostles,  and  those  com- 
mended by  God,  in  their  writings. 

We  now  proceed  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on  physical  regeneration, 
the  second  part  of  our  subject. 


462  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

PHYSICAL   REGENERATION. 

Our  mortal  bodies  are  yet  to  feel  the  regenerating  power  of  the 
Son  of  God.  This  is  emphatically  called  "the  glory  of  his  power." 
"The  redemption  of  the  body"  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  is  the 
consummation  of  the  new-creating  energy  of  him  who  has  immortality. 
Lite  and  incorruptibility  were  displayed  in  and  by  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  It  was  great  to  create  man  in  the  image  of  God, 
greater  to  redeem  his  soul  from  general  corruption,  but  greatest  of  all 
to  give  to  his  mortal  frame  incorruptible  and  immortal  vigor.  The 
power  displayed  in  the  giving  to  the  dead  body  of  the  Son  of  God 
incorruptible  glory  and  endless  life,  is  set  forth  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
as  incomparably  surpassing  every  other  divine  work  within  the  reach 
of  human  knowledge.  He  prays  that  the  mind  of  Christians  may  be 
enlarged  to  apprehend  this  mighty  power — that  the  Father  of  glory 
would  open  their  minds,  "that  they  might  know  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  his  power  in  relation  to  us  who  believe^ — according  to  the  working 
of  his  mighty  power,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ  when  he  raised  him 
from  the  dead  and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heav-enly 
places."  Faith  in  this  wonderful  operation  of  God — hope  for  the  riches 
of  the  glory  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  are  the  most 
powerful  principles  of  action  which  God  has  ever  planted  in  the  human 
breast.  This  is  the  transcendent  hope  of  the  Christian  calling,  which 
imparted  such  heroic  courage  to  all  the  saints  of  eternal  renown.  This 
better  resurrection  in  prospect,  has  produced  heroes  which  make  cow- 
ards of  all  the  boasted  chiefs  of  worldly  glory.  As  the  magnetic 
needle  ever  points  to  the  pole,  so  the  mind  influenced  by  this  hope 
ever  rises  to  the  skies,  and  terminates  on  the  fulness  of  joy  and  the 
pleasures  forevermore,  in  the  presence  and  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

To  raise  a  dead  body  to  life  again,  is  not  set  forth  as  more  glorious 
than  by  a  touch  to  give  new  vigor  to  the  palsied  arm,  to  impart  sight 
to  the  blind,  or  hearing  to  the  deaf;  but  to  give  that  raised  body  the 
deathless  vigor  of  incorruptibility,  to  renovate  and  transform  it  in  all 
its  parts,  and  to  make  every  spirit  feel  that  it  reanimates  its  own  body, 
that  is  as  insusceptible  of  decay,  as  immortal  as  the  Father  of  eternity, 
is  a  thought  overwhelming  to  every  mind,  a  development  which  will 
glorify  the  power  of  God,  as  the  sacrifice  of  his  Son  now  displays  his 
righteousness,  faithfulness,  and  love  to  the  heavens  and  to  the  earth. 

This  new  birth  from  the  dark  prison  of  the  grave,  is  fitly  styled 
"the  redemption  of  the  body"  from  bondage,  "the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  sons  of  God."  As  in  our  watery  grave  the  old  man  is  figuratively 
buried  to  rise  no  more,  so  in  the  literal  grave,  the  prison  of  the  body, 
we  leave  all  that  is  corrupt;  for  he  that  .makes  all  things  new  will 
raise  us  up  in  his  own  likeness,  and  present  us  before  his  Father's 


77//;    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4j" 

face  in  all  the  glory  of  immortality.     Then  will  regeneration  be  com- 
plete.    Then  will  be  the  full  revelation  of  the  .sons  of  God. 

Immortality,  in  the  sacred  writings,  is  never  applied  to  the  spirit  of 
man.  It  is  not  the  doctrine  of  Plato  which  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
proposes.  It  is  the  immortality  of  the  body  of  which  his  resurrection 
Is  a  proof  and  pledge.  This  was  never  developed  till  he  became  the 
first  born  from  the  dead,  and  in  a  human  body  entered  the  heavens 
Jesus  was  not  a  spirit  when  he  returned  to  God.  He  is  not  made  the 
Head  of  the  New  Creation  as  a  Spirit,  but  as  the  Son  of  Man.  Our 
nature  in  his  person  is  glorified;  and  when  he  appears  to  our  salvation, 
we  shall  be  made  like  him:  we  shall  then  see  him  as  he  is.    This  is  the 

Christian  hope. 

"A  hope  80  great  and  so  diviiio 

May  trials  well  endure, 
And  purify  tlie  soul  from  sense  and  sin, 
As  Christ  himself  is  pure." 

Thus  matters  stand  in  the  economy  of  redemption.  Thus  the  divine 
scheme  of  regeneration  ia  consummated:  the  moral  part,  by  the  oper- 
ation of  moral  means;  the  physical  part,  by  the  mighty  power  of  God 
operating  through  physical  means.  By  the  word  of  his  power  he 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth;  by  the  word  of  his  grace  he  reani- 
mates the  soul  of  man;  and  by  the  word  of  his  power  he  will  again 
form  our  bodies  anew,  and  reunite  the  spirit  and  the  body  in  the 
bonds  of  an  incorruptible  and  everlasting  union.  Then  shall  death  "be 
swallowed  up  forever." 

"  Where  now  thy  victory,  boasting  grave  ?" 
But  for  this  we  must  patiently  wait    "We  know  not  what  we  shall  be.'* 
We  only  know,  that  when  he  appears  we  shall  be  like  him;   that  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is. 

THE  USE  OF  THE  THEORY  OF  REGENERATION. 
One  would  imagine,  from  the  voluminous  arguments,  debates  and 
sermons  upon  the  theory  of  regeneration,  that  a  sound  theory  was 
essential  to  salvation:  that  it  must  be  preached  in  every  sermon,  in 
order  to  regenerate  the  hearers.  Nothing  can  be  more  preposterous. 
Who  can  think  that  any  theory  of  the  resurrection  or  regeneration  of 
the  body,  can  affect  the  body  in  the  grave!  As  little  can  any  theory 
affect  the  unregenerate,  or  those  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins.  A 
sermon  upon  generation,  or  upon  natural  birth,  would  be  as  efficacious 
upon  those  unborn  in  bringing  them  into  this  life,  as  a  sermon  upon 
moral  or  physical  regeneration.  This  explains  the  fact,  that  in  all 
the  accounts  of  apostolical  preaching  to  Jew  and  Gentile — in  all  the 
extracts  of  tlieir  sermons  and  speeches  found  in  the  New  Testament, 
the  subject  of  regeneration  is  not  once  mentioned.  It  is.  in  all  the 
historic  books  of  the  New  Testament,  but  once  propounded,  but  onci^ 


464  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

named;  and  that  only  in  a  private  conference  with  a  Jewish  senator 
on  the  affairs  of  Christ's  kingdom.  No  theory  understood  or  believed 
by  the  unregenerate;  no  theory  proposed  to  them  for  their  acceptance, 
can  avail  any  thing  to  their  regeneration.  We  might  as  reasonably 
deliver  a  theory  on  digestion  to  a  dyspeptic,  to  cure  his  stomach — or 
a  theory  upon  vegetation  to  a  scion,  to  hasten  its  growth,  as  to  preach 
any  view  of  regeneration  to  a  sinner,  to  make  him  a  Christian. 

Of  what  use,  then,  are  the  previous  remarks  on  this  subject?  I 
will  first  candidly  inform  the  reader,  that  they  were  not  written  for 
his  regeneration,  either  of  mind  or  body;  but  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  are  employed  in  the  work  of  regenerating  others,  and  for  the 
convictions  of  such  Christians  as  may  have  been  induced  to  regard  us 
as  aiming  at  nothing  but  the  mere  immersion  of  persons,  as  alone 
necessary  to  the  whole  process  of  conversion  or  regeneration,  in  their 
acceptation  of  these  words.*  The  use  of  this  theory,  if  it  have  any, 
is,  as  a  guide  to  those  who  are  laboring  publicly  or  privately  for  the 
regeneration  of  sinners.  If  we  have  assigned  a  proper  place  to  facts, 
testimony,  faith,  feeling,  action,  the  bath  of  regeneration,  the  renewing 


■■■It  may  again  be  necessary  in  this  fastidious  age  to  remark,  that  in  this  essay,  in 
order  to  disabuse  the  public  mind  on  our  use  and  acceptation  of  the  term  regeneration, 
■we  have  taken  the  -widest  range  -which  a  supreme  regard  for  the  apostolic  style  could,  in 
our  judgment,  allow.  While  -we  argue  that  the  phrase  bath  of  regeneration  (Tit.  iii.  5)  is 
equivalent  to  immersion,  as  already  explained,  and  as  contradistinguished  from  the  re- 
newiwj  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  -which  the  immersed  believer  is  a  proper  subject;  we  have 
spoken  of  the  -whole  process  of  renovation,  not  in  the  strict  application  of  the  phrase, 
(Tit.  iii.  5,)  but  rather  in  tlie  -whole  latitude  of  the  figure  employed  by  tlie  Apostle.  It  is 
not  the  first  act  of  begetting,  nor  the  last  act  of  being  born,  but  the  -w^holc  process  of 
conversion  alluded  to  in  the  figure  of  generation,  to  -which  we  have  directed  the  attention 
of  our  readers.  For,  as  often  before  stated,  our  opponents  deceive  themselves  and  their 
hearers  by  representing  us  as  ascribing  to  the  -word  immersion  and  the  act  of  immersion 
all  that  they  call  regeneration.  While,  therefore,  we  contend  that  being  "born  again," 
and  being  immersed,  are,  in  the  Apostle's  style,  two  names  for  the  same  action,  we  are 
far  from  supposing  or  teaching  that  in  forming  the  new  man  there  is  nothing  necessary 
but  to  be  born. 

If  any  ask  why  this  matter  was  not  fully  developed  in  our  first  essays  on  this  subject, 
our  answer  is,  Because  we  could  not  anticipate  that  our  opponents  would  have  so  repre- 
sented or  misrepresented  our  views.  Were  a  General  asked  why  he  did  not  arrange  all 
his  troops  in  the  beginning  of  the  action  as  he  had  them  arranged  when  ho  triumphed 
over  his  enemy,  he  would  reply  that  the  manoeuvres  and  assaults  of  the  enemy  directed 
the  disposition  of  his  forces. 

Our  opponents  contend  for  a  regeneration  begun  and  perfected  before  faith  or  bap- 
tism—a spiritual  change  of  mind  by  the  Holy  Spirit  antecedent  to  either  knowledge, 
faith,  or  repentance,  of  which  infants  are  as  susceptible  as  adults;  and  therefore,  as  we 
contend,  make  the  gospel  of  no  effect.  By  way  of  reprisals  they  would  have  their  con- 
verts to  think  that  we  go  for  nothing  but  water,  and  sarcastically  call  us  the  advocates 
of  "  water  regeneration."  They  think  there  is  something  more  sublime  and  divine  in 
"spirit  regeneration ;"  and  therefore  claim  the  title  of  orthodox.  This  calumny  has 
been  one  occasion  of  the  present  essay,  and  it  has  occasioned  that  part  of  it  which  gives 
the  fullest  latitude  to  the  term  regeneration,  which  analogy  gives  to  the  figure  used  by 
the  Apostle.  But  when  we  speak  in  the  exact  style  of  the  living  oracles  on  this  subject, 
we  must  represent  being  born  again,  (.John  iii.  5,)  and  regeneration,  (Tit.  iii.  5,)  as  relating 
to  the  act  of  immersion  alone.    See  Extra  Defended,  pp.  24-36. 


77//;    MII.L1:NMAL    nARBINOER    ABRIDGED.  465 

of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  a  new  life,  the  course  is  fairly  marked  out 
They  are  to  present  the  great  facts,  to  declare  the  whole  testimony  of 
God  to  sinners,  in  order  to  their  conversion  or  regeneration.  Like 
Paul,  In  his  account  of  his  labors  in  Corinth,  they  must  go  out,  not  in 
the  strength  of  human  philosophy,  "hut  declaring  the  ieslimony  of 
Ood,"  and  laying  before  their  hearers  "the  wonderful  works  of  God. " 

This  is  the  use,  and  the  only  proper  use  of  sound  theory  on  any 
subject.  It  is  to  guide  the  operator,  not  the  thing  operated  upon.  I 
would  hope,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  to  be  the  means  of  regenerating 
more  persons  in  one  year,  never  once  naming  regeneration,  nor  specu- 
lating upon  the  subject,  by  stating  and  enforcing  the  testimony  of  God, 
than  by  preaching  daily  the  most  approved  theory  of  regeneration  ever 
sanctioned  by  any  sanhedrim  on  earth.*  With  these  views  we  have, 
then,  offered  the  preceding  remarks;  and  shall  now  briefly  turn  our 
attention*  to 

THE  REGENERATION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  word  regeneration  we  have  found  once  used  in  the  sense  of  a 
new  state  of  things,  or  of  the  introduction  of  a  new  state  of  things. 

*Auguat  l«^— I  have  jnst  now  opened  the  Cincinnati  Baptist  Journal  of  2f)th  July,  from 
which  r  reaii  an  approveil  definition  <>f  regeneration.  It  is  orthodox,  spiritual,  physical, 
mystical,  and  metaphysical  Regeneration.  It  is  quoted  from  the  Standard.  Regenera- 
tion, in  the  Evatijdical  i<tandard,  is  thus  defined  :— 

"  Is  the  sinner  active  in  regeneration  ?  Certainly  ho  is.  His  mind  is  a  thinking, 
rational  principle,  which  never  ceases  to  act;  and  therefore,  when  the  word  pamie  is 
applied  to  it,  by  Old  Divines,  or  by  Calvinists,  they  do  not  mean  that  it  is  literally  dead, 
like  inert  matter,  which  requires  a  physical  impulse  to  put  it  in  motion.  They  only 
mean  to  convey  the  Scriptural  idea  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  sole  agent  in  regeneration, 
and  that  the  sinner  has  no  more  efficient  agency  in  accomplishing  it,  than  Lazarus  had  in 
becoming  alive  from  the  dead.  Still  they  grant  that  his  mind  is  most  active,  but  un- 
hap|)ily  its  activity  is  all  against  Iho  Divine  influence;  as  the  Scriptures  assure  us.  un- 
ngenerated  persons  '  do  always  resist '  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit.  '  Every  imagination 
of  the  thoughts  of  man's  heart,  is  only  c\i\  continually.'  'There  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  one.'  The  sinner,  therefore,  instead  of  voluntarily  co-operating  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  does  all  he  can  to  rf«i.?niis  divine  influence,  and  pretend  his  own  regeneration 
until  he  is  made  willing  by  almighty  power." 

What  a  comfortable  thing  is  this  theory  of  regeneration  !  The  sinner  is  to  be  re- 
generated when  actively  striving  against  the  Divine  influence.  At  the  moment  of  regen- 
eration "he  has,"  in  one  sense, "  no  more  efllcient  agency  in  accomplishing  it,  than 
Lazarus  had  in  becoming  alive  from  the  dead;  "  and  in  another  sense,  he  is  not  passive, 
but  "does  all  he  can  to  regi.~t  the  Divine  influence,  and  prevent  his  own  regeneration, 
until  he  is  made  willing  by  almighty  power."  This  is  ftanda  d  divinity;  and  he  that 
preaches  this  divinity,  is  a  pious,  regenerated,  Regular  Orthodox  Baptist  Christian 
Minister!  How  much  value,  on  this  theory,  is  all  the  preaching  in  Christendom?  The 
Holy  Spirit  may  be  busily  at  work  upon  some  drunken  sot,  or  some  vile  debauchee,  who 
is  a.s  dead  as  Lazarus  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  resisting  the  Spirit,  with  all  his  moral 
and  physical  energy,  up  to  the  moment  that  the  almighty  arm  pierces  him  to  the  heart, 
without  a  sword,  and  makes  him  alive  by  killing  him!l! 

The  absurdity  and  licentiousness  of  such  a  view  of  the  great  work  of  renovation,  wo 
had  thought  so  glaring,  that  no  editor  in  the  West  would  have  had  boldness  to  have  pub- 
lished it.  This  is  a  proof  of  the  necessity  of  our  present  essay,  and  will  explain  to  the 
Intelligent  reader  why  we  have  given  to  the  whole  process  of  renovation  the  name  of 
legeneration,  which  properly  belongs  to  the  last  act. 


466  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

(Matt.  xix.  28.)  In  this  application  of  the  word,  we  would  turn  the 
attention  of  our  readers  to  the  necessity  of  the  regeneration  of  the 
church. 

I  speak  not  of  the  regeneration  of  any  sectarian  establishment. 
They  are  built  upon  another  foundation — upon  the  foundation  of 
decrees  of  councils,  creeds,  formularies,  or  acts  of  Parliament.  But 
we  speak  of  those  societies  that  professedly  build  upon  the  founda- 
tion of  Apostles  and  Prophets,  without  any  human  bond  of  union, 
or  rule  of  life — our  brethren  of  the  reformation  or  regeneration  now 
in  process. 

Should  any  one  imagine  that  the  state  of  things  to  which  we  have 
attained  is  the  sole,  or  ultimate  object  of  our  aspirations,  or  our  efforts, 
he  would  do  us  the  greatest  injury.  Societies  indeed  may  be  found 
amongst  us  far  in  advance  of  others  in  their  progress  towards  the 
ancient  order  of  things;  but  we  know  of  none  that  has  fully  attained 
to  that  model.  It  is,  however,  most  acceptable  to  see  so  many  societies 
formed  and  forming  under  the  banners  of  reformation,  with  the  deter- 
mination to  move  onwards  in  conformity  to  the  sacred  oracles,  till 
they  stand  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will  of  God. 

Our  opponents  can  not,  or  will  not,  understand  how  any  society  can 
be  in  progress  to  a  better  order  of  things  than  that  under  which  they 
may  have  commenced  their  pilgrimage.  Their  sectarian  policies  were 
soon  formed,  and  the  limits  of  their  reformation  were  soon  fixed, 
beyond  which  it  soon  became  heretical  to  move.  The  founders  of  all 
new  schisms  not  only  saw  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  their  horizon 
was  so  circumscribed  with  human  traditions,  that  they  only  aimed  at 
moving  a  few  paces  from  the  hive  in  which  they  were  generated.  A 
new  creed  was  soon  adopted,  and  then  their  stature  was  complete. 
They  bounded  from  infancy  to  manhood  in  a  few  days,  and  decided 
if  any  presumed  farther  to  advance,  they  should  be  treated  as  those 
who  had  refused  to  move  from  the  old  hive.  Hence  it  became  as 
censurable  to  grow  beyond  a  certain  standard,  as  not  to  grow  at  all. 
This  never  was  our  proposition,  and  never  can  be  our  object.  We  have 
no  new  creed  to  form,  no  rules  of  discipline  to  adopt.  We  have  taken 
the  Living  Oracles  as  our  creed,  our  rules  and  measures  of  faith  and 
practice;  and  in  this  department,  have  no  additions,  alterations,  nor 
amendments  to  propose.  But  in  coming  up  to  this  standard  of  knowl- 
edge, faith,  and  behaviour,  we  have  something  yet  before  us,  to  whicli 
we  have  not  attained. 

That  we  may  be  distinctly  understood  on  this  subject,  we  shall 
speak  particularly  on  the  things  wanting  in  our  individual  characters, 
and  of  the  things  wanting  in  our  church  order,  to  give  to  our  meetings 
that  interest  and  influence  which  they  ought  to  exert  on  the  brothei- 
Jiood  and  on  society  at  large. 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4«7 

It  will  be  understood,  that  our  remarks  on  the  things  which  are 
v/anting  in  the  disciples,  are  applicable  not  to  every  individual,  but  to 
the  general  mass.  And  first  of  all,  there  is  wanting  a  more  general 
and  particular  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  than  is  possessed 
by  the  great  majority  of  the  reformers.  There  is,  perhaps,  wanting  a 
taste  or  disposition  for  that  private  devotional  reading  of  the  oracles 
of  God,  which  is  so  essential  to  a  growth  in  that  knowledge  of  God 
and  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  constitutes  the  most  striking  attribute  in 
Christian  character.  We  thus  reason  from  the  proficiency  which  is 
discoverable  in  the  bounds  of  our  acquaintance,  which  is  large  enough 
to  afford  data  for  very  general  conclusions. 

To  read  the  Scriptures  for  the  sake  of  carrying  out  into  practice 
all  that  we  learn,  and  to  read  them  for  the  sake  of  knowing  what  is 
written,  are  very  different  objects,  and  will  produce  very  different 
results.  Their  influence  on  the  temper  and  behaviour,  in  the  former 
case,  will  ver>'  soon  become  manifest  to  all  with  whom  we  associate; 
while  in  the  latter  case,  there  is  no  visible  improvement.  David  said 
that  he  "hid  the  word  of  God  in  his  heart,"  or  laid  it  up  in  his  mind, 
"that  he  might  not  sin  against  God;"  and  that  he  had  "more  under 
standing  than  all  his  teachers,  because  God's  testimonies  were  his 
meditation."  It  will  be  admitted  that  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Apos- 
tles and  Evangelists  of  Jesus  Christ  ought  to  be  as  precious  and  as 
delightful  to  the  Christian  as  were  the  ancient  oracles  to  the  most 
pious  Jew.  Now  as  an  example  of  what  we  mean  by  a  private  devo- 
tional reading  and  study  of  the  oracles  of  Christ,  we  shall  permit  a 
Jew  to  tell  his  experience — 

"The  law  of  my  mouth  is  better  to  me  than  thousands  of  gold  and 
silver.  With  my  whole  heart  have  I  sought  thee;  my  soul  breaketh 
for  the  longing  that  it  has  to  thy  judgments  at  all  times.  Thy  testi- 
monies are  my  delight  and  my  counsellors.  Teach  me,  0  Lord,  th'^ 
way  of  thy  statutes,  and  I  will  keep  it  to  the  end.  Give  me  under- 
standing, and  I  will  keep  thy  law;  yes,  I  will  observe  it  with  my 
whole  heart.  Make  me  to  go  in  the  path  of  thy  commandments,  for 
In  it  do  I  delight.  Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs  in  the  house  of 
my  pilgrimage.  At  midnight  I  will  rise  to  give  thanks  to  thee, 
because  of  thy  righteous  judgments.  O  how  I  love  thy  law;  it  is 
my  meditation  all  the  dayl  How  sweet  are  thy  words  to  my  taste; 
sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mouth!  Thy  testimonies  have  I  taken 
as  an  heritage  forever,  for  they  are  the  rejoicing  of  my  heart.  Great 
peace  have  they  that  love  thy  law,  and  nothing  shall  cause  them  to 
stumble." 

These  are  only  a  few  extracts  from  one  piece,  written  by  a  king 
throe  thoui-and  years  ago.  On  ar.other  occasion  he  pronounced  the  fol- 
lowing encomium  on  the  testimony  of  God:  — 


468  THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"The  law  [doctrine]  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  [restoring] 
the  soul:  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple: 
the  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart:  the  command- 
ment of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes.  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  clean,  enduring  forever;  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true 
and  righteous  altogether.  More  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea, 
than  much  fine  gold;  sweeter  also  than  honey,  and  the  honey-comb. 
By  them  is  thy  servant  warned,  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is  a 
great  reward." 

This  fully  reveals  all  that  we  mean  by  a  devotional  private  study 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Every  Christian  who  can  read,  may  every  day 
thus  refresh,  strengthen,  and  comfort  his  heart,  by  reading  or  com- 
mitting to  memory,  and  afterwards  reflecting  upon  some  portion  of 
the  book.  He  may  carry  in  his  pocket  the  blessed  volume,  and  many 
a  time  through  the  day  take  a  peep  into  it.  This  will  preserve  him 
from  temptation,  impart  courage  to  his  heart,  give  fluency  to  his  tongue, 
and  the  graces  of  Christianity  to  his  life. 

In  this  age,  when  ignorance  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  is  so 
characteristic,  and  the  rage  for  human  opinions  and  traditions  so 
rampant,  it  is  a  duty  doubly  imperative  on  our  brethren,  to  give 
themselves  much  more  to  the  study  of  the  book,  and  then  one  of 
them  will  put  a  host  of  the  aliens  to  flight;  and,  what  is  still  more  desir- 
able, he  will  have  communion  with  God  all  the  day,  and  ever  rejoice 
in  his  salvation. 

In  the  second  place,  there  is  wanting  amongst  disciples  who  are 
heads  of  families,  more  attention,  much  more  effort,  to  bring  up  their 
children  "in  the  correction  and  instruction  of  the  Lord."  The  chil- 
dren of  all  disciples  should  be  taught  the  oracles  of  God  from  the 
first  dawning  of  reason.  The  good  seed  should  be  sown  in  their 
hearts  before  the  strong  seeds  of  vice  can  take  root.  From  a  child 
Timothy  knew  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  they  were  able  to  make  him 
wise  to  salvation,  through  the  Christian  faith.  How  many  more 
Timothys  might  we  have,  if  we  had  a  few  more  of  the  daughters  of 
Lois,  and  a  few  more  mothers  like  Eunice!  Most  saints,  in  this 
generation,  appear  more  zealous  that  their  children  should  shine  on 
earth,  than  in  heaven — and  that  they  may  be  rich  here,  at  the  hazard 
of  eternal  bankruptcy.  They  labor  to  make  them  rich  and  genteel, 
rather  than  pure  and  holy;  and  spend  more  time  in  fashioning  them 
to  the  foolish  and  wicked  taste  of  polished  society,  than  in  teaching 
them  by  precept  and  example  the  word  that  is  better  than  gold,  and 
more  precious  than  rubies.  Well,  they  sow  darnel,  and  can  not  reap 
wheat.  They  may  have  a  mournful  harvest,  and  years  of  bitterness 
and  sorrow  may  reward  them  for  their  negligence  and  error.  If  only 
a  tithe  of  the  time,  and  the  labor,  and  expense  that  it  costs  to  fit  a 


THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4os) 

son  or  a  daughter  to  shine  in  the  middle  or  front  ranks  cf  genteel 
society,  were  spent  in  teaching  them  to  fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments, how  many  more  virtuous,  solid  and  useful  citizens — how 
many  more  valuable  members  of  the  family  of  Cod — how  many  more 
faithful  and  able  witnesses  for  the  truth  of  God,  would  be  found  in 
all  corners  of  the  land! 

Every  Christian  family  ought  to  be  a  nursery  for  God.  Their 
offspring  should  be  trained  for  the  skies.  For  such  are  the  promisea 
of  God,  such  are  the  facts  on  record,  and  such  is  the  experience  of 
Christians,  that  every  parent  who  does  his  duty  to  his  children,  may 
expect  to  see  them  inherit  the  blessing.  Their  didactic  labors,  aided 
by  their  example  and  their  constant  prayers,  will  seldom  or  never 
fail  of  success  in  influencing  their  descendants  to  walk  in  their  ways 
The  very  command  to  bring  up  their  children  in  the  Lord,  implies 
its  practicability.  And  both  Testaments  furnish  us  with  all  adsuranc-:* 
that  such  labors  will  not  be  in  vain.  That  men  of  high  renown  in 
sacred  history,  were  generally  the  sons  of  such  a  parentage.  The 
sons  of  God  were  found  among  the  sons  of  Seth,  while  the  daughters 
of  men  were  of  the  progeny  of  Cain.  Abraham  was  the  descendant 
of  Shem;  Moses  and  Aaron  were  the  sons  of  believing  parents; 
Samuel  was  the  son  of  Hannah,  and  David  was  the  son  of  Jesse. 
John  the  Harbinger  was  the  son  of  Zechariah  and  Elizal)eth;  and 
it  pleased  the  heavenly  Father,  that  his  Son  should  be  the  child  of 
a  pious  virgin. 

But  it  is  under  Christ  that  the  faithful  are  furnished  with  all 
the  necessary  means  of  bringing  up  their  offspring  for  the  Lord. 
The  numerous  failures  which  we  witness,  are  to  be  traced  either  to 
great  neglect,  or  to  some  fatal  notion  which  paralyzes  all  effort;  for 
some  think  that  the  salvation  or  damnation  of  their  offspring  was 
a  matter  settled  from  all  eternity,  irrespective  of  any  agency  on 
their  part:  that  some  are  born  "vessels  of  wrath,"  and  others  "ves- 
sels of  mercy;"  and  hence  the  instructions,  examples  and  prayers 
of  parents,  are  of  no  avail.  Among  the  descendants  of  such,  it  will 
no  doubt  often  happen  that  some  become  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  for 
destruction,  while  others  become  vessels  of  mercy,  predestined  to 
glory. 

When  God  gave  a  revelation  to  Jacob,  and  commanded  a  law  to 
Israel,  he  gave  it  in  charge  that  they  "should  teach  it  to  their  chil- 
dren, that  they  might  put  their  trust  in  Qod,  and  might  not  be, 
like  their  fathers,  a  rebellious  race."  The  Apostles  of  Christ  have 
also  taught  the  Christians  the  same  lesson.  This  is  our  guide, 
and  not  our  own  reasonings.  Now  let  the  disciples  make  this  their 
business,  morning,  noon,  and  evening,  and  then  we  shall  see  the 
effects. 


470  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

We  are  sorry  to  see  this  great  duty,  to  which  nature,  reason,  reve- 
lation alike  direct,  so  much  neglected  by  many  of  our  brethren;  to 
find  amongst  their  children  those  who  are  no  better  acquainted  with 
the  Scriptures  than  the  children  of  their  neighbors  who  believe  in 
miraculous  conversions,  or  think  it  is  a  sin  to  attempt  what  they  im- 
agine to  be  the  work  of  God  alone — never  suspecting  that  God  works 
by  human  means,  and  employs  human  agency  in  his  works  of  provi- 
dence and  redemption. 

I  never  knew  but  a  very  few  families  that  made  it  thair  daily 
business  to  train  up  their  children  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  to  cause  them  every  day  to  commit  to  memory  a  portion 
of  the  living  oracles;  but  these  few  instances  authorize  me  to  think, 
and  to  say,  that  such  a  course  persisted  in,  and  sustained  by  the 
good  example  of  parents,  will  very  generally,  if  not  universally,  issue 
in  the  salvation  of  their  children.  And  before  any  one  says, 
I  have  found  an  exception  to  the  proverb  of  Solomon  which  says 
"train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he 
will  not  depart  from  it" — let  him  show  that  this  child  was  trained  up 
"w  the  way  he  should  go." 

In  the  third  place,  there  is  wanting  among  many  disciples  a 
stricter  regard  to  relative  duties — we  mean,  not  only  the  dues  which 
justice,  truth,  and  moderation  claim,  but  all  relative  duties.  So  long 
as  Christians  live  after  the  manner  of  men  in  the  flesh,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  this  world,  they  must,  like  other  men,  contract 
debts  which  they  can  not  promptly  pay,  make  covenants  and  bar- 
gains, give  promises  which  they  can  not  fulfil,  and  stake  pledges 
which  they  are  unable  to  redeem.  All  this  is  wholly  incompatible 
with  our  profession.  Such  were  not  the  primitive  disciples.  Sceptics 
of  every  name,  men  of  the  world,  who  have  ever  read  the  New  Tes- 
tament, know  that  such  behaviour  is  utterly  incompatible  with  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  Christianity.  A  Christian's  word  or  promise 
ought  to  be,  and  is,  if  Christ  be  honored,  as  solemn  and  as  obliga- 
tory as  any  bond.  And  as  for  breach  of  bargain  or  covenant,  even 
where  it  is  greatly  or  wholly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Christian, 
it  is  not  even  to  be  thought  of — "he  changes  not,  though  to  his  hurt 
he  covenants."  How  much  has  the  gospel  lost  of  its  infiuence,  be- 
cause of  the  faithlessness  of  its  professors!  O  when  shall  it  be  again 
said  of  Christians  in  general,  that  "they  bind  themselves  as  with  a 
solemn  oath,  not  to  commit  any  kind  of  wickedness — to  be  guilty 
neither  of  theft,  robbery,  nor  adultery — never  to  break  a  promise, 
or  to  keep  back  a  deposit  when  called  upon."  Pliny  writes  to  the 
Emperor  Trajan  that  such  was  the  character  of  Christians  A.  D. 
106-7,  as  far  as  he  could  learn  it  from  those  who  were  not  Chris 
tians.     Were  all  the  common    (nowadays   rather  uncommon)    virtues 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  471 

of  justice,  truth,  fidelity,  honesty,  practised  by  all  Christians,  how 
many  mouths  would  be  stopped,  and  how  many  new  arguments  in 
favor  of  Jesus  Christ  could  all  parties  find!  But  even  were  the33 
common  virtues  as  general  as  the  Christian  profession,  there  are  the 
other  finer  virtues  of  benevolence,  goodness,  mercy,  sympathy,  which 
belong  to  the  profession,  expressed  in  taking  care  of  the  sick,  the 
orphan,  the  widow — in  alleviating  all  the  afflictions  of  our  fellow- 
creatures.  Add  these  virtues,  or  graces,  as  we  sometimes  call  them, 
to  the  others,  and  then  how  irresistible  the  argument  for  the  divine 
authenticity  of  the  gospel!  Let  industry,  frugality,  temperance, 
honesty,  justice,  truth,  fidelity,  humility,  mercy,  sympathy,  appear 
conspicuous  in  the  lives  of  the  disciples,  and  the  contrast  between 
them  and  other  professors  will  plead  their  cause  more  successfully 
than  a  hundred  preachers. 

In  the  last  place,  there  is  wanting  a  more  elevated  piety  to  bring 
up  the  Christian  character  to  the  standard  of  primitive  times.  We 
want  not  fine  speeches  nor  eloquent  orations  on  the  excellencies  of 
Christian  piety  and  devotion.  These  are  generally  acknowledged. 
But  we  need  to  be  roused  from  our  supineness,  from  our  worldly- 
mindedness,  from  our  sinful  conformities  to  an  apostate  generation, 
to  the  exhibition  of  that  holiness  in  speech,  in  behaviour,  without 
which  no  one  shall  see  the  Lord.  What  mean  the  numerous  exhor- 
tations of  the  Apostles  to  watchfulness  and  prayer,  if  these  are  not 
essential  to  our  devotion  to  God  and  consecration  to  his  service? 

If  our  affections  are  not  placed  on  things  above,  we  are  unfit  for 
the  kingdom  of  glory.  To  see  the  folly  of  a  profession  of  Christianity 
without  the  power  of  godliness,  we  have  only  to  put  the  question.  How 
is  that  person  fit  for  the  enjoyment  of  God  and  Christ,  whose  heart 
is  filled  with  the  cares,  anxieties,  and  conc?rns  of  this  life — whos.> 
v.hole  life  is  a  life  of  labor  and  care  for  the  body — a  life  of  devotion 
to  the  objects  of  time  and  sense?  No  man  can  serve  God  and  Mammon. 
Where  the  treasure  is  the  heart  must  also  be.  Thither  the  affections 
turn  their  course.  There  is  no  room  for  the  residence  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  a  mind  devoted  to  the  affairs  of  this  life.  The  spirit  of 
the  policies  of  this  w'orld  and  the  Spirit  of  God  can  not  dwell  in  the 
same  heart.  If  Jesus  or  his  Apostles  taught  any  on;?  doctrine  clearly, 
fully,  and  unequivocally,  it  is  this  doctrine,  that  "the  cares  of  thi?: 
world,  the  lu?ts  of  other  things,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  stifio 
the  word  and  render  it  unfruitful." 

If  any  ono  would  enjoy  the  power  of  godliness,  lie  must  give  up 
his  whole  soul  to  it.  The  business  of  this  life  will  b-^  performed  relig- 
iously as  a  duty  subordinate  to  the  will  of  God.  While  his  hands 
are  engaged  in  that  business  which  his  own  wants,  or  those  of  his 
household   make  necessary,   his  affections  are  above.     He  delights  in 


472  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

God,  and  communes  with,  him  all  the  day.  A  Christian  is  not  one 
who  is  pious  by  fits  and  starts,  who  is  religious  or  devout  on  one 
day  of  the  week,  or  for  one  hour  of  the  day.  It  is  the  whole  bent  of 
his  soul — it  is  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  every  day.  To  make 
his  calling  and  election  sure  is  the  business  of  his  life.  His  mind 
rests  only  in  God.  He  places  the  Lord  always  before  him.  This  is 
his  joy  and  his  delight.  He  would  not  for  the  world  have  it  other- 
wise. He  would  not  enjoy  eternal  life,  if  he  had  it  at  his  option, 
in  any  other  way  than  that  which  God  himself  has  proposed.  He 
accedes  to  God's  arrangements,  not  of  necessity,  but  of  choice.  His 
religious  services  are  perfect  freedom.  He  is  free  indeed.  The  Lord's 
commandments  are  not  grievous,  but  joyful.  The  yoke  of  Christ  is  to 
him  easy  and  his  burthen  light.     He  will  sing  with  David — 

The  love  that  to  thy  laws  I  bear, 

No  language  can  display; 
They  with  fresh  wonders  entertain 

My  ravish'd  thoughts  all  day. 

The  law  that  from  thy  mouth  proceeds 

Of  more  esteem  I  hold 
Than  untoucli'd  mines,  than  thousand  mines 

Of  silver  and  of  gold. 

Whilst  in  the  way  of  thy  commands, 

More  solid  joy  I  found, 
Tlian  had  I  been  with  vast  increase 

Of  envy'd  riches  crown'd. 

Thy  testimonies  I  have  kept, 

And  constantly  obey'd; 
Because  the  love  I  bore  to  them 

Thy  service  easy  made. 

In  the  same  ratio  as  Christians  devoutly  study  the  oracles  of  God, 
teach  them  to  their  children,  practice  all  relative  duties  to  soci- 
ety at  large,  and  rise  to  a  more  elevated  piety,  they  will  increase 
their  influence  in  the  great  and  heavenly  work  of  regenerating  the 
world. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  things  wanting  in  the  order  of  Christian 
assemblies,  to  'give  to  their  public  meetings  that  influence  on  them- 
selves and  on  society  at  large,  will  finish  this  section  of  our  essay. 

Our  heavenly  Father  wills  our  happiness  in  all  his  institutions. 
His  ordinances  are,  therefore,  the  surest,  the  simplest,  and  the  most 
direct  means  of  promoting  our  happiness.  The  Lord  Jesus  gave  him- 
self for  the  church  that  he  might  purify  and  bless  it;  and,  therefore, 
in  the  church  are  all  the  institutions  which  can  promote  the  individual 
and  social  good  of  the  Christian  community.  In  attending  upon  thesa 
institutions  on  the  Lord's  day,  much  depends  upon  the  preparation  of 
heart  of  all  who  unite  in  commemorating  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  the  Son  of  God. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  473 

In  adverting  to  the  most  Scriptural  and  rational  manner  of  cele- 
brating or  observing  the  day  to  the  Lord,  and  for  our  own  comfort  and 
the  regeneration  of  the  world,  we  would  first  of  all  remark,  that  much 
depends  upon  the  frame  of  mind,  or  preparation  of  heart,  in  which  we 
visit  the  assemblies  of  the  saints. 

Suppose  two  persons,  A  and  B,  if  you  please,  members  of  the  samo 
church,  taking  their  seats  together  at  the  Lord's  table.  A,  from  the 
time  he  opened  his  eyes  in  the  morning,  was  filled  with  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  Saviour's  life,  death,  and  resurrection.  In  his  closet,  in 
his  family,  and  along  the  way  he  was  meditating  or  conversing  on  the 
•wonders  of  redemption,  and  renewing  his  recollections  of  the  sayings 
and  doings  of  the  Messiah.  B,  on  the  other  hand,  arose  as  on  other 
days,  and  finding  himself  free  from  all  obligations  arising  from  the 
holiness  of  time,  talks  about  the  common  affairs  of  every  day,  and 
allows  his  thoughts  to  roam  over  the  business  of  the  last  week,  or, 
perhaps,  to  project  the  business  of  the  next.  If  he  meet  with  a  neigh- 
bor, friend,  or  brother,  the  news  of  the  day  is  inquired  after,  expa- 
tiated upon,  discussed;  the  crops,  the  markets,  the  public  health,  or 
the  weather — the  affairs  of  Europe,  or  the  doings  of  Congress,  or  the 
prospects  of  some  candidate  for  political  honor,  become  the  theme  of 
conversation.  As  he  rides  or  walks  to  the  church,  he  chats  upon  all 
or  any  of  these  topics,  till  he  enter  the  door  of  the  meeting-house. 
Now  as  A  and  B  enter  the  house  in  very  different  states  of  mind,  may 
it  not  be  supposed  that  they  will  differ  as  much  in  their  enjoyments 
ap  in  their  morning  thoughts?  Or  can  B,  by  a  single  effort,  unburthen 
his  mind,  call  in  the  wanderings  of  his  thoughts,  and  in  a  moment 
transport  himself  from  the  contemplation  of  things  on  earth  to  things 
in  heaven?  If  this  can  be  imagined,  then  meditation  and  preparation 
of  heart  are  wholly  unnecessary  to  the  acceptable  worship  of  God,  and 
to  the  comfortable  enjoyment  of  his  institutions. 

But  is  it  compatible  with  experience,  or  is  it  accordant  to  reason 
that  B  can  delight  in  God,  and  rejoice  in  commemorating  the  wonders 
of  his  redemption,  while  his  thoughts  are  dissipated  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  a  thousand  vanities? — while,  like  a  fool's  eyes,  his  thoughts 
are  roaming  to  the  ends  of  the  earth!  Can  he  say,  with  a  pious  Jew, 
"How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts!  My  soul  longs 
— yes,  even  faints,  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord!  ^ly  heart  and  my  flesh 
cry  out  for  the  living  God.  Happy  they  who  dwell  in  thy  house;  they 
will  be  still  praising  thee!  A  day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thou- 
sand. I  had  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my  God  than  to 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness."  "One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the 
Lord,  and  that  I  will  seek  after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life,  to  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and 
to  inquire  in  his  temple.     0  send  out  thy  light  and  thy  truth!     Le; 


474  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

them  lead  me,  let  them  bring  me  to  thy  holy  hill  and  to  thy  taber- 
nacles. Then  will  I  go  to  the  altar  of  God,  to  God  my  exceeding  joy; 
yes,  I  will  praise  thee,  0  God,  my  God!" 

Or  had  the  Jew  a  sublimer  worship,  more  exalted  views  of  God's 
salvation,  and  more  piety  than  a  Christian?  Or  were  the  ordinances 
of  the  Jewish  sanctuary  more  entertaining  and  refreshing  than  the 
ordinances  of  the  Christian  church?  This  will  not  be  alleged;  con- 
sequently, B,  and  all  of  that  school,  are  utterly  at  fault  when  they 
approach  the  house  of  God  in  such  a  state  of  mind  as  they  approach 
the  market  place,  the  forum,  or  the  common  resorts  of  this  present 
world. 

Christians  need  not  say  in  excuse  for  themselves,  that  all  days 
are  alike,  that  all  places  and  times  are  alike  holy,  and  that  they  ought 
tc  be  in  the  best  frame  of  mind  all  the  time.  For  even  concede  them 
all  their  own  positions,  they  will  not  contend  that  a  man  ought  to 
speak  to  God,  or  to  come  into  the  presence  of  God,  as  they  approach 
men.  They  will  not  say  that  they  ought  to  have  the  same  thoughts 
and  feelings  in  approaching  the  Lord's  table,  as  in  approaching  a 
common  table;  or  on  entering  a  court  of  political  justice,  as  in  coming 
into  the  house  of  God.  There  is,  in  the  words  of  Solomon  the  Wise,  a 
season  and  time  for  every  object  and  for  every  work: — There  is  the 
Lord's  day,  the  Lord's  table,  the  Lord's  house,  and  the  Lord's  people; 
and  there  are  thoughts,  and  frames  of  mind,  and  behaviour  compatible 
and   incompatible  with  all  these. 

In  the  public  assembly  the  whole  order  of  worship  ought  to  do 
justice  to  what  is  passing  in  the  minds  of  all  the  worshippers.  That 
joy  in  the  Lord,  that  peace  and  serenity  of  mind,  that  affection  for 
the  brethren,  that  reverence  for  the  institutions  of  God's  house,  which 
all  feel,  should  be  manifest  in  all  the  business  of  the  day.  Nothing 
that  would  do  injustice  to  all  or  any  of  these,  ought  ever  to  appear  in 
the  congregation  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  No  levity,  irreverence,  no 
gloom,  no  sadness,  no  pride,  no  unkindness,  no  severity  of  behaviour 
towards  any,  no  coldness,  nothing  but  love,  and  peace,  and  joy,  and 
humility,  and  reverence  should  appear  in  the  face,  in  the  word,  or 
action  of  any  disciple. 

These  are  not  little  matters.  They  all  exert  a  salutary  influence 
on  the  brethren  and  the  strangers.  These  are  visible  and  sensible 
displays  of  the  temper  and  spirit  of  Christians;  and  if  Paul  thought  it 
expedient  to  write  of  veils  and  long  hair  when  admonishing  a  church, 
"to  do  all  things  decently  and  in  order,"  we,  in  this  day  of  degen- 
eracy, may  be  allowed  to  notice  matters  and  things  as  minute  as  those 
before  us. 

We  intend  not  now  to  go  into  the  details  of  church  order  or  Chris- 
tian discipline,  nor  to  expatiate  on  the  necessity  of  devoting  a  part  of 


Tilt:    MILLKNNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  475 

the  lime  to  singing,  praying,  reading,  teaching,  exhorting,  commemo- 
rating, loniniunicating;  nor  on  how  much  of  this  or  that  is  expedient. 
Times  and  circumstances  must  decide  how  much  time  shall  be  taken 
up  in  these  exercises,  and  when  it  shall  be  most  fitting  to  meet,  to 
adjourn,  etc.  Nor  is  it  necessary  now  to  say,  that  there  must  be 
simply  order,  and  presidency,  and  proper  discipline,  and  due  subordi- 
nation to  one  another  in  the  fear  of  God.  We  now  speak  rather  of 
the  manner  in  which  all  things  are  to  be  done,  than  of  the  things 
themselves,  their  necessity  or  value. 

After  noticing  what  in  some  instances  appears  to  be  wanting  in 
the  manner  of  coming  together  on  the  Lord's  day,  we  proceed  to 
notice  in  order  the  things  wanting  in  many  congregations  for  the 
purposes  already  specified. 

And  first  of  all,  be  it  observed,  that  in  some  churches  there  appears 
to  be  wanting  a  proper  method  of  handling  the  Scriptures  to  the  edifi- 
cation of  the  brethren.  It  is  admitted  by  all  the  holy  brethren  that 
the  Scriptures  of  truth,  called  the  living  oracles,  are  the  great  instru- 
ment of  Cod  for  all  his'purposes  in  the  saints  on  earth.  Through  them 
they  are  converted  to  God,  comforted,  consecrated,  made  meet  for  an 
inheritance  among  the  sanctified,  and  qualified  for  every  good  word 
and  work.  Every  thing,  then,  depends  upon  the  proper  understanding 
of  these  volumes  of  inspiration.  They  can  only  operate  as  far  as  they 
are  understood. 

The  system  of  sermonizing  on  a  text  is  now  almost  universally 
abandoned  by  all  who  intend  that  their  hearers  should  understand 
the  testimony  of  God.  Orators  and  exhorters  may  select  a  word,  a 
phrase,  or  a  verse;  but  all  who  feed  the  flock  of  God  with  knowledge 
and  understanding,  know  that  this  method  is  wholly  absurd.  Philo- 
logical lectures  upon  a  chapter  are  only  a  little  better.  The  discussion 
of  any  particular  topic,  such  as  faith,  repentance,  election,  the  Chris- 
tian calling,  may  sometimes  be  expedient;  but  in  a  congregation  of 
Christians  the  reading  and  examining  the  different  books  in  regular 
succession,  every  disciple  having  the  volume  in  his  hand,  following 
up  the  connection  of  things,  examining  parallel  passages,  interrogating 
and  being  interrogated,  fixing  the  meaning  of  particular  words  and 
phrases  by  comparison  with  the  style  of  that  writer  or  speaker,  or 
with  that  of  others;  intermingling  these  exercises  with  prayer  and 
praises,  and  keeping  the  narrative,  the  epistle,  or  the  speech,  so  long 
before  the  minds  of  all,  as  is  necessary  for  the  youngest  disciple  in 
the  congregation  to  understand  it,  and  to  become  deeply  interested  in 
it,  will  do  more  in  one  year  than  is  done  in  many  on  the  plan  of  the 
popular  meetings  of  the  day. 

Great  attention  should  be  paid  to  all  the  allusions,  in  any  composi- 
tion, to  the  peculiarities  of  time,  place,  and  circumstance,  to  the  geo- 


476  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

graphical,  historical,  and  chronological  particulars  of  all  questions  of 
fact  connected  with  all  persons  of  note  in  the  narrative:  for  these 
are  often  the  best  interpreters  of  style  and  expositors  of  the  meaning 
Oi  what  is  written. 

This  searching,  examining,  comparing,  and  ruminating  upon  the 
Holy  Scriptures  in  private,  in  the  family,  in  the  congregation,  can  not 
fail  to  make  us  learned  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  men.  The  Bible  contains  more  real  learning  than  all  the  volumes 
of  men.  It  instructs  us  in  all  our  natural,  moral,  political,  and  relig- 
ious relations.  Though  it  teaches  us  not  astronomy,  medicine,  chem- 
istry, mathematics,  architecture,  it  gives  us  all  that  knowledge  which 
adorns  and  dignifies  our  moral  nature,  and  fits  us  for  happiness. 
Happy  the  person  who  meditates  upon  it  day  and  night!  He  grows  and 
flourishes  in  moral  health  and  vigor,  as  the  trees  upon  the  water 
courses.    His  leaf  never  fades — his  fruit  never  fails. 

The  congregations  of  the  saints  want  system  in  furthering  their 
knowledge  of  this  book.  The  simple  reading  of  large  portions  in  a 
desultory  manner,  is  not  without  some  good  effect;  for  there  is  light, 
and  majesty,  and  life  in  all  the  oracles  of  God;  no  man  can  listen  to 
them  without  edification.  But  the  profit  accruing  from  such  readings 
is  not  a  tithe  of  that  which  might  be  obtained  in  the  proper  systematic 
reading  and  examination  of  them.  The  congregation  is  the  school 
of  Christ,  and  every  pupil  there  should  feel  that  he  has  learned  some- 
thing every  day  he  waits  upon  his  Master.  He  must  take  the  Master's 
book  with  him,  and,  like  every  other  good  and  orderly  pupil,  he  "must 
open  it  and  study  it  with  all  the  helps  which  the  brotherhood,  his 
school-fellows,  can  furnish  for  his_  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
all  its  saluta,ry  communications. 

A  Christian  scribe,  well  instructed  in  its  contents,  or  a  plurality  of 
such,  who  can  bring  out  of  their  intellectual  treasury  things  new  and 
old,  will  greatly  advance  the  students  in  this  heavenly  science;  but 
in  the  absence  of  such  the  students  must  be  self-taught;  and  self- 
taught  scholars  are  generally  the  best  taught:  for  they  can  not  progress 
unless  they  study  with  diligence  and  carefully  learn  the  rudiments  of 
every  science. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  diligence  and  attention  to  the  minutest 
matters,  which  are  necessary  to  proficiency  in  the  knowledge  of  all 
that  is  written  in  the  New  Testament,  we  shall  suppose  that  the  dis- 
ciples have  for  their  lesson  on  some  particular  day  the  Nativity  of 
the  Messiah.  The  second  chapter  of  Matthew  is  read.  After  reading 
this  chapter,  or  the  whole  of  the  first  section  of  Matthew's  Testimony, 
the  elder  or  president  for  the  day  asks  some  brother,  a  good  reader, 
to  read  what  the  other  evangelists  have  testified  on  this  subject.  Mark 
and   John   being   silent  on  the  nativity,   he   reads  Luke,   2d   section, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  477 

2d  chapter,  from  the  1st  to  the  41st  verse.  After  the  reading  of  this 
chapter,  the  following  points  are  the  subjects  of  inquiry,  and  most  or 
them  are  proposed  to  the  brethren  for  solution:  — 

1.  Who  was  Cesar  Augustus,  and  over  what  people  did  he  reign? 

2.  At  what  period  of  his  reign  was  the  edict  for  enrolment  issued, 
or  when  did  the  first  register  take  effect? 

3.  What  did  Syria  include,  and  what  were  its  boundaries? 

4.  Who  presided  over  Syria  at  the  time  of  the  first  register? 

5.  Who  was  king  in  Judea  at  this  time? 

6.  How  far  did  Judea  extend,  or  in  what  part  of  the  Holy  Land  was 
it  situate? 

7.  In   what  country  was  Jerusalem,  where   situated,   and  by  what 
Other  names  was  it  known? 

8.  What  was  the  native  city  of  Joseph? 

9.  Where  was  Nazareth  situated,  and  in  what  district? 

10.  What  was  the  boundary  of  Galilee,  and  what  were  its  principal 
towns? 

11.  In  what  canton  or  district  was  Bethlehem,  and  how  far  from 
Jerusalem? 

12.  Who  were  the  magians? 

13.  Why  was  'Herod  alarmed,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him,"  when 
the  magians  reported  the  Stal*  in  the  East? 

14.  What  were  the  scribes  and  chief  priests  assembled  by  Herod, 
and  why  were  they  called  together? 

15.  By    what    means    did    they    decide    the   questions   referred    to 
them? 

16.  On  what  Prophet"  do  they  rely,  and  where  shall  the  quotation 
be  found? 

17.  Of  what  family  and  lineage  were  Joseph  and  Mary? 

18.  What  does  "betrothed"  mean? 

19.  By  what  means  did  the  magians  find  the  house  in  which  the 
Messiah  was  bom? 

20.  Why  did  the  magians  not  return  to  Herod? 

21.  Whether  did  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem  or  the  eastern  magians 
first  pay  their  respects  to  the  Messiah? 

22.  In  what  quarter  of  the  globe  does  Egypt  lie? 

23.  How  far  from  Bethlehem? 

24.  How  long  was  the  Messiah  kept  in  Egj-pt? 

25.  Who  predicted  his  return  from   Egypt,  and  where  shall   It  be 
found  ? 

26.  Who  foretold  the  slaughter  of  the  male  infants  in  Bethlehem, 
and  what  instigated  Herod  to  this  cruel  massacre? 

27.  Who  succeeded  Herod  in  the  throne  of  Judea? 

28.  Why  did  Joseph  retire  to  Nazareth? 


478  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

29.  What  Prophet  foretold  this  circumstance,  and  where  shall  it 
be  found? 

These  matters  being  all  ascertained,  to  which  the  maps,  geographical 
and  chronological  indexes,  and  the  appendix  to  the  Family  Testament 
will  greatly  contribute,  some  moral  reflections  will  naturally  occur; 
for  in  all  these  incidents  are  manifest  the  wisdom,  care,  and  economy 
of  our  heavenly  Father,  his  faithfulness,  condescension,  and  love; 
the  great  variety  of  his  instruments  and  agents;  the  ease  with  which 
he  frustrates  the  evil  counsels  and  machinations  of  his  enemies;  the 
infallible  certainty  of  his  foreknowledge;  the  perfect  free  agency  oi 
men,  good  and  evil;  the  deep  humiliation  of  his  only  begotten  Son  in 
all  the  circumstances  of  his  nativity.  Irresistible  arguments  in  favor 
of  his  pretensions  may  be  drawn  from  these  ancient  prophecies,  from 
their  minuteness  of  time,  place,  and  circumstance;  many  eloquent  and 
powerful  lessons  on  human  pride,  vanity,  and  arrogance  may  be 
deduced  from  the  birth-place,  cradle,  and  family  connections  of  the 
Heir  of  the  Universe;  and  many  other  touching  appeals  to  the  heart, 
which  the  birth,  circumcision,  and  dedication  of  the  Messiah,  with  all 
the  incidents  in  Bethlehem,  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  Temple,  connected 
with  his  first  appearance  on  earth  furnish,  will  present  themselves  with 
unfading  freshness  and  beauty  to  the  brotherhood  of  Christ. 

A  hint  to  the  wise  is  sufl5cient.  Were  this  method  pursued  only 
two  hours  every  Lord's  day,  every  disciple  giving  his  heart  to  the 
work;  and  were  the  results  then  compared  with  the  products  of  the 
scrap  Doctors,  or  sermonizers  to  sleeping  and  dreaming  hearers,  no 
man,  having  any  regard  for  his  reputation  for  good  sense,  could  give 
his  vote  for  the  popular  system. 

A  reformation  in  the  manner  of  handling  the  living  oracles  is  much 
wanting;  and  the  sooner  and  more  generally  it  is  attempted,  the 
greater  will  be  the  regenerating  influence  of  the  brotherhood  on  tbe 
world.  Intelligent  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  clothed  with  the  armor  of 
light,  every  disciple  going  forth  will  be  a  David  against  the  Philistines 
— a  host  against  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  And  better  still,  the  words 
of  heavenly  favor  dwelling  in  his  heart,  he  will  carry  with  him  into 
every  society  a  fragrance  like  the  rose  of  Sharon — a  sweetness  of  per- 
fume like  a  garden  which  the  Lord  has  blessed. 

There  appears  to  be  wanting  in  some  congregations  a  proper  atten- 
tion to  discipline,  and  a  due  regard  to  decorum,  in  the  management  of 
such  cases  as  do  occur.  In  every  family,  and  in  every  congregation, 
there  is  occasional  need  of  discipline.  Offenses,  delinquencies,  and 
apostacies  did  occur  in  the  congregations  over  which  the  apostles 
either  were,  or  had  been,  presidents;  and  they  will  happen  again  in 
this  state  of  discipline  and  trial  in  which  we  are  all  placed.  They 
must  be  expected;  and  every  congregation  ought  to  be  prepared  to  act 


THE    MILLljyXIAL    HARlilXGER    ABRIDGED.  479 

upon  the  emergency  with  intelligence  and  decorum.  Much  injury 
has  been  done  to  the  progress  of  churches,  by  a  remissness  in  atten- 
tion to  such  cases,  and  in  the  manner  they  have  been  disposed  of 
when  taken  up. 

Nothing  can  be  more  preposterous  and  revolting  to  every  senti- 
ment of  good  order  and  decorum,  than  that  every  offender  and  offense 
should  at  the  very  offset  be  dragged  into  the  public  assembly.  Persons 
who  have  the  care  of  a  congregation,  the  seniors  whose  age  and  expe- 
rience have  taught  them  prudence,  ought  to  be  first  informed  of  such 
cases;  and  they  ought  not  to  lay  a  case  before  the  congregation  till 
they  have  prepared  it  for  ihe  action  of  the  congregation.  Every  novice 
is  not  to  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  disturb  the  congregation  by  present 
ing,  on  his  own  responsibility  and  at  his  own  discretion,  a  complaint 
against  a  brother,  whether  it  be  of  a  public  or  private  nature. 

But  we  are  now  speaking  of  the  manner  of  procedure  in  such  cases. 
The  most  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  all,  the  utmost  sympathy 
for  the  offender,  the  most  unyielding  firmness  in  applying  the  correc- 
tives which  the  Head  of  the  church  has  commanded,  and  the  necessity 
of  acting  promptly  in  accordance  with  the  law  in  the  case,  are  matters 
of  much  importance. 

No  passion,  no  partiality,  no  bad  feeling — nothing  but  love  and 
piety,  but  faithfulness  and  truth;  nothing  but  courtesy  and  gentleness, 
should  ever  appear  in  the  house  of  God.  And  when  any  one  is  found 
guilty  and  excluded  from  the  society,  it  should  be  done  with  all  solem- 
nity, and  with  prayer  that  the  institution  of  Christ  may  be  a  blessing 
to  the  transgressor. 

But  evil-doers,  or  those  who  act  not  honorably  according  to  the  law 
of  Christ,  ought  not  to  be  tolerated  in  the  professed  family  of  God. 
Such  persons  are  a  dead  weight  on  the  whole  society — spots  in  every 
feast  of  love,  and  blemishes  upon  the  whole  profession.  One  sinner 
destroys  much  good:  yet  separation  or  abscission,  like  amputation,  is 
only  to  be  used  in  the  last  stage,  when  all  other  remedies,  of  remon 
strance  and  admonition,  expostulation  and  entreaty,  have  fafled.  To 
prevent  gangrene,  or  an  injury  to  the  whole  body,  amputation  is  a  neces- 
sary, an  indispensable  remedy.  More  strictness,  more  firmnrss.  an  1 
more  tenderness  in  such  cases,  would  add  greatly  to  the  moral  influence 
of  every  society.  A  few  persons  walking  together  in  the  bonds  of  Clins 
tian  affection,  and  under  the  discipline  of  Christ,  is  better  than  the 
largest  assembly  in  which  there  are  visibly  and  manifestly  many  who 
fear  not  God,  and  keep  not  his  commandments. 

In  the  house  of  God  all  should  be  purity,  reverence,  meekness, 
brotherly  kindness  and  love.  Confidence  in  the  honesty  and  sincerity 
of  our  brethren,  is  the  life  of  communion.  To  feel  ourselves  united 
with  them  who  are  determined  for  eternal  life,  and  resolved  to  seek 


480  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

first  of  all,  chief  of  all,  above  all,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  the 
righteousness  required  in  it,  is  most  animating,  comforting,  exhilarat- 
ing. But  to  be  doubtful  whether  we  are  uniting  with  a  mass  of  igno- 
rance, corruption,  and  apathy,  is  as  rottenness  in  the  bones;  love 
waxes  cold,  and  then  we  have  the  form,  without  the  power  of 
godliness. 

That  the  church  may  have  a  regenerating  influence  upon  society  at 
large,  there  is  wanting  a  fuller  display  of  Christian  philanthropy  in 
all  her  public  meetings;  care  for  the  poor  manifested  in  the  liberality 
of  her  contributions;  the  expression  of  the  most  unfeigned  sympathy 
for  the  distresses  of  mankind,  not  only  among  the  brotherhood,  but 
among  all  men;  and  an  ardent  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  pro- 
portioned to  her  professed  appreciation  of  the  value  of  her  own  salva- 
tion, and  to  her  resources  and  means  of  enlightening  the  world  on  the 
things  unseen  and  eternal.  The  full  display  of  these  attributes  are 
the  most  efficient  means  of  causing  the  gospel  to  sound  abroad,  and 
to  achieve  new  conquests  amongst  our  fellow  citizens.  The  Christian 
h(:alth  and  vigor  of  every  church  is  to  be  estimated  more  by  her  exer- 
tions and  success  in  bringing  sinners  home  to  God,  than  by  all  her 
other  attainments.  Too  long  has  it  been  considered  the  duty,  the 
almost  exclusive  duty  of  the  preacher,  to  convert  the  world.  He  must 
spend  his  time  and  wear  out  his  constitution  in  journeyings  and  preach- 
ings, while  the  individual  members  of  the  church  are  to  mind  their  own 
business,  seek  their  own  wealth  and  domestic  comfort.  He  must  endure 
the  heat  and  the  cold,  forsake  his  wife  and  family,  and  commit  the 
management  of  his  affairs  to  others,  while  they  have  only  to  look  on 
and  pray  for  his  success.  Strange  infatuation!  Has  he  received  a 
commission  from  the  skies — has  he  been  drafted  out  of  the  ranks  to 
go  to  war,  and  they  all  left  at  home  to  take  care  of  their  wives  and 
children!  Some  may  believe  this — some  may  imagine  that  it  is  his 
duty  alone,  to  spend  his  time  and  his  talents  in  this  work,  and  theirs 
daily  to  labor  for  their  own  interest  and  behoof;  but  surely  such  ar 
not  the  views  and  feelings  of  our  brethren! 

The  work  of  the  Lord  will  never  progress — or,  in  other  words,  the 
regenerating  influence  of  the  church  will  amount  to  little  or  nothing,  so 
long  as  it  is  thought  to  be  not  equally  the  duty  of  every  member, 
but  the  special  duty  of  one  or  two,  denominated  preachers,  to  labor 
for  the  Lord. 

There  is  either  a  special  call,  a  general  call,  or  no  call  at  all,  to 
labor  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  If  there  be  a  few  specially 
called,  the  rest  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  mind  their  own  concerns; 
"to  seek  their  own  things,  and  not  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ."  If  none 
be  called,  then  it  is  the  duty  of  none,  and  the  Lord  has  nothing  for  his 
people  to  do — no  world  to  convert;  or,  at  least,  nothing  for  them  to 


THE    MILLLXXIAL    liARBIXGElt    ABRIDGED.  481 

do  in  that  work.  None  of  us  are  prepared  for  the  consequences  of 
either  of  these  assumptions.  It  follows,  then,  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
all  to  labor  according  to  their  respective  abilities  in  this  work.  All 
are  called  to  labor  for  the  Lord.  I  hold  that  every  citizen  in  Christ's 
kingdom  is  bound  to  take  up  arms  for  the  King,  as  much  as  I  am;  and 
if  he  can  not  go  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  he  must  take  care  of 
the  wives  and  children  of  those  who  can,  and  who  will  fight  for  their 
King  and  country.  But  the  expense  of  the  war  must  be  borne  by  the 
subjects  of  the  crown;  and  as  the  Lord  will  not  have  any  tax-gatherers 
in  his  kingdom,  but  accepts  only  voluntary  contributions,  he  makes 
a  mark  over  against  the  names  of  those  who  do  nothing,  and  he  will 
settle  with  them  at  his  return.  He  calls  even  the  contributions  for 
the  gospel  made  by  those  at  home,  "a  fragrant  odor,  a  sacrifice  accept- 
able, well  pleasing  to  God." 

But  we  are  afraid  of  doing  any  thing  of  this  sort,  lest  we  should 
be  like  some  other  people,  who  we  think  have  acted  imprudently. 
Strange,  indeed,  that  when  any  thing  has  been  once  abused,  it  is  never 
again  to  be  used!  But  I  have  inadvertently  strayed  off  from  my  pur- 
pose. The  manner  in  which  the  brethren  labor  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world,  is  all  that  comes  within  our  prescribed  limits.  On  this, 
enough  has  been  said.  Let  the  brethren  solemnly  consider  the  things 
that  are  wanting  to  give  to  their  meetings  that  influence  which  they 
ought  to  exert  upon  themselves  and  upon  society  at  large. 

We  are  as  susceptible  of  receiving  moral  and  religious  advantages 
from  our  own  good  order  and  decorum  in  the  congregation,  as  those 
who  attend  our  meetings  as  spectatOTS.  And  in  this  instance,  as  well 
as  in  all  the  variety  of  doing  good,  he  that  waters  others  is  again 
watered  in  return;  for  he  that  blessed  others,  is  always  blessed  in 
blessing  them.  None  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  more  fully  than 
they  who  are  most  active  and  influential  in  blessing  others.  "What 
happy  seasons  are  those  in  which  we  see  many  turning  to  the  Lord! 
Now  if  we  would  have  a  perpetual  feast,  we  must  be  perpetually 
devoted  to  the  promotion  of  the  happiness  of  others.  We  must  live  for 
God,  as  well  as  live  to  God. 

In  fllling  up  these  outlines,  other  matters  still  more  minute,  but 
perhaps  equally  important,  will  present  themselves  to  the  attention 
of  the  brethren.  Now  we  can  not  set  about  these  matters  too  soon 
The  time  has  again  come,  when  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of 
God.  The  people  who  have  long  enjoyed  the  word  of  life  and  the 
Christian  institutions,  must  soon  come  to  a  reckoning.  They  must 
give  an  account  of  their  stewardship,  for  the  Lord  has  promised  to 
call  them  to  judgment.  An  era  is  just  at  the  door,  which  will  be 
known  as  the  Regeneration  for  a  thousand  years  to  come.  The  Lord 
Jesus   will   judge   that  adulterous  brood,   and   give  them  over   to   the 


482  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

burning  flame,  who  have  broken  the  covenant,  and  formed  alliances 
with  the  governments  of  the  earth.  Now  the  cry  is  heard  in  our 
land,  "Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  you  partake  not  of  her 
sins,  and  that  you  may  not  receive  of  her  plagues."  The  Lord 
Jesus  will  soon  rebuild  Jerusalem,  and  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of 
David  which  has  so  long  been  in  ruins.  Let  the  church  prepare  her- 
self for  the  return  of  her  Lord,  and  see  that  she  make  herself  ready 
for  his  appearance, 

THE  REGENERATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 

All  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  soon  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  the  King.  He  will  hurl  all  the  present  potentates  from 
their  thrones.  He  will  grind  to  power  the  despotisms,  civil  and  eccle- 
siastic, and  with  the  blast  of  his  mouth  give  them  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.  The  antichristian  power,  whether  it  be  called  Papistical, 
Mahometan,  Pagan,  or  Atheistic,  will  as  certainly  be  destroyed  aa 
Jesus  reigns  in  heaven.  No  trace  of  them  shall  remain.  The  best 
government  on  earth,  call  it  English  or  American,  has  within  it  the 
seeds  of  its  own  destruction — carries  in  its  constitution  a  millstone 
which  will  sink  It  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  They  acknowledge  not 
that  God  has  set  his  Christ  upon  his  throne.  They  will  not  kiss  the 
Son.  Society  under  their  economy  is  not  blessed.  The  land  mourns 
through  the  wickedness  of  those  who  sit  in  high  places.  Ignorance, 
poverty,  and  crime  abound,  because  of  the  injustice  and  iniquities  of 
those  who  guide  the  destinies  of  nations.  Men  that  fear  not  God, 
that  love  not  his  Son,  and  that  regard  not  the  maxims  of  his  govern- 
ment, yet  wear  the  sword,  and  sway  the  sceptre  in  all  lands. 

This  is  wholly  adverse  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  world. 
Therefore,  he  will  break  them  to  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel,  and  set 
up  an  order  of  society  in  which  justice,  inflexible  justice  shall  have 
uncontrolled  dominion.  Jesus  will  be  universally  acknowledged  by 
all  the  race  of  living  men,  and  all  nations  shall  do  him  homage.  This 
state  of  society  will  be  the  consummation  of  the  Christian  religion 
in  all  its  moral  influences  and  tendencies  upon  mankind. 

How  far  this  change  is  to  be  effected  by  moral,  and  how  far  by 
physical  means,  is  not  the  subject  of  our  present  inquiry.  But  the 
preparation  of  a  people  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  must  be  the  result 
of  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  gospel  and  order  of  things.  And 
come  when  it  may,  the  day  of  the  regeneration  of  the  world  will  be 
a  day  as  wonderful  and  terrible  as  was  the  day  of  the  deluge,  of 
Sodom's  judgment,  or  of  Jerusalem's  catastrophe.  Who  shall  stand 
when  the  Lord  does  this?  But  all  the  regenerations,  physical  and 
moral,  individual,  congregational,  or  national,  are  but  types  and  shad- 
ows, or  means  of  preparation  for  the 


THE    MILLKXMAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  483 

REGENERATION   OF   THE  HEAVENS   AND   THE   EARTH. 

The  Bible  begins  with  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth; 
but  the  Christian  revelation  ends  with  the  regeneration  or  new  crea- 
tion of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  This  is  the  ancient  promise  of 
God,  confirmed  to  us  by  the  Christian  Apostles.  The  present  elements 
are  to  be  changed  by  fire.  The  old  or  antediluvian  earth  was  purified 
by  water;  but  the  present  earth  is  reserved  for  fire,  with  all  the  works 
of  man  that  are  upon  it.  It  shall  be  converted  into  a  lake  of  liquid 
fire.  But  the  dead  in  Christ  will  have  been  regenerated  in  body  before 
the  old  earth  is  regenerated  by  fire.  The  bodies  of  the  saints  will  be 
as  homogeneous  with  the  new  earth  and  heavens  as  their  present 
bodies  are  with  the  present  heavens  and  earth.  God  re-creates,  regen- 
erates, but  annihilates  nothing;  and  therefore  the  present  earth  is 
not  to  be  annihilated.  The  best  description  which  we  can  give  of 
this  regeneration,  is  in  the  words  of  one  who  had  a  vision  of  it  on  the 
island  of  Patmos.  He  describes  it  as  far  as  is  connected  with  the 
New  Jerusalem,  which  is  to  stand  upon  the  new  earth,  under  the 
canopy  of  the  new  heaven.  As  the  natural  close  of  our  essay  on  regen- 
eration, we  shall  transcribe  the  picture  of  this  new  earth  and  the  New 
Jerusalem,  drawn  by  the  direction  of  that  Spirit  to  whom  the  future 
in  as  intelligible  as  the  past:  — 

"And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth;  for  the  former  heaven 
and  the  former  earth  were  passed  away;  and  the  sea  was  no  more. 
And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city,  the  New  Jerusalem,  descending  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  like  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband. 
And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  saying.  Behold  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  shall  pitch  his  tent  among  them,  and  they 
shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  among  them — their  God. 
And  he  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  their  eyes;  and  death  shall 
be  no  more,  nor  grief,  nor  crying;  nor  shall  there  be  any  more  pain: 
for  the  former  things  are  passed  away."  .  .  . 

"And  he  brought  me  in  the  Spirit  to  a  great  and  high  mountain; 
and  he  showed  me  the  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of 
heaven  from  God,  having  the  glory  of  God;  (its  lustre  was  like  to 
that  of  a  precious  gem,  even  as  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal;) 
having  a  great  and  high  wall;  having  also  twelve  gates,  and  over 
the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names  written  upon  them,  which  are  tho 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  sons  of  Israel:  on  the  east,  three 
gates;  on  the  north,  three  gates;  on  the  south,  three  gates;  and  on 
the  west,  three  gates.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  founda- 
tions; and  on  them  the  names  of  the  Twelve  Apostl-es  of  the  Lamb.  And 
he  that  spoke  with  nie  had  a  golden  reed  that  he  might  measure  the 
city,  and  its  gates,  and  wall.  And  the  city  is  square,  and  its  length 
is  equal  to  its  breadth:  and  he  measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve 
thousand  furlongs;  and  its  length,  and  its  breadth,  and  its  height  are 
equal.  And  he  measured  its  wall,  one  hundred  and  forty-four  cubits, 
according  to  the  measure  of  a  man.  that  is.  of  an  angel.  And  the 
tvall    was  built  of  jasper,   and   the   city   was  pure   gold,   like   refined 


484  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

glass.  And  the  foundations  of  the  walls  of  the  city  were  adorned  with 
every  precious  stone.  The  first  foundation  is  jasper;  the  second,  sap- 
phire; the  third,  chalcedony;  the  fourth,  emerald;  the  fifth,  sardonyx; 
the  sixth,  sardius;  the  seventh,  crysolite;  the  eighth,  beryl;  the  ninth, 
topaz;  the  tenth,  chrysoprasus;  the  eleventh,  hyacinth;  and  the 
twelfth,  amethyst.  And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls:  each  of 
the  gates  was  of  one  pearl.  And  the  street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold, 
like  transparent  glass.  And  I  saw  no  temple  in  it,  for  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  And  the  city  had  no 
need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon  to  shine  in  it;  for  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  enlightened  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  of  it.  And  the 
nations  of  the  saved  shall  walk  in  its  light;  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  their  honor  into  it.  And  the  gates  of 
it  shall  not  be  shut  by  day,  (for  there  shall  be  no  night  there.)  And 
they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  the  honor  of  the  nations  into  it.  And 
nothing  unclean  shall  enter  into  it,  nor  any  thing  which  practices 
abomination  and  falsehood;  but  only  those  who  are  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life."  .  .  . 

"And  he  showed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  issuing 
out  of  the  throne  of  God,  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  broad 
street,  and  on  each  side  of  the  river,  was  the  tree  of  life,  producing 
twelve  kinds  of  fruit — producing  its  fruit  every  month:  and  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  And  every  curse  shall 
cease.  And  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it;  and 
his  servants  shall  serve  him.  And  they  shall  see  his  face;  and  his 
name  shall  be  borne  upon  their  foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  no 
more  night;  and  they  have  no  need  of  a  lamp,  nor  of  the  light  of  the 
sun;  because  the  Lord  God  shall  enlighten  them;  and  they  shall  reign 
for  ever  and  ever." 

A  WORD  TO  THE  MORAL  REGENERATORS  OF  THIS  AGE. 

God,  our  heavenly  Father,  works  by  means,  as  we  all  confess.  His 
means  are  wisely  adapted  to  the  ends  he  has  in  view.  His  agents 
are  the  best  agents  for  the  work  he  has  to  accomplish.  He  employs 
not  physical  means  nor  agents  for  moral  ends  and  purposes.  Nor 
does  he  produce  physical  effects  by  moral  means  and  agents.  He  ha.s 
been  pleased  to  employ  not  angels,  but  men  in  the  work  of  regener- 
ating the  world.  Men  have  written,  printed,  and  published  the  gospel 
for  nearly  two  thousand  years.  They  have  perpetuated  it  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  They  have  translated  it  from  language  to  lan- 
guage, and  carried  it  from  country  to  country.  They  have  preached 
it  in  word  and  in  deed,  and  thus  has  it  come  down  to  our  days. 

During  the  present  administration  of  the  Reign  of  Heaven  no 
change  is  to  be  expected;  no  new  mission  is  to  be  originated,  no  new 
order  of  preachers  is  to  be  instituted.  The  King  has  gone  to  a  far 
country,  and  before  his  departure  he  called  together  his  servants,  and 
committed  to  them  the  management  of  his  estate  till  he  return.  He 
has  not  yet  come  to  reckon  with  them.  They  were  commanded  first  to 
proclaim  the  doctrine  of  hia  reign;    then  to  write  it  in  a  book,  and 


THE    AllLLKNSJAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4no 

to  commit  it  to  faithlul  men  who  should  be  able  to  teach  it  corre<.tly 
to  others.  By  these  faithful  men  the  records  have  been  kept;  and 
through  their  vigilance  and  industry  they  have  been  guarded  from 
corruption,  interpolation,  and  change.  One  generation  handed  them 
over  to  the  next;  and  if  ignorant  and  unfaithful  copyists  neglected 
their  duty,  others  more  faithful  have  corrected  them;  and  now  we  are 
able  to  hear  the  words  which  Jesus  spoke,  and  to  read  the  very  periods 
penne<l  by  the  Apostles. 

Thus  whatever  the  Prophets  and  the  Apostles  have  achieved  since 
their  death,  has  been  accomplished  by  human  agents  like  ourselves. 
Where  men  have  not  carried  this  intelligence  in  speech  or  writing, 
not  one  of  our  race  knows  God  or  his  anointed  Saviour.  No  angel 
nor  Holy  Spirit  has  been  sent  to  the  Pagan  nations:  and  God  has 
exerted  no  power  out  of  his  word  to  enlighten  or  reclaim  savage 
nations.  These  indisputable  facts  and  truths  have  much  moral  mean- 
ing, and  ought  to  give  a  strong  impulse  to  our  efforts  to  regenerate 
the  world. 

The  best  means  of  doing  this  is  the  object  now  before  us;  and  this 
is  one,  the  importance  of  which  can  not  be  easily  exaggerated.  Thero 
are  three  ways  of  proceeding  in  this  case,  which  now  seem  to  occupy 
a  considerable  share  of  public  attention.  These  are  properly  called 
theorizing,  declaiming,  and  preaching;  on  each  of  which  we  may  offer 
a  remark  or  two  in  passing. 

The  theorizers  are  those  who  are  always  speculating  upon  correct 
notions,  or  the  true  theory  of  conversion.  They  are  great  masters  of 
method,  and  with  some  of  them  it  is  a  ruinous  error  to  place  faith 
before  regeneration,  or  repentance  after  faith.  Heresy,  with  these,  is 
the  derangement  of  the  method  which  they  have  proposed  for  God  to 
work  by  in  converting  the  sinner.  And  the  true  faith  which  is  con- 
nected with  salvation  is  apprehension  of  this  theory  and  acquiescence 
in  it.  These  are  all  theorists,  heady,  or  speculative  Christians;  and 
with  them  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption  is  a  splendid  theory.  These 
are  all  cold-hearted  and  light-headed  Christians.  "Take  off  their 
heads,"  as  a  Methodist  declaimer  once  said,  "and  you  have  got  all 
their  religion!" 

Our  maxim  is.  Theory  for  the  Doctors,  and  medicine  for  the  sick. 
Doctors  fatten  on  theories,  but  the  patients  die  who  depend  on  theory 
for  cure.  A  few  grains  of  practice  is  worth  a  pound  of  theory.  The 
mason  and  the  carpenter  buihl  the  house  by  rule;  but  he  that  inhabits 
it  lives  by  eating  and  drinking.  No  man  ever  was  cured  physically, 
politically,  morally,  or  religiously  by  learning  a  correct  theory  of  hi.s 
physical,  political,  moral,  or  religious  malady.  As  soon  might  we 
expect  to  heal  an  ulcer  on  the  liver  by  a  discourse  upon  that  organ, 
its  functions,  its  diseases,  and   their  cure,  as  to  restore  a  sinner  by 


486  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

means  of  the  theory  of  faith,  repentance,  regeneration,  or  effectual 
calling.  But  on  this  enough  has  already  been  said,  and  more  than 
is  necessary  to  convince  those  who  can  think,  and  who  dare  to  reason 
on  such  themes. 

The  declaimers  are  not  those  only  who  eulogize  virtue  and  repro- 
bate vice;  but  that  large  and  respectable  class  who  address  themselves 
to  the  passions,  to  the  hopes  and  fears  of  men.  They  are  those  who 
are  so  rhetorical  upon  the  joys  of  heaven  and  the  terrors  of  hell:  who 
horrify,  terrify,  and  allure  by  the  strength  of  their  descriptions,  the 
flexions  of  their  voices,  the  violence  of  their  gestures,  and  their  touch- 
ing anecdotes.  Their  hearers  are  either  dissolved  in  tears  or  frantic 
with  terror.  These  talk  much  about  the  heart;  and  on  their  theory 
if  a  man's  heart  was  extracted,  all  his  religion  would  be  extracted 
with  it.  The  religion  of  their  converts  flows  in  their  blood,  and  has 
its  foundation  in  their  passions. 

The  preachers,  properly  so  called,  first  address  themselves  to  the 
understanding  by  a  declaration  or  narrative  of  the  wonderful  works 
of  God.  They  state,  illustrate,  and  prove  the  great  facts  of  the  gospel: 
they  lay  the  whole  record  before  their  hearers;  and  when  they  have 
testified  what  God  has  done,  what  he  has  promised,  and  threatened, 
they  exhort  their  hearers  on  these  premises,  and  persuade  them  to 
obey  the  gospel,  to  surrender  themselves  to  the  guidance  and  direction 
of  the  Son  of  God.  They  address  themselves  to  the  whole  man,  his 
understanding,  his  will  and  his  affections,  and  approach  the  heart  by 
taking  the  citadel  of  the  understanding. 

The  accomplished  and  wise  proclaimer  of  the  word  will  find  it 
always  expedient  to  address  his  audience  in  their  proper  character; 
to  approach  them  through  their  prejudices,  and  never  to  find  fault 
with  those  prepossessions  which  are  not  directly  opposed  to  the  import 
and  design  of  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  He  will  set  before 
them  the  models  found  in  the  sacred  history,  which  show  that 
the  same  discourse  is  not  to  be  preached  in  every  place  and  to 
every  assembly,  even  when  it  is  necessary  to  proclaim  the  same  gos- 
pel. Paul's  addresses  to  the  Athenians,  Lycaonians,  Antiochans,  to 
Felix,  the  Jailor,  and  king  Agrippa,  are  full  of  instruction  on  this 
topic. 

Augustine  has  written  a  treatise  on  preaching,  which  Luther  pro- 
posed to  himself  as  a  model;  but  it  is  said  that  Augustine  fell  as  far 
short  of  his  own  precepts  as  did  any  of  his  contemporaries.  We  all 
can  with  more  facility  give  precepts  to  others,  than  conform  to  them 
ourselves.  In  Augustine's  treatise,  which  in  some  respects  influenced 
and  formed  the  style  and  plan  of  Luther,  and  through  him  all  the 
Protestants,  there  is  much  said  on  the  best  rhetorical  mode  of  exhibit- 
ing the  truth  to  others;  but  it  savors  more  of  the  art  of  the  schoolmen, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4S7 

than  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Apostles.  He  labors  more  ou  the  best  styl3 
and  mode  of  expressing  oneself,  than  on  the  things  to  be  said. 

Our  best  precepts  in  this  matter  are  derived  rather  from  the  books 
of  Deuteronomy  and  Nehemiah,  than  from  any  other  source  out  of 
the  New  Testament.  The  book  of  Deuteronomy  may  be  regarded  aa 
a  series  of  sermons  or  discourses,  delivered  to  the  Jews  by  their  great 
teacher,  Moses,  rather  than  as  a  part  of  the  Jewish  history.  Two 
things  in  this  book  deserve  great  attention.  The  first  is  the  sim- 
plicity, fullness,  and  particularity  of  his  narratives  of  the  incidents  on 
the  journey  through  the  wilderness; — God's  doings  and  theirs,  for  the 
last  forty  years,  are  faithfully  and  intelligibly  laid  before  them.  Tho 
next  is  the  use  made  of  these  facts;  the  conclusions  deduced,  the  argu- 
ments drawn,  and  the  exhortations  tendered  from  these  facts.  For  a 
fair  and  beautiful  specimen  of  this,  let  the  curious  reader  take  up  and 
carefully  read  the  first  four  chapters  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy. 
The  fact  and  the  application,  the  argument  and  the  exhortation,  after 
the  manner  of  Moses,  can  not  fail  to  instruct  him. 

The  writings  of  the  scribes  during  the  captivity,  teach  us  how  to 
address  a  people  that  have  lost  the  true  meaning  of  the  oracles  of  God. 
The  readings,  expositions,  exhortations  and  prayers  of  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah, are  full  of  instruction  to  Christians  in  these  days  of  our  Baby- 
lonish captivity.  To  address  a  people  long  accustomed  to  hearing  the 
Scriptures,  yet  ignorant  of  them,  and  consequently  disobedient,  is  a 
matter  that  requires  all  the  wisdom  and  prudence  which  can  be 
acquired  from  Jewish  and  Christian  records. 

The  manner  of  address,  next  to  the  matter  of  it,  is  most  important. 
The  weightiest  arguments,  the  most  solemn  appeals,  the  most  pathetic 
expostulations,  if  not  sustained  by  the  gravity,  sincerity,  and  piety 
of  the  speaker,  will  be  like  water  spilled  upon  the  ground.  A  little 
levity,  a  few  witticisms,  a  sarcastic  air,  a  conceited  attitude,  or  a  harsh 
expression,  will  often  neutralize  all  the  excellencies  of  the  most  Scrip- 
tural and  edifying  discourse.  The  great  work  of  regenerating  men  is 
too  solemn,  too  awfully  grave  and  divine,  to  allow  anything  of  the 
sort.  Humility,  sincerity,  devotion,  and  all  benevolence  in  aspect,  as 
well  as  in  language,  are  essential  to  a  successful  proclamation  of  the 
great  facts  of  the  Living  Oracles.  He  that  can  smile  in  his  discourse 
at  the  follies,  need  not  weep  over  the  misfortunes  of  the  ignorant  and 
superstitious.  He  that  can,  while  preaching  the  gospel,  deride  and 
ridicule  the  errors  of  his  fellow-professors,  is,  for  the  time  being,  dis- 
qualified to  persuade  them  to  accept  the  truth,  or  gladly  to  receive  the 
message  of  salvation. 

Those  preachers  have  been  sadly  mistaken  who  have  sought  popu- 
larity by  their  eccentricities,  and  courted  smiles  rather  than  souls;  — 
who,  by  their  anecdotes  and  foolish  jests,  told  with   the  Bible  before 


488  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

them,  have  thought  to  make  themselves  useful  by  making  themselves 
ridiculous — and  to  regenerate  men  by  teaching  them  how  to  violate 
the  precepts  of  the  gospel,  and  to  disdain  the  examples  of  the  Great 
Teacher  and  his  Apostles. 

It  will  not  do.  These  are  the  weapons  of  this  world,  and  no  part 
of  the  armor  of  light.  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  never  sanctioned,  by 
precept  or  example,  such  a  course,  and  it  is  condemned  by  all  sensible 
men,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  professors  or  profane. 

In  attempting  to  regenerate  men,  we  must  place  before  them  the 
new  man,  not  the  old  man,  in  the  preacher  as  well  as  in  the  discourse; 
and  while  we  seek  out  arguments  to  convince  and  allure  them,  we 
must  show  them  in  our  speech  and  behaviour  that  we  believe 
what  we  preach.  So  did  all  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists.  They 
commended  themselves  to  every  man's  conscience,  in  the  sight  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Error  must  be  attacked.  It  must  be  opposed  by  the  truth.  But  it 
may  be  asked,  whether  the  darkness  may  not  be  more  easily  dissipated 
by  the  introduction  of  light,  than  by  elaborate  discourses  upon  its 
nature  and  attributes?  So  with  moral  darknesis,  or  error.  To  dis- 
sipate it  most  effectually,  the  easiest  and  readiest  way  is  to  introduce 
the  light  of  truth.  No  preacher  is  obliged  to  learn  all  the  errors  of 
all  ages,  that  he  may  be  able  to  oppose  them;  nor  is  a  congregation 
enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of  God  by  such  expositions  of  error. 
Present  opposing  errors  may  require  attention;  but,  to  attack 
these  most  successfully  it  is  only  necessary  to  enforce  the  opposing 
truths. 

This  is  a  very  grave  subject,  and  requires  very  grave  attention. 
Much  depends  upon  a  rational  and  Scriptural  decision  of  the  question, 
Which  is  the  most  effectual  way  to  oppose  and  destroy  error?  To  aid 
us  in  such  an  inquiry,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  how  the  Prophets  and 
Apostles  opposed  the  errors  of  their  times.  The  world  was  as  full  of 
error  in  those  days  as  it  has  ever  been  since.  The  idolatries  of  the 
Pagan  world,  and  the  various  doctrines  of  the  sects  of  philosophers, 
in,  and  out,  of  the  land  of  Israel,  threw  as  much  labor  into  their  handn 
as  the  various  heresies  of  apostate  Christendom  have  thrown  into  ours. 
Their  general  rule  was  to  turn  the  artillery  of  light,  and  to  gather 
into  a  focus  the  arrows  of  day,  upon  the  dark  shades  of  any  particular 
error.  Their  philosophy  was — The  splendors  of  light  most  clearly 
display  the  blackness  of  darkness,  and  scatter  it  from  its  presence. 
Thus  they  opposed  idolatry,  superstition,  and  error  of  every  name. 
Going  forth  in  the  armor  of  light,  as  the  sun  in  the  morning,  the 
shades  of  the  night  retired  from  their  presence,  and  the  cheering 
beams  of  day  so  gladdened  the  eyes  of  their  converts  that  they  loved 
darkness  no  more.     Let  us  go  and  do  likewise. 


THH    AIILLESMAL    hAIiUlSGEIi    ABRIDGED.  489 

An  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  the  best  fur- 
niture for  tlie  worlt  of  regenerating  men.  The  best  piece  1  have  found 
In  the  celebrated  treatise  of  Augustine  on  preaching  is  the  following- 
He  then,  who  handles  and  teaches  the  word  of  God,  should  be 
a  defender  of  the  true  faith,  and  a  vanquisher  of  error;  should  both 
teach  what  is  good,  and  unteach  what  is  bad;  and  in  accomplishing 
this,  the  object  of  preaching,  he  should  conciliate  the  adverse,  excite 
the  remiss,  and  pour  out  to  the  ignorant  their  duty  and  future  pros^ 
pects.  When,  however,  he  finds  his  audience  favorably  disposed,  atten- 
tive, and  docile,  or  succeeds  in  rendering  them  so,  then  other  things 
are  to  be  done,  as  the  case  may  require.  If  they  are  to  be  instructea. 
then,  to  make  them  acquainted  with  the  subject  in  question,  narraUon 
must  be  employed;  and  to  establish  what  is  doubtful,  resort  must  be 
had  to  reasoning  and  evidence.  If  they  are  to  be  removed  rather  tha-i 
I:;structed,  then,  to  arouse  them  from  stupor  in  putting  thoir  knowl- 
edge into  practice,  and  bring  them  to  yield  full  assent  to  those  things 
which  they  confess  to  be  true,  there  will  be  need  of  the  higher  powers 
of  eloquence;  it  will  be  necessary  to  entreat,  reprove,  excite,  restrain, 
and  do  whatsoever  else  may  prove  effectual  in  moving  the  heart. 

All  this,  indeed,   is  what  most  men  constantly  do.  with   respect  to 
those  things  which  they  undertake  to  accomplish  by  speaking.     Some, 
however,  in  their  way  of  doing  it,  are  blunt,  frigid,  inelegant;   others, 
ingenious,   ornate,   vehement.     Now  he  who   engages   in   the   business 
of  which  I  am  treating,  must  be  able  to  speak  and  dispute  with  wis- 
dom, even  if  he  can  not  do  so  with  eloquence,  in  order  that  he  may 
profit  his  audience,   although   he   will   profit   them   less  in   this   case, 
than    if  he  could   combine  wisdom   and   eloquence   together.     He   wh.T 
abounds  in  eloquence  without  wisdom,  is  certainly  so  much  the  more 
to  be  avoided,  from   the  very  fact  that  the  hearer  is  delighted   with 
what  it  is  useless  to  hear,  and  thinks  what  is  said,  to  be  true,  because 
it  is  spoken  with  elegance.     Nor  did  this  sentiment  escape  the  notice 
of  those  among  the  ancients,  who  yet  regarded  it  as  important  to  teach 
the   art  of  rhetoric;    they   confessed,   that  wisdom    without   eloquence 
profited    states    but    very    little,    but    that    eloquence    without    wisdom 
profited  them  not  at  all,  and  generally  proved  highly  injurious.     If. 
therefore,   those   who   taught  the   precepts  of   eloquence,   even   though 
Ignorant  of  the  true,  that  is,  the  celestial  wisdom  "which  cometh  down 
from  the  Father  of  lights,"  were  compelled  by  the  instigations  of  truth 
to  make  such  a  confession,  and  that,  too.  in  the  very  books  in  which 
their  principles  were  developed;   are  we  not  under  far  higher  obliga- 
tions to  acknowledge  the  same  thing,  who  are  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  this  heavenly   wisdom?     Now  a   man   speaks  with   greater  or   less 
wisdom,  according  to  the  proficiency  he  has  made  in  the  sacr3d  Scrip- 
tures.    I  do  not  mean  in  reading  them  and  committing  them  to  mem- 
ory, but  in  rightly  understanding  them,  and  diligently  searching  into 
their  meaning.     There  are  those  who  read  them  and  yet  neglect  them 
— who  read   them  to  remember  the  words,  but  neglect  to  understand 
them.     To  these,  without  any  doubt,  those  persons  are  to  be  preferred, 
who,  retaining  less  of  the  words  of  the  Scriptures,  search  after  their 
genuine  signification  with  the  inmost  feelings  of  the  heart.     But  better 
than  both  is  he,  who  can  repeat  them  when  he  pleases,  and  at  the  same 
time   understand    them    as   they   ought   to   be   understood. — Fr07n   the 
Biblical  Repository,  p.  574. 


490  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Luther's  favorite  maxim  was,  ''Bonus  Textuarius,  Bonus  Theo- 
logus;"  or,  one  well  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures  makes  a  good 
theologian. 

There  is  one  thing,  above  all  others,  which  must  never  be  lost  sight 
of  by  him  who  devotes  himself  to  the  work  of  regeneration.  This 
all-important  consideration  is,  that  the  end  and  object  of  all  his  labors 
is  to  impress  the  moral  image  of  God  upon  the  moral  nature  of  man. 
To  draw  this  image  upon  the  heart,  to  transform  the  mind  of  man  into 
the  likeness  of  God  in  all  moral  feeling,  is  the  end  proposed  in  the 
remedial  system.  The  mould  into  which  the  mind  of  man  is  to  be 
cast  is  the  Apostles'  doctrine;  or  the  seal  by  which  this  impression 
b:  to  be  made  is  the  testimony  of  God.  The  gospel  facts  are  like  so 
many  types,  which,  when  scientifically  arranged  by  an  accomplished 
compositor,  make  a  complete  form,  upon  which,  when  the  mind  of  man 
is  placed  by  the  power  which  God  has  given  to  the  preacher,  every 
type  makes  its  full  impression  upon  the  heart.  There  is  written  upon 
the  understanding,  and  engraved  upon  the  heart,  the  will,  or  law,  or 
character  of  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

The  Apostles  were  these  accomplished  compositors,  who  gave  us  a 
perfect  "form  of  sound  words."  Our  instrvimentality  consists  iu 
bringing  the  minds  of  men  to  this  form,  or  impressing  it  upon  their 
hearts.  To  do  this  most  effectually,  the  preacher  or  evangelist  must 
have  the  word  of  Christ  dwelling  in  him  richly,  in  all  wisdom;  and 
he  must  "study  to  show  himself  an  approved  workman,  irreproachable, 
rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth."  He  that  is  most  eloquent  and 
wise  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  who  has  them  most  at  command,  will 
have  the  most  power  with  men;  because  being  furnished  with  the 
words  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  has  the  very  arguments  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  chooses  to  employ  in  quickening  the  dead,  in  converting  sin- 
ners. For  to  the  efficiency  of  the  living  word  not  only  Paul  d'^poses, 
but  James  and  Peter  also  bear  ample  testimony.  "Of  his  own  will 
he  has  begot  us,  by  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  might  be  a  kind  of 
first  fruits  of  his  creatures"  (Jas.  i.  18).  "Having  been  regenerated, 
not  by  corruptible  seed,  but  by  incorruptible,  through  the  toord  of  the 
living  God,  which  remains"  (I.  Pet.  i.  23).  To  the  fruits  of  his  labors, 
such  a  preacher  with  Paul  may  say,  "To  Jesus  Christ,  through  the 
gospel,  I  have  regenerated,  or  begotten  you." 

Thus,  in  the  midst  of  numerous  interruptions,  we  have  attempted 
to  lay  before  the  minds  of  our  readers  the  whole  doctrine  of  Regener- 
ation, in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  in  the  hope  that  after  a  more  par- 
ticular attention  to  its  meaning  and  value,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  they 
may  devote  themselves  more  successfully  to  this  great  work;  and  not 
only  enjoy  more  of  the  Holy  Spirit  themselves,  but  be  more  useful  in 
forwarding  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  world. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4yi 

To  God  our  Father,  through  the  great  Author  of  the  Christian 
faith,  who  has  preserved  us  in  health  in  this  day  of  affliction  and 
great  distress,  be  everlasting  thanks  for  the  renewing  of  our  minds 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  for  the  hope  of  the  regeneration  of  our  bodies, 
of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  at  the  appearance  of  the  Almighty 
Regenerator,  who  comes  to  make  all  things  newl     Amen.         Editou. 

In  1856,  page  70,  Mr.  Campbell  says  of  the  means  of  regeneration: 

Into  Christ's  kingdom,  we  cheerfully  depose,  that  no  man  can  enter 
who  is  not  born  again — "born  of  water  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
It  is  not  born  of  water,  even  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  but  of  both.  No  man 
nor  animal  was  ever  born  from  one  parent  alone.  And,  in  all  the 
proprieties  of  analogy,  everything  born  has  had  two  parents.  Our 
Lord's  metaphors,  parables  and  allegories  were  natural,  and  in  no  easy 
outrage  the  proprieties  of  nature  or  of  society.  But  the  same  figure 
may  be  used  and  accommodated  in  both  numerous  and  also  various 
positions  and  relations.  Hence  we  have  the  washing  of  the  new  birth, 
as  well  as  the  new  birth.  But  we  must  not  confound  the  imagery  of 
Paul  with  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  and  subject  them  to  one  and 
the  same  import.  Jesus  has  in  his  eye,  or  premises,  the  fact  then  recog- 
nized, that  water  and  air  were  the  parents  of  all  vegetable,  and,  con- 
sequently, of  all  animal  life.  In  ancient  Eastern  Philosophy — "The 
earth  was  nature's  womb,  and  air  and  water  the  parents  of  all  animal 
and  of  all  vegetable  life."  But  on  such  premises  we  build  nothing — 
analogies  are  not  facts.  The  great  Teacher  loved  imagery;  and,  there- 
fore, often  spake  in  parables.  We,  therefore,  interpret  parables  analogi- 
cally, but  do  not  transubstantiate  them  into  literal  facts.  Still,  wat'^r 
is  not  spirit,  nor  spirit  water.  And  what  the  Lord  has  joined  together, 
let  no  man  separate. 

In  1857,  page  555,  \V.  K.  Pendleton  wrote: 

GODS    PART    OF    THE    WORK. 

It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  much  of  the  controversy  that  now 
agitates  the  Christian  world,  is  about  God's  part  of  the  work  in  human 
redemption,  and  especially  as  to  the  mode  by  which  he  does  it.  Some 
persons,  it  is  true,  do  not  admit  of  any  co-operation  in  this  matter. 
They  can  not  consent  that  man  and  God  are,  in  any  sense,  co-workers 
together,  though  there  is  express  Scriptural  authority  for  the  fact.* 
Of  this  class  there  are  two  parties — :the  one  ascribing  everything  to 
God;  the  other  devolving  everything  upon  man.  The  one  makes  man 
a  simple  machine,  moving  only  under  the  divine  influence,  without 
freedom  of  self-determining  energy  of  any  kind,  and  yet  responsible 
for  his  actions.    The  absolute  sovereignty  of  God  Is  regarded  as  a  sat- 


•We  tlion.  a.s  workors  together  xcith  him.  bcsoi-oh  you  also  that  yo  rrcoivo  not  the 
grace  of  God  in  vain. 


492  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

isfactory  justification  against  every  knotty  and  restless  question  of 
the  reason,  and,  in  worse  than  idiot  impotency,  we  are  asked  to  sit 
down  and  wait  till  our  time  shall  come,  if,  perchance,  we  may  be 
found  among  the  elect  at  all!  In  perfect  harmony  with  this  mechanical 
theory,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  introduced  as  a  sort  of  mechanical  force, 
an  etherealized  steam  power  to  overcome  the  moral  inertness  of  our 
souls,  and  by  impulse  of  impact  set  them  a  whirling  in  the  predestinal 
and  changeless  orbits  of  a  sovereign  grace.  Man  has  no  part  to  per- 
form in  this  wonderful  transformation,  but  sits  as  the  passive  clay  in 
the  hands  of  the  potter.  The  work  is  all  of  God,  unconditional  and 
without  justification,  save  upon  the  ground  of  the  absolute  and  sover- 
eign power  of  the  worker.  This  is  not  the  philosophic  Calvinism  of 
Geneva,  but  the  stupid  dogmatism  of  modern  fatalists.  It  nullifies  the 
law  of  God,  it  stultifies  the  wisdom  of  God: — It  mocks  the  reason  of 
man  and  paralyzes  the  springs  of  human  hope.  It  lays  its  icy  finger 
upon  the  aspiring  powers  of  the  soul,  and  chills  the  glowing  warmth 
with  which  it  burns  under  the  hopeful  words  of  Christ.  It  presses 
back  with  a  heavy  hand  the  anxious  heart,  who,  when  listening  to  the 
call  to  come,  rises  to  go,  and  binds  as  with  a  new  chain  the  convicted 
sinner  struggling  to  be  free.  0,  we  thank  thee,  blessed  Saviour,  that 
it  is  not  thus  thou  hast  declared  liberty  to  the  captive!  In  breaking 
the  fetters  in  which  sin  had  bound  us,  and  calling  upon  us  to  come 
forth  from  our  slavery,  thou  didst  not  paralyze  our  powers  to  obey 
the  glad  summons,  nor  mock  us  with  a  promised  joy  beyond  our 
reach.  The  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life  is  not  handed  down  to  tantalize 
us,  but  that  we  may  stretch  forth  our  hands,  pluck,  eat  and  live 
forever. 

An  equally  impious  extreme  denies  all  divine  agency  in  man's  sal- 
vation, save  what  is  chronologically  past.  God  is  not  noiv — at  the 
time  and  during  the  process  of  the  work,  in  any  sense  of  the  present 
agency,  at  all  concerned  or  operative  in  the  new  birth.  Man  is  both 
the  subject  and  the  cause  of  the  new  creation.  He  quickens  his  own 
heart,  and  nurses  and  develops  it  through  the  whole  process  of  regen- 
eration, with  no  concurring  agency  from  God.  He  is,  at  once,  his  own 
spiritual  father,  mother,  and  child — and  thus  self-originated,  he  goes 
forth  the  sole  and  unaided  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  climbs 
onward  and  upward  to  the  rest  of  the  perfect.  True,  he  is  furnished 
with  a  verbal  directory,  telling  him  the  way,  but  with  this  no  aid 
is  given  strengthening  him  to  follow  it  He  must  walk  alone  and  in 
his  own  strength,  amid  its  perils  and  over  its  wearisome  heights,  and 
experiencing  nothing  but  the  triumphs  of  his  own  power,  and  enjoy- 
ing nothing  but  the  self-gratulation  of  his  self-saving  victories,  and 
hoping  for  nothing  save  the  ultimate  attainment  of  the  promise! 
reward,  as  meet  achievement  of  his  own  meritorious  struggles,  he  must 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  ASfi 

work  out  as  a  glorious  and  mighty  hero,  unaided  and  alone,  his  own 
salvation! 

We  trust  there  are  but  few  who  hold,  even  spiritually,  this  impious 
and  godless  theory  of  human  deliverance.  Sure  we  are,  that  no  one 
can  practically  walk  by  it,  and  be  a  Christian  at  all.  His  heart  is 
not,  can  not  be  in  any  vital  union  with  Christ.  As  well  might  we 
expect  a  branch  to  furnish  the  juices  of  its  own  growth,  or  a  stream 
to  feed  its  own  fountains,  as  that  a  Christian  can  live  and  grow  in 
all  spiritual  graces,  without  constant  and  perpetual  union  with  Christ, 
the  everflowing  fountain  opened  in  the  house  of  David  for  sin  and 
undeanness,  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the  goodness  of  the  Godhead  bodily, 
and  in  whom  alone,  as  the  head  of  all  principality  and  power,  we  are 
complete.  Of  such  it  must  be  truly  said,  that  being  puffed  up  by  their 
fleshly  mind  they  do  not  hold  the  Head,  from  whom  the  whole  body, 
by  the  joints  which  bind  it,  draws  full  supplies  for  all  its  needs,  and 
is  knit  together,  and  increases  in  godly  growth. 

We  know  of  no  one  thought  more  prominent  and  vital  in  the  Chris- 
tian scheme  than  this  of  actual,  real,  abiding,  living  union  with  Christ 
and  his  people.  The  w^ritings  of  the  Apostles  abound  with  the  over- 
flowings of  their  faith  in  and  experience  of  this  ever-present  and  sus- 
taining power.  They  describe  it  as  Christ  being  in  us,  and  as  our 
being  in  Christ :  John,  the  beloved  Apostle,  speaks  of  it  as  a  matter 
of  knoicledge;  "Hereby  we  know  that  he  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit 
which  he  hath  given  us;"  and  again,  "Hereby  know  we  that  we  dwell 
in  him  and  he  in  us,  because  he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit."*  Our 
Saviour  himself  says,  "At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  my 
Father,  and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you."  t 

It  is  illustrated  by  a  vine  and  its  branches;  by  a  foundation  and 
the  building  resting  upon  it:  by  a  body  and  its  members;  and  with 
great  force  and  beauty  by  the  mysterious  union  and  oneness  of  husband 
and  wife. 

Its  beneficial  results  include  all  the  peculiar  privileges  and  bless- 
ings of  the  Christian — for  without  Christ  we  are  nothing.  It  is  because 
we  are  in  him  that  his  righteousness  is  imparted  to  us  (Phil.  iii.  9) ; 
that  we  are  made  free  from  condemnation  (Rom.  viii.  1);  that  we 
are  delivered  from  the  dominion  of  sin  (John  iii.  6);  that  we  are 
created  anew  (II.  Cor.  v.  17);  that  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelleth  in  us 
(Rom.  viii.  10) ;  that  our  prayers  are  answered  (John  xv,  7)  and  that 
we  shall  have  confidence  at  his  coming  (I.  John  ii.  28) :  and  surely  the 
man  who  lacketh  all  these  things,  not  being  in  Christ,  not  holding  the 
Head,  is  no  Christian.  False  teachers  are  all  such,  who  would  beguile 
us  of  our  reward  and  keep  us  still  subject  to  ordinances.     Well  might 


•I.  John  iii.  24;  iv.  13.        f  John  xiv.  20. 


494  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

the  Apostle,  filled  with  the  sublime  contemplation  of  this  glorious 
union,  exclaim,  "For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth 
is  named,  that  he  would  grant  you  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory, 
to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man;  that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye  being  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints,  what  is 
the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  heighth ;  and  to  know  the  love 
of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the 
fullness  of  God.* 

But  whilst  this  is  so  manifestly  a  doctrine,  we  might  almost  say 
the  sum  total  of  practical  Christianity,  we  are  not  content  to  receive 
it  as  such.  We  must  push  our  speculations  beyond  the  declared  fact, 
and  the  experienced  blessing,  into  the  inquiry  as  to  the  possible  manner 
in  which  the  union  is  effected  and  enjoyed.  We  must  have  a  philo- 
sophic answer  to  the  how  of  this  revealed  doctrine,  and  if  in  these 
inquiries  we  can  not  agree,  the  next  step  is  to  erect  our  speculative 
defenses  into  grounds  of  fellowship,  and  tests  of  orthodoxy.  So  far  as 
this  inquiry  relates  to  our  part  in  entering  into  and  enjoying  this 
union,  the  inquiry  is  not  only  legitimate,  but  necessary.  What  he  must 
do — his  faith  and  his  works  are,  indeed,  man's  great  and  appropriate 
concern.  About  these  he  must  diligently  search  the  Scriptures,  and 
examine  his  own  heart.  Every  means  placed  within  his  power  must 
be  known  and  employed;  every  instrumentality  appointed  to  help  him 
must  be  called  into  requisition,  and  diligently  and  faithfully  used;  no 
precept,  and  no  example  should  be  ignored  or  neglected.  His  faith  must 
be  commensurate  with  the  truth  as  it  is  revealed,  and  his  practice,  the 
living  exponent,  and  legitimate  fruit  of  his  faith.  On  these  points 
be  may,  and  it  is  his  imperious  duty,  constantly  and  prayerfully  to 
search  the  Scriptures. 

But  suppose  that  in  this  search  he  finds  some  promise,  the  perform- 
ance of  which  rests  with  God.  Suppose  he  meets  with  declarations 
respecting  spiritual  aids  and  influences,  which,  upon  the  condition  of 
his  faith  and  obedience,  the  heavenly  Father,  in  the  simplest,  most 
literal  and  positive  language,  assures  us  he  will  render  to  his  frail 
and  erring  children  to  help  them  in  their  endeavor  to  work  out  in  fear 
and  trembling  their  everlasting  salvation; — shall  he  falter  to  receive 
such  because  he  can  not  penetrate  into  the  mystery  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  may  be  done?  Because  his  speculative  talent  is  weak,  too 
weak  to  untangle  the  mystic  maze  of  spiritual  intercommunicatioR, 
shall  his  faith  be  staggered  and  his  prayers  hindered?  Or,  if  by  long 
and  vexing  thinking  and  reflection,  he  has  at  length  constructed  a 

•Eph.  iii.  14-19. 


THt:    MILLEXXIAL    JIARBIXGI-JR    ABRIDGED.  495 

cunningly  devised  theory  by  which,  to  his  own  satisfaction  at  least,  he- 
can  solve  the  mystery,  shall  he  next  propound  this  as  God's  revelation 
and  set  it  up  as  a  standard  of  other  men's  thinking  and  believing? 
Should  he  not  rather  humbly  and  meekly  say,  God's  ways  are  not 
as  our  ways.  These  are  the  deep  things  of  God.  Let  us  receive  them 
in  faith  and  practice,  work  and  pray  for  the  blessing,  rather  than 
dispute  and  divide  about  the  philosophy.  The  promise  is  of  God;  the 
gift  to  be  conferred  is  of  his  grace;  the  means,  instrumentalities  and 
conditions  of  its  reception,  so  far  as  our  action  is  involved,  are  clearly 
and  positively  revealed,  and  now,  what  have  we  to  do  to  reply  against 
GodI  Let  us  believe  and  obey — and  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  shall  be 
demonstrated  by  the  trial,  in  the  sweet  and  blissful  experience  of  every 
true  and  loyal-hearted  disciple  who  sits  as  a  child  at  the  feet  of  Jesus 
and  his  inspired  teachers — "If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know 
of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God."  * 

Brethren,  let  us  take  care  that  we  be  not  beguiled  of  our  reward 
by  these  vain,  and,  in  some  instances,  impious  attempts  to  prescribe 
laws  to  the  divine  agency,  and  to  set  limits  to  the  working  of  his  won- 
drous will.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  attend  to  our  own  part  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  our  salvation,  and  to  leave  the  part  of  God  to  himself.  Our 
speculations  can  not  make  or  unmake  one  principle  or  law,  nor  a^d  to 
nor  subtract  from  one  element  of  agency  or  power  that  our  Creator 
has  reserved  in  his  own  hands,  and  we  but  waste  our  time  and  injure 
the  peace  of  Zion  when  we  presume  to  intrude  into  things  which  ice 
have  not  seen ;  which  are  revealed  to  us  as  facts,  the  philosophy  of 
which  is  not  griven,  and  which,  it  may  be  is  too  high  for  our  present 
power  ever  to  reach.  w.  k.  p. 

In  the  Harbinger  for  1861,  page  677,  Isaac  Errett  says: 

REGENERATION  AND  REMISSION  OF  SINS. 

We  frequently  find  an  error  in  the  use  of  the  terms  here  used  as  a 
caption,  out  of  which  grow  many  misunderstandings.  They  are  popu- 
larly used  as  equivalents,  or  nearly  so.  Hence  the  consciousness  o? 
a  change  within  is  often  accepted  as  an  evidence  of  pardon.  The 
natural  result  of  abandoning  rebellion  and  returning  to  the  will  of  God 
— namely,  a  sweet  peace  and  satisfaction  of  soul — is  regarded  and 
accepted  as  the  voice  of  God  conveying  an  inner  revelation  cf  forgive- 
ness. Hence,  too,  when  we  insist  on  the  Bible  affirmation  of  baptism 
"for  remission  of  sins,"  it  is  caught  up  as  an  affirmation  of  baptismal 
regeneration :  we  are  regarded  as  teaching  that  in  baptism  God  makes 
an  immediate  communication  to  the  soul,  alike  of  regenerating  power 
and  of  spiritual  joy — giving  through  baptism  an  inner  revelation  of 
pardon  and  adoption. 

'John  vii.  17. 


496  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

It  may  be  well,  therefore,  to  clear  these  terms  of  ambiguily,  and 
clearly  mark  the  line  of  distinction  between  them. 

Regeneration  is  a  new  creation.  When  this  term  or  its  equivalents 
is  applied  to  physical  nature — as  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
the  new  heavens  and  earth* — it  expresses  a  work  of  omnipotence 
wrought  on  inanimate  matter,  and  is  used  in  its  literal  sense.  When 
applied  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  it  expresses  a  work  of  grace 
wrought  on  a  rational,  responsible  nature;  and  is  used  figuratively. 
It  is  a  work  resulting  in  new  views,  new  principles,  new  affections, 
new  aims,  new  enjoyments,  and  fully  consummated  in  a  new  life,  f 
It  is  wrought,  not  by  omnipotence,  but  by  the  word  of  truth,  through 
which  the  life-giving,  life-sustaining  power  of  the  Spirit  is  communi- 
cated; t  and  is  consummated  in  baptism,  through  which  the  believing 
penitent  enters  into  new  relationships  and  a  new  life.§  A  regenerated 
man,  therefore,  is  a  new  creature  in  these  particulars: 

1.  He  has  new  principles — being  now  a  man  of  faith,  where  before 
he  was  an  unbeliever,  and  walked  by  sight,  "according  to  the  course 
of  this  world."  Thus  while  we  read,  in  one  passage,  "circumcision 
availeth  nothing,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature;"  \\  we  have 
the  same  sentiment  expressed  in  the  same  epistle,  substituting  faith 
for  the  new  creature:  "For  in  Jesus  Christ  neither  circumcision  avail- 
eth anything,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  faith."  ** 

2.  He  has  new  desires  and  affections — hating  sin  and  loving  right- 
eousness— divorced  in  his  heart  from  the  world,  and  loving  God. 
Hence  the  verse  last  quoted  has  the  following  attribute  of  faith  spe- 
cially mentioned:   "which  worketh  by  love." 

3.  He  sustains  neiv  relationships — having  entered  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  where  God  is  his  Father,  Jesus  his  King  and  Saviour,  the  Holy 
Spirit  his  Guest,  the  church  his  home.  Christians  his  brethren,  angels 
his  servants,  and  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil  his  enemies.  He 
is  "in  Christ  Jesus,"  a  new  creature.  "Old  things  are  passed  away; 
behold  all  things  are  become  new."  ft 

Now  all  this  change — this  series  of  changes — is  internal,  save  th« 
change  of  state  or  relationship  accomplished  by  the  birth  of  water — 
baptism.  The  first  distinction,  then,  to  be  made  is.  That  regeneration 
ts  wrought  in  or  upon  us;  but  the  same  can  not  be  affirmed  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  Forgiveness  takes  place  in  the  heart  of  the  party 
sinned  against.  "There  is  forgiveness  with  God."  "Forgive  one 
another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  you."  Now  when 
men  forgive  one  another,  does  forgiveness  take  place  in  the  heart  oi 
the  offender?     Nay,   in  the  heart  of  the  offended   party.     If  A   sins 


-Matt.  xix.  28;  II.  Pet.  iii.  13;  Rev.  xxi.  1,  5.  +  John  i.  13;  iii.  3,  5;  II.  Cor.  v.  17; 

1.  Pet.  i.  23;  Tit.  iii.  5.         X  I.  Pet.  i.  23;  .las.  i.  18.  $John  iii.  5;  Tit.  iii.  5;  Eph.  v.  26. 

II  Gal.  vi.  15.       «=Gal.  v.  6.  -H-See  II.  Cor.  v.  17;  Gal.  v.  6;  vi.  15. 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  497 

against  B,  and  forgiveness  is  ever  exercised,  every  one  must  see  that 
forgiveness  is  present  as  a  matter  of  consciousness  in  the  heart  of  B, 
and  not  in  the  heart  of  A.  Therefore,  while  regeneration  is  wrought 
ill  us,  foryivcness  is  accomplished  in  heaven,  at  the  mercy-seat.  It  is 
the  act  of  the  Sovereign  who  holds  the  pardoning  power.  Is  not  this 
a  very  wide  distinction — regeneration  wrought  on  earth,  forgiveness 
iji  heaven;  regeneration  wrought  in  the  heart  and  in  the  life  of  fhe 
sinner,  forgiveness  in  the  heart  of  Godf  Is  it  not  passing  strange  that 
they  should  ever  be  confounded? 

It  is  replied,  however,  that  although  God  dispenses  pardon  at  the 
mercy-seat,  yet  he  conveys  the  evidence  of  pardon  to  the  penitent  in 
an  immediate  communication  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  pardoning  love 
is  felt  and  known  in  the  sinner's  heart.    On  this  we  remark: 

1.  That  even  were  this  true,  the  communication  of  pardon  must 
still,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  widely  different  from  that  moral  and 
spiritual  change  which  is  called  regeneration.  The  fact  that  I  hate 
sin  and  love  righteousness  and  holiness,  must  always  remain  different 
from  the  fact  that  God  has  pardoned  my  sins.  The  former  might  be 
fully  realized  without  any  knowledge  of  the  latter.  The  latter  does 
not  follow  even  as  a  logical  consequence  of  the  former,  but  simply 
because  of  the  revelation  God  has  made  of  himself  in  the  gospel.     But 

2.  We  deny  that  there  is  any  such  special  revelation  to  the  indi- 
vidual heart  of  forgiveness.  We  do  not  deny  the  power  of  God  to  make 
such  communication,  if  he  saw  fit;  but  we  deny  that  he  has  promised 
to  make  such  revelation.  We  affirm  that  he  has  forbidden  us  to 
expect  it. 

(a)  In  the  general  proclamation  of  pardon  in  the  gospel,  connecting 
the  promise  of  pardon  with  certain  conditions.  "Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;  he  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  *  Now  this  is  a  mere  nullity  if  there  is 
a  special  revelation  of  the  fact  of  pardon,  apart  from  the  gospel. 
Indeed,  if  such  special  revelation  assures  the  soul  of  pardon  on  any 
other  than  gospel  conditions,  it  contradicts  the  gospel,  and  makes  it 
a  lie — which  Is  worse  than  a  nullity.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  special 
revelation  merely  reaffirms  the  gospel  conditions,  it  is  useless,  since 
these  are  already  known  and  substantiated  as  divine;  and,  on  this 
supposition,  the  special  revelation  can  not  be  given  until  the  conditions 
are  complied  with,  when  it  surely  is  not  needed,  and  has  no  value. 
Moreover,  there  is  so  much  danger  of  delusion  in  these  internal  reve- 
lations, that  they  must  be  tried  by  the  external  revelation  before  one 
knows  whether  to  believe  them  or  not!  "I  have  heard  what  the 
prophets  said  that  prophesy  lies  in  my  name,  saying,  /  have  dreamed,  I 


'■Mark  xvi.  15,  16. 


498  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

have  dreamed.  How  long  shall  this  be  in  the  heart  of  the  prophets 
that  prophesy  lies?  Yea,  they  are  prophets  of  the  deceit  of  their  own 
heart;  which  think  to  cause  my  people  to  forget  my  name  by  their 
dreams,  which  they  tell  every  man  to  his  neighbor,  as  their  fathers 
have  forgotten  my  name  for  Baal.  The  prophet  that  hath  a  dream, 
let  him  tell  a  dream;  and  he  that  hath  my  word,  let  him  speak  my 
word  faithfully:  what  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat?  saith  the  Lord."* 
"To  the  law  and  to  the  tesitimony;  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this 
word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them."  t 

(&)  It  is  forbidden  by  express  Scripture  precept.  "Say  not  in  thine 
heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven?  (that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down 
from  above: )  or.  Who  shall  descend  into  the  deep?  (that  is,  to  bring  up 
Christ  again  from  the  dead.)  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth 
and  in  thy  heart;  that  is,  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach;  that  if 
thou  Shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  believe  in 
thine  heart  that  God  hath  raisied  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be 
saved."  f  Compare  this  with  the  passage  from  which  it  is  drawn 
(Deut.  XXX.  11-14,)  and  be  satisfied  that  we  have  not  to  wait  for  special 
revelations. 

(c)  Facts  forbid  it.  Not  Cornelius,  nor  Saul,  nor  the  Ethiopian, 
could  get  a  special  internal  revelation  of  pardon.  The  angel  would 
not  tell  Cornelius.  The  Holy  Spirit  would  not  tell  the  Treasurer  of 
Ethiopia.  Jesus  himself  would  not  tell  Saul.  Cornelius  had  to  send 
for  Peter.§  The  eunuch  had  to  learn  from  Philip. ||  Saul  had  to  learn 
from  Ananias.**  From  the  day  that  Jesus  ascended  to  heaven,  there  is 
not  an  instance  of  the  evidence  of  pardon  communicated  in  any  other 
way  than  by  the  conditions  and  promises  of  the  gospel,  uttered  by 
human  lips.  The  evidence  of  pardon  is  in  the  gospel  promise;  and  that 
promise  being  conditional,  we  approach  it  through  compliance  with  the 
conditions.  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  ft 
"Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
for  the  remission  of  sins."H  "If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him 
from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  §§  "Whosoever  shall  call  on  the 
namie  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved — for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich 
in  mercy  to  all  that  call  upon  him."  |1 1|  "Arise  and  be  baptized,  and 
wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  *** 

In  perfect  harmony  with  this,  the  Westminster  Confession  says: 
"The  grace  which  is  exhibited  in  or  by  the  sacraments,  rightly  used, 
is  not  conferred  by  any  power  in  them;  neither  doth  the  efficacy  of  a 
sacrament  depend  upon  the  piety  or  intention  of  him  that  doth  admin- 


•  Jer.  xxiii.  25-28.  f  Isa.  viii.  20.  t  Rom.  x.  6-9.  $  Acts  x.  5,  6. 

II  Acts  viii.  27-40.  **Acts  xxii.  10-16.      ++  Mark  xvi.  16.  U  Acts  ii.  38. 

$$Bom.  X.  9.  II II  Rom.  x.  12, 13.       =-*Acts  xxii.  16. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  4ya 

isler  it;  but  upon  the  work  of  the  Spirit  and  the  tcord  of  instilulioii, 
which  contains,  together  with  a  precept  authorizing  the  use  thcerof,  a 
promise  of  benefit  to  icorthy  receivers." 

We  are  not  forgetful  of  the  passage  so  constantly  quoted  to  prove 
this  disputed  point:  "The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit 
that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  *  But  this  is  wide  of  the  mark. 
We  are  discussing  the  evidence  of  pardon — not  the  evidence  of  sonship. 

We  are  prepared  now  to  put  the  distinction  between  regeneration 
and  forgiveness  in  another  form.  Regeneration  is  a  matter  of  con 
sciousness — forgiveness  is  a  matter  of  faith.  We  knoic  we  believe* 
we  know  we  repent;  we  know  we  are  baptized;  these  are  matters  of 
experience,  because  they  are  wrought  in  or  upon  us.  But  we  can  not 
ft  el  or  know  that  our  sins  are  forgiven;  we  believe  this — our  faith 
resting  on  the  promise  of  God.  We  feci  iii  consequence  of  forgiveness — 
a  feeling  of  peace  and  joy,  proportioned  to  the  clearness  and  fullness 
of  our  faith,  flowing  in  upon  the  heart  that  embraces  the  promise  of 
pardon  in  the  gospel. 

Can  not  the  reader  now  see  that  baptism  can  be  for  remission  of 
sins,  \\ithout  involving  the  idea  of  baptismal  regeneration?  Baptism 
enables  the  proper  subject  of  it  to  lay  hold  on  the  conditional  promise 
of  pardon,  and  say,  this  now  is  mine.  It  therefore  simply  conveys 
the  Scriptural  assurance  of  pardon  to  the  person  spiritually  qualified 
to  receive  it. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  point  of  contact  between,  regeneration  and  remis- 
sion of  sins.  The  latter  is  the  irnmediate  result  of  the  former.  The 
baptism  which  consummates  regeneration  in  a  change  of  state  or  rela- 
tionship, is  the  very  act  which  brings  us  to  the  gospel  promise  of 
pardon.  But  if  any  minds  unaccustomed  to  nice  discriminations,  finJ 
themselves  in  danger  of  confusion  at  this  point,  let  them  reflect,  that 
all  that  is  generally  called  regeneration  has  preceded  the  act  of  hap- 
tistn.  The  change  of  mind  and  of  heart — the  turning  of  the  inner  man 
to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  Jesus,  to  a  trust  in  His  sacriflce,  and  an 
acquiescence  in  his  will — has  already  been  accomplished  in  faith  and 
repentance.  Baptism  but  accomplishes  a  change  of  state — an  entrance 
into  new  covenant  relations;  and  in  establishing  covenant  relations, 
entitles  its  subject  to  the  covenant  promise,  "I  will  be  merciful  to  your 
unrighteousness,  and  your  sins  and  iniquities  I  will  remember  no 
more."  t 

Gospel  conditions  run  into  each  other  and  blend  so  perfectly,  that 
we  dislike  to  enter  on  too  nice  a  classification.  Yet  it  may  assist  to 
guide  some  minds  aright  if  we  present  an  outline  of  the  gospel  arrange- 
ment, so  far  as  conditions  are  concerned.     We  simply  forewarn  the 


^-Roin.  viii.  1(>.  +II.-1).  viii.  1(M2. 


500  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

metaphysical  reader  that  we  are  aware  how  certainly  these  conditions 
run  into  each  other,  and  how  easily  metaphysical  cavils  can  be  raised 
over  this  or  any  other  syllabus: 

I. 

1.  Faith,  or  a  new  mind,  "\     constitute  a  new  creation,  inter- 

2.  Repentance,  or  a  new  will,    I    nally   and    externally,    in   princi- 


3.  Baptism,  or  a  new  state,        j     pie,  in  aim,  and  in  position. 

II. 

1.  Faith  ultimates  in  a  new  heart,  purified  from  selfishness,  and 

trusting  in  Christ; 

2.  Repentance  in  a  new  life,  redeemed  from  rebellion,  and  accept- 
ing the  Lordship  of  Jesus; 

3.  Baptism  in  a  good  conscience,  purified  from  the  sense  of  guilt. 

So  that  the  subject  of  these  is 
a  Pure  in  his  desires; 
&  Submissive  to  the  will  of  God; 
c  Pardoned  and  accepted  as  a  child  of  God,  and  in  his  new  state 

prepared  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  live  the  Christian 

life. 

III. 

1.  Faith  rests  on  the  truth  of  God; 

2.  Repentance  on  the  goodness  of  God; 

3.  Baptism  on  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

We  believe,  because  the  truth  of  God  banishes  our  doubts. 

We  repent,  because  the  unspeakable  love  of  God  conquers  our  stub- 
bornness. 

We  are  baptized,  because  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  has  become 
all  in  all  to  us. 

The  result  of  all  this  is, 

a  The  forgiveness  of  sins. 

6  Adoption  into  the  family  of  God. 

c  The  earnest  of  the  Spirit. 

d  The  hope  of  everlasting  life. 

Is  it  not  a  new  creation? 

This  regenerated  person  has  now,  as  his  portion,  until  heaven  is 
gained : 

1.  The  Word  of  grace,  to  guide  him. 

2.  The  Throne  of  grace,  to  shelter  him. 

3.  The  Spirit  of  grace,  to  comfort  him. 

Continuing  faithful  to  the  end,  he  will  be  the  subject  of  a  physical 
resurrection  of  the  dead;  and  a  purified  spirit  in  a  glorified  body  will 
inherit  the  new  heavens  and  earth,  wherein  righteousness  shall  dwell 
forever.  i.  e. 


THE    MILLEyyiAL    llARlilSGER    ABRIDGED.  501 

In  1859,  page  61,  Mr.  Campbell  says: 

REGENERATION,  JUSTIFICATION,  SANCTIFICATION,  ADOPTION. 

These  are  the  four  cardinal  themes  of  the  true  Christology,  and  of 
a  Biblical  Theology.  Very  much,  indeed,  depends  upon  a  Scriptural 
definition  and  appreciation  of  terms  so  cardinal.  They  give  birth  to 
four  verbs  of  large  comprehension, — to  regenerate,  to  justify,  to  sanc- 
tify, and  to  adopt. 

These  being,  one  and  all,  Scriptural  terms,  we  must  consider  their 
precise  Scriptural  currency  and  value  in  the  apostolic  writings,  if  we 
would  enjoy  the  gospel.  Their  popular  currency,  in  modern  creeds, 
is,  indeed,  one  inquiry,  and  their  evangelic  currency,  in  the  apostolic 
diction  and  style,  is  quite  another  inquiry.  The  latter,  with  us,  is 
paramount.  We  have,  on  former  occasions,  remonstrated  against  an 
erroneous  conception  and  appropriation  of  these  terms.  They  are  yet 
occasionally  used  inappropriately,  the  four  cardinal  terms  in  modem 
and  in  original  Christian  terminology.  Regeneration  is  represented  in 
the  Greek  Christian  Scriptures,  by  Paliggenesia.  It  is  not  found,  or 
has  no  representative  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  It  is  a  new  covenant 
or  New  Testament  term.  And,  therefore,  it  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
Christian  Institution.  In  Matt  xix.  28,  its  first  occurrence,  it  is 
defined  by  our  highest  authorities  in  these  words:  "Regeneratio  per 
quam  ihi  intelUgiiiir  totius  naturae  nostrae  perfecta  renevatio  et  instau- 
ratio,  plenaria  peccati  et  mortis  abolitio;"  which  we  literally  translate 
in  the  following  words: 

By  this  word  is  here  understood — "a  perfect  renovation  and  instaiir 
ratio)}  of  our  ichole  nature;"  or,  in  our  every  day  currency, — a  perfect 
renewal  and  restoration  of  our  ivhoJe  nature  to  that  image  of  God  in 
which  our  father  Adam  stood  in  the  day  of  his  generation  or  creation. 
We  confidently  affirm  this,  on  the  highest  literary  authority  in  Christen- 
dom, to  be  the  legitimate  and  precise  meaning  of  the  word  Paligge- 
nesia, represented  by  the  Roman  and  English  word  regeneration.  No 
man,  we  presume  to  say,  of  literary  reputation,  will  hazard  that  repu- 
tation by  denying  this  exegesis  or  definition  of  the  term. 

We,  however,  think  that  our  composite  Saxon  word  renewal  is  a3 
apposite  and  as  intelligible  to  the  masses  of  our  community  as  any 
other  word  in  our  living  currency. 

This  term  paliggenesia,  regeneration,  is  found  but  twice  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures;  and,  in  neither  of  these  cases,  does  it  correspond 
with  its  modern  currency  in  Protestantdom  or  Romandom. 

In  its  first  occurrence  (Matt.  xix.  28)  it  indicates  a  new  era.  Every 
Biblical  scholar  in  Christendom  must  concede  this. 

The  era  alluded  to,  in  this  passage,  is  by  Alexander  Clark  and  other 
commentators  of  authority,  referred  to  the  time  "when  Jesus  shall  sit 


502  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

on  the  throne  in  his  glory;  and  not  to  the  time  of  our  following  him 
here"  (Matt.  xix.  28).  So  Boothroyd  and  many  others  read  it.  "At 
the  renovation,  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  you,  also,  shall  sit  on  the  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel." 

Again,  Tit.  iii.  5,  "He  saved  us" — "according  to  his  own  mercy, 
through  the  bath  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
These  are  not  identical — "the  bath  of  regeneration"  is  one,  and  "the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  is  another.  The  new  birth,  and  the  wash- 
ing of  the  new  birth,  are  not  identical  terms  nor  identical  ideas.  A 
man,  a  physical  or  an  animal  man,  "must,"  under  the  Christian  econ- 
omy, "be  begotten  again" — "born  of  water  and  Spirit,"  before  he  can 
enter  into  "the  kingdom  of  God."  We  only  reiterate  the  express  oracles 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  desire  no  other,  we  seek  no  higher,  no  lower 
authority. 

Justification,  sanctification  and  adoption  are  instantaneous  acts  of 
Divine  grace,  and  are  simultaneous,  not  successive  acts,  as  more  than 
half  of  our  pulpits  and  presses  in  Christendom  preach  and  teach  They 
are,  on  the  contrary,  both  instantaneous  and  concomitant,  or  contem- 
porary acts  of  Divine  grace — the  sickly  dreams  of  some  of  our  modern 
Rabbis  to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding. 

One  fact  or  truism,  almost  universally  conceded,  will  place  thes^ 
misconceptions  in  midnight  altitude.  It  is  this: — There  are  degrees 
in  character,  but  not  in  state.  For  example,  we  all  concede,  that  the 
terms  husband,  wife,  son,  daughter,  master,  servant,  citizen,  subject,  rep- 
resent states — each  and  every  one  of  them  represents  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  relation  or  state.  But  in  character,  there  are,  or  may 
be,  many  degrees.  A,  B  and  C  are  masters.  D,  E  and  F  are  servants. 
These  are  two  states  obviously  distinct.  But  A,  B  and  C,  in  character, 
may  be  good,  better,  and  best;  or  bad,  worse,  and  worst.  This  is  so 
obvious  that  all  sound  thinkers  readily  admit  it.  Hence,  seeing  that 
justification,  sanctification,  adoption,  regeneration,  represent  states,  and 
neither  persons  nor  characters;  those  in  these  states  are  equally  perfect 
in  state,  while  there  may  be  a  greater  or  a  less  conformity  of  char- 
acter to  these  states  or  relations.  No  Christian  man  can,  therefore, 
bo  more  regenerated,  justified,  sanctified,  adopted,  or  saved  than  any 
other  Christian  man. 

The  Westminster  Divines,  as  they  are  called,  were,  in  this  matter, 
correct,  when  they  called  these  states — "acts  of  Divine  grace."  Polit- 
ically, in  our  enlightened  country,  we  are  orthodox.  An  alien  is  trans- 
muted or  regenerated  into  a  citizen.  And,  so  soon  as  politically  regen- 
erated, he  is  equal  in  all  the  constitutional  rights  of  citizenship  with 
every  other  native-born  citizen  of  mature  age  and  reason,  until  he 
abjure  these  rights  and  becomes  a  rebel. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  503 

When,  then,  an  alien  is  naturalized,  or  born  again,  he  is  adopted 

and  enfranchised  with  all  the  inherent  rights,  honors  and  Immunities 

of  a  native-born  citizen,  under  the  same  constitution.     He  is,  in  one 

particular  only,  limited.    He  can  not,  constitutionally,  be  President  of 

the   confederacy.     So   it  is   in   the  Christian   Institution.     A  justified, 

sanctified,  adopted  and  saved  sinner  can  never  be  king  of  the  universe. 

Neither  can  an- angel.     But  of  a  regenerated  man  we  may  say  and 

sing:  — 

"  Boforo  tl>o  throno  and  first  in  song, 
Man  iiiny  his  hnlloliijahs  raise; 
Wliilo  womliTint?  nnf^t-ls  round  him  tlirong, 
And  swi'll  tliL"  ehoriLs  of  his  praise." 

There  are,  then,  no  degrees  in  justification,  sanctiflcation,  adoption, 
or  regeneration.  But  in  Christian  character,  and  enjoyment,  there  may 
be  degrees,  beyond  the  power  of  all  our  powers  of  utterance.  We  give 
the  Westminster  divines  all  credit  and  honor,  because  they  repre- 
sented regeneration,  justification,  sanctification,  and  adoption  as  sev- 
eral and  distinct  acts  of  Divine  grace  and  philanthropy.  Hence  they 
called  them,  one  and  all,  "Acts  of  Divine  grace."  Sometimes,  indeed, 
improperly  calling  it  "sovereign  grace,"  as  if  there  could  be  any  grace 
at  all,  human  or  Divine,  that  is  not  both  sovereign  and  free.      a.  c. 

JUSTiriCATIOX. 

"If  any  man  be  in  Christ,"  says  Paul,  "ho  is  a  new  creation:  oil 
things  have  passed  away;  all  things  have  become  new."  By  the  special 
favor  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  "is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  justification.  Banc- 
tification,  and  redemption."  Hence,  as  saith  the  Prophet,  "In  him 
shall  all  the  seed  of  Israel  be  justified,  and  in  him  shall  they  glory." 
"He  that  boasteth,"  therefore,  "let  him  boast  in  the  Lord." 

What,  then,  is  justification,  the  first  fruit  of  the  heavenly  cluster 
of  Divine  graces?  It  is,  indeed,  a  trite  but  a  true  saying,  that  the 
term  justification  is  a  forensic  word;  and,  therefore,  indicates  that 
its  subject  has  been  accused  of  crime,  or  of  the  transgression  of  law. 
Ir  also  implies  that  the  subject  of  it  has  not  only  been  accused  a.ul 
tried,  but  also  acquitted.  Such,  then,  is  the  legal  or  forensic  ju£tific:i- 
tion.  It  is,  indeed,  a  sentence  of  acquittal  announced  by  a  iribu:  al. 
importing  that  the  accused  is  found  not  guilty.  If  convicted,  ho  can 
not  be  justified;  if  justified,  ha  has  not  been  convicted. 

But  such  is  not  justification  by  grace.  Evangelical  justification  is 
the  justification  of  one  that  has  been  convicted  as  guilty  before  God. 
the  Supreme  and  Ultimate  Judge  of  the  Universe.  But  the  whole  world 
has  been  tried  and  found  guilty  before  God.  So  that,  in  fact,  "there 
\y  none  righteous;  no,  not  one."  Therefore,  by  deeds  of  law  no  man 
can  be  justified  before  Cod.  "Tor  should  a  man  keep  the  whole  law. 
and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  be  is  guilty  of  all."     He  has  despised  the 


504  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

whole  authority  of  the  law  and  the  Lawgiver.  It  is,  then,  utterly 
impossible  that  any  sinner  can  be  foTeosically  or  legally  justified  before 
God,  by  a  law  which  he  has  in  any  one  instance  violated. 

If,  then,  a  sinner  be  justified,  it  must  be  on  some  other  principlo 
than  law.  He  must  be  justified  by  favor,  and  not  by  right.  Still  it 
must  be  rightfully  done  by  him  that  justifies  a  transgression,  else  he 
will  be  liable  to  the  charge  of  injustice  to  the  law  and  the  government. 
This  is  the  emergency  which  must  be  met  by  evangelical  justification. 
The  mission  and  mediation  of  the  Messiah  was  primarily  to  meet  this 
emergency;  though,  indeed,  he  has  done  much  more  than  to  meet  It. 
Evangelical  justification  is,  therefore,  a  justification  by  favor  as 
respects  man;  and  it  has  been  made  just  also  on  the  part  of  God,  by 
the  sacrifice  or  obedience  unto  death  of  his  Son.  Still  it  must  be 
regarded  as  not  a  real  or  legal  justification.  It  is,  as  respects  man. 
only  pardon,  or  forgiveness  of  the  past;  but  the  pardoned  sinner  being 
ever  after  treated  and  regarded  as  though  he  were  righteous,  he  is 
constituted  and  treated  as  righteous  before  God.  He  is  as  cordially 
received  into  the  favor  and  friendship  of  God,  as  though  he  had  never 
at  any  time  offended  against  his  law.  This,  then,  is  what  is  peculiarly 
and  appropriately  called  "evangelical  justification."  Still,  legally  con- 
templated, God,  in  fact,  "justifies  the  ungodly.''  And  so  teaches  the 
apostle  Paul. 

Still  every  one  of  reflection  will  enquire,  how  can  the  justification 
of  the  ungodly  be  regarded  as  compatible  with  the  justice,  the  purity, 
the  truthfulness  of  God?  How  can  he  stand  justified  before  the  pur,^, 
and  holy,  and  righteous  peers  of  his  celestial  realm — the  hierarchs  and 
princes  of  heaven?  This  is,  indeed,  to  very  many,  a  profound  mys- 
tery. And  "great,"  truly  "is  the  mystery  of  godliness."  Standing  at 
this  point,  and  viewing  it  in  all  its  bearings,  heaven  is  always  in 
rapture,  while  contemplating  this  new  and  grand  and  glorious  revela- 
tion of  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.  It  is,  however,  a  revealed  mys 
tery.  One  there  is,  and  was,  and  evermore  will  be,  who,  by  his  obedi- 
ence to  that  violated  law,  even  unto  death,  has  so  magnified  and  made 
honorable  that  law  and  government,  as  to  open  a  channel  through 
which  truth,  righteousness,  and  mercy  can  harmoniously  flow  together 
and  justify  God,  while  justifying  the  sinner,  by  pardoning  him  and 
then  treating  him  as  though  he  never  had  sinned  against  his  throne 
and  government. 

His  death  was,  therefore,  contemplated  as  the  one  only  true,  real, 
and  adequate  sin-offering  ever  presented  in  this  universe,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  angels,  men,  and  demons,  that  does  for  ever  justify  God 
in  justifying  man.  It  will  forever  silence  all  demur,  and  fill  the  uni- 
verse— heaven  and  eternity,  with  the  praise  of  the  Lord.  Hence,  in 
perfect  harmony   with   all  the  types  of  the  law,   the  oracles  of  the 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  606 

prophets  and  the  promises  and  covenants  of  God,  he  is  truly,  right- 
fully, and  with  the  emphatic  seal  of  God,  surnamed — "Jkhovah  oim 
RiGiiTKorsNEss."  Therefore,  as  saith  Isaiah — "By  the  knowledge  of 
him  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many  whose  Iniquities  he  shall 
have  borne." 

How  then  is  it  dispensed?  or  rather,  how  is  it  received  and  enjoyed? 
"It  is  through  faith,"  says  Paul,  "that  it  might  be  by  grace."  to  the 
end,  that  the  promise  of  eternal  life  "might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed;" 
whether  by  nature,  Jews  or  Gentiles.  It  is  through  faith,  and  not 
on  account  of  faith,  as  though  there  was  in  faith  some  intrinsic  merit. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  if  faith  were  a  work  of  the  head  or  of 
the  heart,  or  of  both,  possessing  inherent  and  essential  merit,  it  would 
be  as  much  a  work  to  be  rewarded  as  any  other  exercise  of  the  under- 
standing or  of  the  heart.  Love  is  said  "to  be  the  fulfilling  of  the 
whole  law,"  and  covetousness  is  called  idolatry.  Were  then  justifica- 
tion to  be  founded  on  faith,  hope,  or  love,  as  tvorks  of  the  understand- 
ing or  affections;  it  could  be  no  more  of  grace  than  any  other  blessing 
received  on  account  of  anything  done  by  us  or  w^rought  in  us. 

Hence,  in  the  evangelical  dispensation  of  justification,  it  is  in  some 
sense  connected  with  seven  causes.  Paul  affirms,  that  a  man  is  justified 
by  faith.  (Rom.  v.  1;  Gal.  ii.  16;  iii.  24.)  In  the  second  place,  ho 
states  that  "we  are  justified  freely  by  his  grace"  (Rom.  iii.  ?A;  Tit. 
iii.  7).  In  the  third  place,  on  another  occasion  he  teaches  that  "we  ara 
justified  by  Christ's  Hood"  (Rom.  v.  9).  Again,  in  the  fourth  place, 
he  says  that  "we  are  justified  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  spirit  of  our  God"  (I.  Cor.  vi.  11).  To  the  Galatians,  in  the  fifth 
place,  he  declares  that  "we  are  justified  by  Christ"  (Gal.  ii.  16).  In 
the  sixth  place,  Isaiah  says  "we  are  justified  by  knowledge"  (Isa.  liii. 
11).  And  James,  in  the  seventh  place,  says  "we  are  justified  by 
works"  (chap.  ii.  21).  Thus,  by  Divine  authority,  faith  is  connected 
as  an  effect,  in  some  sense,  of  seven  causes,  viz.:  Faith,  Grace,  the  Blooi 
of  Christ,  the  Name  of  the  Lord,  Knowledge,  Christ,  and  Works.  May 
it  not,  then,  be  asked  why  do  so  many  select  one  of  these  only,  as 
essential  to  justification?  This  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  the  violence 
of  sectarianism. 

Call  these  causes  or  means  of  justification  and  they  may  severally 
indicate  an  influence  or  an  instrumentality  in  the  consummation  of 
this  great  act  of  Divine  favor.  He  that  assumes  any  one  or  two  of 
them,  as  the  exclusive  or  one  only  essential  cause  of  a  sinner's  justi- 
fication, acts  arbitrarily  and  hazardously  rather  than  discreetly  or 
according  to  the  oracles  of  God.  We  choose  rather  to  give  to  them 
severally  a  Divine  significance,  and  consequently  a  proper  place  in 
the  conpummation  of  evangelical  justification.  We  feel  obliged  to  use 
the  same  reason  and  discretion  In  ascertaining  the  developments  of 


506  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

this  work  of  Divine  grace,  that  we  may  employ  in  searching  into  the 
works  of  God,  in  nature  and  in  moral  government.  How  many  agents 
and  laws  of  nature  co-operate  in  providing  our  daily  bread?  Suns  rise 
and  set,  moons  wax  and  wane,  tides  ebb  and  flow,  the  planets  observe 
their  cycles,  morning,  noon,  and  night  perform  their  functions,  the 
clouds  pour  their  treasures  into  the  bosom  of  the  thirsty  earth,  the 
dews  distil  their  freshness  on  the  tender  blade,  and  the  electric  fluid 
unobserved,  in  perpetual  motion,  as  the  anima  mundi,  ministers  to  life 
in  every  form  of  vegetable,  animal  and  human  existence. 

Why,  then,  to  reason's  ear  should  it  sound  discordant,  or  to  reason's 
eye  appear  uncouth,  that,  in  the  scheme  of  redemption  and  regener- 
ation, God's  instrumentalities  should  be  as  numerous  and  as  various, 
yet  as  co-operative  as  those  in  outward  and  sensible  nature? 

Again,  let  us  survey  the  works  of  man  to  man,  his  modes  and  forms 
of  action  in  the  consummation  of  some  grand  scheme  of  human  bene- 
faction. Take,  for  example,  that  philanthropist,  who,  standing  on  the 
sea-shore,  descries  a  ship-wrecked  crew  clinging  to  a  portion  of  the 
wreck  tossed  to  and  fro  among  the  foaming  billows  of  an  angry  sea. 
He  calls  to  his  son,  and  commands  him  to  seize  a  boat  and  hasten  to 
their  rescue.  He  obeys.  Cheerfully  he  plies  the  oars,  and  fearlessly 
struggles  through  many  a  conflicting  wave,  till  he  reaches  the  almost 
famished  and  fainting  crew.  He  commands  them  to  seize  his  arm  and 
let  go  the  wreck,  and  he  will  help  them  into  his  boat.  They  obey, 
and  all  aboard,  he  commands  them  to  grasp  each  his  oar  and  co-operate 
with  him  in  seeking  the  port  of  safety.  They  cheerfully  co-operate 
and  are  saved. 

The  spectators  and  the  narrators  of  this  scene,  form  and  express 
very  different  views  of  it.  One  says,  the  perishing  crew  were  saved 
by  a  man  on  the  shore;  another,  by  his  son;  another,  by  a  boat; 
another,  by  getting  into  a  boat;  another,  by  rowing  themselves  to 
shore}  another,  by  a  favorable  breeze. 

They  all  told  the  truth.  There  is  no  contradiction  in  their  repri>- 
sentations.  But  a  philosopher  says,  they  were  saved  by  all  these  means 
together.     Such  is  the  case  before  us. 

These  means  may  be  regarded  as  causes  co-operating  in  the  result, 
all  necessary,  not  one  of  them  superfluous.  But  some  one  of  them  to 
one  person,  another  to  a  second  person,  another  to  a  third  person,  and 
another  to  a  fourth,  appears  more  prominent  than  the  others;  conse- 
quently, in  narrating  the  deliverance,  he  ascribes  it  mainly  to  that 
cause  which,  at  the  time,  made  the  most  enduring  impression  on  his 
own  mind. 

But  the  calm,  contemplative  thinker  thus  arranges  these  concurrent 
causes.  The  original  or  moving  cause  was  the  humanity  and  kindness 
of  the  father,  that  stood  on  the  shore  and  saw  them  about  to  perish. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  507 

His  son,  who  txK>k  the  boat  and  imperiled  his  life,  was  the  efficient  or 
meritorious  cause.  The  boat  itself  was  the  instrumental  cause.  The 
knowledge  of  their  own  coadition  and  the  kind  invitation  tendered 
to  the  sufferers  was  the  disposing  cause.  Their  consenting  to  the  c-on- 
dition  was  Oie  formal  cause.  Their  seizing  the  lx)at  with  their  hands 
and  springing  into  it  was  the  immediate  cause.  And  their  co-operative 
rowing  to  the  shore  was  the  concurrent  aad  effectual  cause  of  their 
salvation. 

Had  any  one  of  the  apostles  been  accosted  by  captious,  inquisitive 
and  speculative  partizans  for  a  reconciliation  of  all  he  had  said,  or 
that  his  fellow  laborers  had  said  in  their  narratives,  or  allusions  to. 
particular  persons,  scenes,  or  events  happening  in  his  presence,  or 
under  his  administration  of  affairs;  had  he  been  requested  to  explain 
or  reconcile  them  with  what  he,  or  others  of  equal  authority,  had,  on 
other  occasions  said,  or  written,  concerning  them,  doubtless  In  some 
such  way  he  could,  and  would  have  explained  them.  Indeed,  in  the 
common  experience  of  all  courts  of  enquiry  and  tribunals  of  justice, 
where  numerous  statements  are  made  on  questions  of  facts,  by  a  single 
witness,  and  still  more  when  a  plurality  are  examined,  such  diversified 
representations  are  made  rather  to  the  confirmation  than  to  the  detri- 
ment or  disparagement  of  the  import,  or  the  credibility  of  these  state- 
ments. How  often,  and  by  how  many  cavillers  have  the  Four  Gospels 
been  subjected  to  such  ordeals,  on  such  pretenses?  But  who  has  yet 
found  good  reasons  to  disparage  or  discredit  these  narratives  on 
account  of  such  assaults  or  misunderstandings? 

No  question  agitated  since  the  era  of  Protestantism  has  occupied 
so  much  attention,  or  concentrated  a  greater  amount  of  learning  and 
research,  than  the  question  of  justification  by  faith;  not,  Indeed, 
because  of  the  inherent  difficulties  of  the  subject,  but  because  of  the 
defection  and  apostacy  of  the  papal  hierarchy — and  the  thick  pall  of 
darkness  and  error  with  which  it  had  enveloped  the  whole  Bible.  One 
extreme  generates  another.  Hence  the  terminology  of  the  most  ortho- 
dox schools  on  this  subject  is  neither  so  Scriptural  nor  so  intelligible 
as  the  great  importance  of  the  subject  demands. 

To  harmonize  the  seven  statements  found  in  the  Bible,  on  this 
subject,  we  know  no  method  more  rational  or  more  Scriptural  than 
that  indicated  in  the  illustration  given.  We  are  pardoned  and  treated 
as  righteous,  or  in  other  words,  we  are  justified  by  the  grace  of  God 
the  Father,  as  the  original  and  moving  cause;  by  Christ  his  Son,  and 
by  his  blood,  or  sacrifice,  as  the  meritorious  cause;  by  faith  and  knowl- 
edge as  instrumental  causes,  by  our  convictions  of  sin  and  penitence 
as  the  disposing  cause;  and  by  works  as  the  concurrent  or  concomitant 
cau.sp.  This,  however,  as  justifying  God  in  Justifying  us.  ''You  see," 
said  the  apostle  James,  "how  faith  wrought  by  works,"  in  the  case 


508  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  Abraham,  when  he  offered  up  his  son  upon  the  altar;  "and  by  works 
his  faith  was  made  perfect."  Indeed,  true  faith  necessarily  works; 
therefore,  a  working  faith  is  the  only  true,  real,  and  proper  faith  in 
Divine  or  human  esteem. 

Faith  without  works  is  no  more  faith  than  a  corpse  is  a  man.  It 
is,  therefore,  aptly  by  high  authority  regarded  as  "dead."  Faith  alone, 
or  faith  without  works,  profits  nothing.  But  as  Romanists  taught 
works  without  faith,  Protestants  have  sometimes  taught  faith  without 
works.  The  latter  quote  Paul,  and  the  former  quote  James,  as  plenary 
authority.  But  the  two  apostles  have  fallen  into  bad  hands.  Paul 
never  preached  faith  without  works,  nor  James  works  without  faith. 
Between  these  parties  the  apostles  have  been  much  abused. 

Controversies  generate  new  terms  or  aifix  new  ideas  to  words.  The 
question  between  Calvin  and  Arminius — or  between  their  followers,  is 
not  the  identical  question  between  Paul  and  the  Jews,  or  James  and 
nominal  Christians. 

The  works  of  the  law  and  the  works  of  faith  are  as  different  as 
law  and  gospel.  Works,  indeed,  are  to  be  considered  as  the  embodiments 
of  views,  thoughts,  emotions,  volitions,  and  feelings.  They  are  appre- 
ciable indications  of  the  states  of  the  mind,  sensible  exponents  of  the 
condition  of  the  inner  man.  For  example,  he  that  seeks  justification 
by  the  works  of  the  law  is  not  in  a  state  of  mind  to  be  justi 
fied  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  or  by  the  grace  of  God;  he  is  igno- 
rant of  himself,  ignorant  of  God;  consequently,  too  proud  of  his 
powers  to  condescend  to  be  pardoned  or  justified  by  the  mere  mercy 
and  merits  of  another.  Rich  and  independent  in  his  views  of  himself, 
he  can  not  think  of  being  a  debtor  to  the  worth  and  compassion  of 
one,  who  contemplates  him  as  ruined  and  undone  for  ever.  He  is  too 
proud  to  be  vain,  or  too  vain  to  be  proud  of  himself.  In  either  view 
he  can  not  submit  to  the  righteousness  of  faith.  For  this  purpose, 
Paul  saya  of  the  Pharisaic  Jews,  "They  being  ignorant  of  God's  right- 
eousness, and  going  about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  have 
not  submitted  themselves  to  the  righteousness  of  God,"  or  to  that  right- 
eousness which  God  has  provided  for  the  ungodly. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  works  of  him  that  is  justified  by  faith  are 
exponents  of  an  essentially  different  state  of  mind.  He  is  humble, 
dependent,  grateful.  Feeling  himself  undone,  ruined,  a  debtor  without 
hope  to  pay,  he  sues  for  mercy  and  mercy  is  obtained;  he  is  grateful, 
thankful,  and  humble  before  God.  In  this  view  of  the  matter,  to  justify 
a  man  for  any  work  of  which  he  is  capable,  would  be  to  confirm  him 
in  carnality,  selfishness  and  pride.  But  convinced,  humbled,  emptied 
of  himself,  and  learning,  through  faith  in  the  gospel,  that  God  has 
provided  a  ransom  for  the  ruined,  the  wretched,  and  the  undone,  ha 
gladly  accepts  pardon  through  sovereign  mercy,  and  humbles  himself 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  509 

to  a  state  of  absolute  dependence  on  the  merits  and  mercy  of  another. 
Justification  by  faith  in  Christ  is,  then,  the  embodiment  of  views  in 
perfect  harmony  with  truth — with  our  condition,  with  the  "whole 
revealed  character  of  God,  and  necessarily  tends  to  humility,  gratitude, 
piety,  and  humanity,  while  justification  sought  by  works  as  naturally 
tends  to  pride,  ingratitude,  impiety,  and  inhumanity. 

Such  being  the  true  philosophy  of  justification  by  faith,  and  of 
justification  sought  and  supposed  to  be  obtained  by  works  of  law,  we 
need  not  marvel  that  the  God  of  all  grace  after  having  sent  his  Son 
Into  our  world  to  become  a  sacrifice  for  us — to  die  for  our  sins,  and  to 
rise  again  for.  our  justification,  should  have  instituted  faith  in  him — 
ir.  his  death,  burial,  and  resurrection;  as  the  means  of  a  perfect  recon- 
ciliation to  himself,  commanding  us  not  only  to  cherish  this  faith  in 
our  hearts,  but  exhibit  it  by  a  visible  death  to  sin;  a  burial  with  Christ 
to  sin,  and  a  rising  again  to  walk  in  a  new  life,  expressed  and  sym- 
bolized by  an  immersion  in  water  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  tho 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  as  a  work  of  righteousness,  but  as  a 
mere  confession  of  our  faith  in  what  he  did  for  us,  and  of  our  fixed 
purpose  to  walk  in  him.  Hence  it  is  the  only  suitable  institution  to 
such  an  indication,  as  being  not  a  moral  work  of  righteousness,  but  a 
mere  passive  surrendering  of  ourselves  to  die,  to  be  buried,  and  to  be 
raised  again  by  the  merit  and  aid  of  another. 

Baptism  is,  therefore,  no  work  of  law,  no  moral  duty,  no  moral 
righteousness,  but  a  simple  putting  on  of  Christ  and  placing  ourselves 
wholly  in.  his  hand  and  under  his  guidance.  It  is  an  open,  sensible, 
voluntary  expression  of  our  faith  in  Christ,  a  visible  embodiment  of 
faith,  to  which,  as  being  thus  perfected,  the  promise  of  remission  of 
sins  is  Divinely  annexed.  In  one  word,  it  is  faith  perfected.  Hence, 
when  Paul  exegetically  develops  its  blessings,  he  says — "But  you  are 
washed,  but  you  are  sanctified,  but  you  are  justified  in  the  name  of  tho 
Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  Lord."  *  Thus  justification,  sanc- 
tifiration.  and  adoption — the  throe  most  precious  gifts  of  the  gospel, 
are  evangelically  connected  with  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  baptism 
into  his  death. 

The  immediate  baptism  of  the  first  converts,  after  faith  is  satis- 
factorily explained  in  this  view  of  it;  three  thousand,  in  one  day, 
believed  and  were  baptized.  The  jailor  and  his  family  were  enlight- 
ened, believed,  and  were  baptized  the  same  hour  of  the  night.  Paul 
himself,  so  soon  as  he  had  recovered  from  the  influence  of  the  super- 
natural brightness  which  deprived  him  of  sight,  and  before  he  had 
eaten  or  drank  any  thing,  was  commanded,  without  delay,  to  bo  fortn- 
with  baptized.  "And  he  arose  and  was  baptized."  Baptism,  with  them, 
was  the  perfecting  or  confession  of  their  faith.    The  Ethiopian  Eunuch, 

*I.  Cor.  vi.  11. 


510  THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

on  his  journey  in  the  desert,  is  as  striking  an  example  of  this  as  are 
the  cases  named.  It  was  "putting  on  Christ,"  as  their  righteousness. 
Baptism,  without  faith,  is  of  no  value  whatever;  for,  in  truth,  bap- 
tism is  but  the  actual  and  symbolic  profession  of  faith.  It  is  its 
legitimate  embodiment  and  consummation.  And  whatever  virtue  there 
is  in  it,  or  connected  with  it,  is  but  the  virtue  of  faith  in  the  blood 
of  Christ  applied  to  the  conscience  and  to  the  heart.  The  burial  in 
water  is  a  burial  with  Christ  and  in  Christ.  "For  in  him  shall  all  the 
seed  of  Israel,"  the  believing  children  of  Abraham,  "be  justified,"  and 
in  him,  "and  not  in  themselves,  shall  they  glory."  It  is,  then,  the 
sensible  and  experimental  deliverance  from  both  the  guilt  and  the 
pollution  of  sin;  and  for  this  reason,  or  in  this  view  of  it,  believing 
penitents,  when  inquiring  what  they  should  do,  were  uniformly  com- 
manded by  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  to  be  "baptized  for  the  remission 
of  sins,"  as  God's  own  way,  under  the  New  Institution,  of  receiving 
sinners  into  favor,  through  the  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  his 
Son,  into  whose  name  especially,  as  well  as  by  whose  mediatorial 
authority,  they  were  commanded  to  be,  on  confession,  buried  in  baptism. 
Salvation,  in  the  aggregate,  is  all  of  grace;  and  all  the  parts  of 
it  are,  consequently,  gracious.  Nor  do  we,  in  truth,  in  obeying  the 
gospel,  or  in  being  buried  in  baptism,  make  void  either  law  or  gospel, 
but  establish  and  confirm  both.  Harbinger,  1851,  p.  318-325. 

REMISSION   OF    SINS. 

From  time  to  time,  Mr.  Campbell  issued  extra  numbers  of  the 
Harbinger,  devoted  to  some  special  theme  which  he  desired  to  treat 
more  exhaustively  than  the  space  of  the  regular  numbers  would  permit. 
Bearing  date  of  July  5,  1830,  we  have  the  following  extra  on  "Remis- 
sion of  Sins": 

Luther  said  that  the  doctrine  of  justification,  or  forgiveness,  was 
the  test  of  a  standing  or  falling  church.  If  right  in  this,  she  could 
not  be  very  far  wrong  in  anything  else;  but  if  wrong  here,  it  was  not 
easy  to  suppose  her  right  in  anything.  I  quote  from  memory,  but 
this  was  the  idea  of  that  great  Reformer.  We  agree  with  him  in  this 
as  well  as  in  many  other  sentiments.  Emerging  from  the  smoke  of 
the  great  city  of  mystical  Babylon,  he  saw  as  clearly  and  as  far  into 
these  matters  as  any  person  could,  in  such  a  hazy  atmosphere.  Many 
of  his  views  only  require  to  be  carried  out  to  their  legitimate  issue, 
and  we  should  have  the  ancient  gospel  as  the  result. 

The  doctrine  of  remission  is  the  doctrine  of  salvation;  for  to  talk 
of  salvation  without  the  knowledge  of  the  remission  of  sins,  is  to 
talk  without  meaning.  To  give  to  the  Jews  "a  knowledge  of  salvation 
by  the  remission  of  their  sins,"  was  the  mission  of  John  the  Immerser, 
as  said  the  Holy  Spirit.     In  this  way  he  prepared  a  people  for  the 


THE    MILLESMAL    UAIiBlNOER    ABRIDGED.  511 

Lord.  This  doctrine  of  forgiveness  was  gradually  opened  to  the  people 
during  the  ministry  of  John  and  Jesus;  but  was  not  fully  developed 
until  Pentecoat,  when  the  secrets  of  the  Reign  of  Heaven  were  fully 
opened  to  men. 

From  Abel  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  just  obtained  remission 
at  the  altar,  through  priests  and  sin-offerings;  but  it  was  an  itnperfecl 
remission  as  respected  the  conscience — a  shadowy  and  unconsolatory 
remission.  "For  the  law,"  says  Paul,  (more  perfect  in  tliis  respect 
than  the  preceding  economy,)  "containing  a  shadow  only  of  the  good 
things  to  come,  and  not  even  the  very  image  of  these  things,  never 
could,  with  the  same  sacrifices  which  they  offer  yearly  for  ever,  make 
those  who  come  to  them  perfect.  Since  being  offered,  would  they  not 
have  ceased?  because,  the  worshippers  being  once  cleansed,  should 
have  had  no  longer  conscience  of  sins." 

The  good  things  to  come  were  future  during  the  reign  of  Moses  and 
his  institution.  They  have  come;  and  a  clear,  and  full,  and  perfect 
remission  of  sins,  is  the  great  result  of  the  new  economy  in  the  con- 
sciences of  all  the  citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus.  The  perfection 
of  the  conscience  of  the  worshippers  of  God  under  Christ,  is  the  grand 
distinguishing  peculiarity  in  them,  compared  with  those  under  Moses. 
They  have  not  only  clearer  views  of  God,  of  his  love,  of  his  character, 
and  of  immortality;  but  they  have  consciences  which  the  Jewish  and 
Patriarchal  Ages  could  not  produce. 

If  faith  only  were  the  means  of  this  superior  perfection  and  enjoy- 
ment, and  if  striking  symbols  or  types  were  all  that  were  necessary  to 
afford  this  assurance  and  experience  of  pardon,  the  Jewish  people  might 
have  been  as  happy  as  the  Christian  people.  They  had  as  true  testi- 
mony, as  much  faith,  and  as  striking  emblems  as  we  can  have.  Many 
of  them  through  faith  obtained  a  high  reputation,  were  approved  of 
God,  and  admired  by  men  for  their  wonderful  achievements. 

The  difference  is  in  the  constitution.  They  lived  under  a  consti- 
tution of  lata — we  under  a  constitution  of  favor.  Before  the  law  their 
privileges  were  still  more  circumscribed.  Under  the  government  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  there  is  an  institution  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  like 
which  there  was  no  institution  since  the  world  began.  It  was  owing 
to  this  institution  that  Christians  were  so  much  distinguished  at  first 
from  the  subjects  of  every  former  institution. 

Our  political  happiness  in  these  United  States  is  not  owing  to  any 
other  cause  than  to  our  political  institutions.  If  we  are  politically  the 
happiest  people  in  the  world,  it  is  because  we  have  the  happiest  polit- 
ical institutions  in  the  world.  So  it  is  in  the  Christian  institution.  It 
Christiana  were,  and  may  be,  the  happiest  people  that  ever  lived,  it 
is  because  they  live  under  the  most  gracious  institution  ever  bestowed 
on  man.     The  meaning  of  this  institution  has  been  buried  under  the 


512  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

rubbish  of  human  traditions  for  hundreds  of  years.  It  was  lost  in  the 
dark  ages,  and  has  never  been,  till  now,  disinterred.  Various  efforts 
have  been  made,  and  considerable  progress  attended  them;  but  since 
the  Grand  Apostacy  was  completed  till  the  present  generation,  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  not  been  in  its  original  plainness,  sim 
plicity,  and  majesty,  laid  open  to  mankind.  A  vail  in  reading  the  New 
Institution  has  been  on  the  hearts  of  Christians,  as  Paul  declares  it 
was  upon  the  hearts  of  the  Jews  in  reading  the  Old  Institution  towards 
the  close  of  that  economy. 

To  take  that  vail  away,  since  we  have  discovered  it,  has  been  our 
constant  object.  The  present  essay  is  intended  to  develop  the  Chris- 
tian Institution  for  the  remission  of  sins.  We  can  not  promise  much 
for  the  method  we  shall  pursue,  as  we  have  not  the  mean^  of  tran- 
scribing this  essay,  and  must  put  it  to  press  just  as  it  is  written,  a 
sheet  at  a  time.  But  this  we  may  say,  being  full  of  this  subject,  that 
we  shall  lay  down  and  prove  many  propositions  in  it,  which,  when 
viewed  in  connection,  we  hope,  will  not  fail  to  prove  and  illustrate 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  through  immersion  into  the  name  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  every  proper  subject.  We  apprize  the 
reader  that  such  is  our  design,  that  he  may  examine  with  the  utmost 
care  every  single  proposition  and  every  proof  adduced.  We  do  not 
wish  to  take  him  by  stratagem,  to  captivate  him  by  guile,  nor  to  decoy 
him  by  mere  speciosity.  To  the  Law  and  to  the  Testimony .'  How  do 
you  read?  What  say  the  Scriptures?  If  they  hear  not  these,  neither 
would  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead.  We  request 
the  reader  to  examine  the  following  propositions  and  their  proof:  — 

PEOPOSITION    I. 

The  Apostles  taught  their  disciples,  or  converts,  that  their  sins  were 
forgiven,  and  uniformly  addressed  them  as  pardoned  or  justified 
persons. 

John  testifies  that  the  youngest  disciples  were  pardoned,  (I.  Epis. 
ii.  12,)  "I  write  to  you,  little  children,  because  your  sins  are  forgiven 
you  on  account  of  his  name."  The  young  men  strong  in  the  Lord, 
and  the  old  men  steadfast  in  the  Lord,  he  commends  for  their  attain- 
ments: but  the  little  children,  the  youngest  converts,  he  addressed 
a?  possessing  this  blessing  as  one  common  to  all  disciples,  "Your  sins 
are  forgiven  you  on  account  of  his  name.'' 

Paul,  in  his  letter  to  the  Hebrews,  (chapters  viii.  and  x.,)  asserts, 
that  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  New  Institution  is  the  remission  of 
the  sins  of  all  under  it.  "Their  sins  and  iniquities  I  will  remember 
no  more."  From  this  he  argues  as  a  first  principle  in  the  Christian 
economy.  "Now,"  (says  he,  chapter  x.,  verse  18,)  "where  remission 
of  these  is,  no  more  offering  for  sin  is  needed."    The  reason  assigned 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  513 

by  the  Apostles  why  Vhrisliuiis  have  no  sin  offerings  is,  because  they 
have  obtained  remission  of  sins  as  a  standing  provision  in  the  New 
Institution. 

The  same  Apostle  testifies  that  the  Ephesian  disciples  had  obtained 
remission,  (chap.  iv.  32.)  "Be  to  one  another  kind,  tender-hearted, 
forgiving  each  other,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  has  forgiven  you." 
Here,  also,  in  the  enumeration  of  Christian  privileges  and  immunities 
under  Christ,  he  asserts  forgiveness  of  sins  as  the  common  lot  of  all 
disciples,  (chap.  i.  7,)  "In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
even  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  favor." 
In  his  letter  to  the  Colossians,  (chap.  i.  14,)  he  uses  the  same  words 
— "By  whom  we  have  the  forgiveness  of  sins." 

Figurative  expressions  are  used  by  the  same  Apostle,  expressive 
ot  the  same  forgiveness  common  to  all  Christians,  (I.  Cor.  vi.  11,) 
"And  such  guilty  characters  were  some  of  you;  but  you  are  tcashed; 
but  you  are  sanctified;  but  you  are  justified  by  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  Peter,  also,  is  a  witness  here, 
(I.  Epis.  i.  22,)  "Having  purified  your  souls  by  obeying  the  truth 
through  the  Spirit" 

But  there  is  no  need  of  foreign,  or  remote,  or  figurative  expres- 
sions, when  so  literally  and  repeatedly  the  Apostles  assert  it  as  one  of 
the  adjuncts  of  being  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  Had  we  no  other  testimony 
than  that  found  in  a  single  letter  to  the  Colossians,  it  would  be  suf- 
ficient to  sustain  this  position.  The  command  given  in  chapter  iii.  13, 
assumes  it  as  a  principle.  "As  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  you." 
But  in  the  second  chapter,  he  makes  this  an  inseparable  adjunct  of 
being  in  Christ  "You  are  complete  in  him — circumcised — buried  with 
him — raised  with  him — made  alive  with  him — iiavixg  fokgivex  you  all 

TRESPASSES." 

These  explicit  testimonies  from  the  most  illustrious  witnesses,  sus- 
tain my  first  proposition.  On  these  evidences  I  rely.  I  shall  hence- 
forth speak  of  it  as  a  fact  or  truth  not  to  be  questioned;  viz.:  that  all 
the  disciples  of  Christ  converted  in  the  apostolic  age,  were  taught  by 
the  Apostles  to  consider  themselves  as  pardoned  persons. 

PROPOSITTON   IT. 

The  apostolic  converts  were  addressed  by  their  teachers  as  justified 
persons. 

We  know  that  none  but  innocent  persons  can  be  legally  justified; 
but  it  is  not  in  the  forensic  sense  this  term  is  used  by  the  Apostles. 
Amongst  the  Jews  it  imported  no  more  than  pardoned:  and  when 
applied  to  Christians,  it  denoted  that  they  were  acquitted  from  guilt 
— discharged  from  condemnation,  and  accounted  as  righteous  persons 
in  the  sight  of  God. 


514  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Paul  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia  assured  the  Jews,  that  in  or  by  Jesus 
all  that  believed  were  justified  from  all  things,  (certainly  here  it  is 
equivalent  to  pardoned  from  all  sins,)  from  which  they  could  not  De 
justified  by  the  law  of  Moses.  The  disciples  are  said  to  be  justified 
by  faith.  (Rom.  v.  1.)  By  favor  of  grace.  (Rom.  iii.  24.)  In  or  by  the 
blood  of  Christ.  (Rom.  v.  9.)  By  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  (T.  Cor. 
vi.  11.)  By  works.  (Jas.  ii.  24.)  It  is  God  who  justifies.  (Rom.  viii. 
33.) 

Christians  are  said  to  be  justified  by  God,  by  Jesus,  by  favor,  by 
faith,  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by 
the  Spirit  of  God — also  by  works.  Pardon  and  acquittal  are  the  promi- 
nent ideas  in  every  application  of  the  term.  God  is  the  justifier. 
Jesus  the  Lord  as  the  immediate  and  connecting  cause;  and  by  works 
an  act  of  favor  it  is  done;  by  tJie  blood  of  Jesus,  as  the  rightful  and 
efficient  cause — by  faith;  as  the  instrumental  cause — by  the  name  of 
Jesus  the  Lord  as  the  immediate  and  connecting  cause;  and  by  works 
as  the  demonstrative  and  conclusive  cause.  Nothing  is  more  plain 
from  the  above  testimonies,  than  that  all  Christians  are  declared  to  be 
justified  under  the  Reign  of  Jesus  Christ. 

PROPOSITION    in. 

The  ancient  Christians  were  addressed  by  the  Apostles  as  sanctified 
persons. 

Paul  addressed  all  the  disciples  in  Rome  as  saints  or  sanctified  per- 
sons. In  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  he  addressed  them  all  as 
the  sanctified  under  Christ  Jesus.  "To  the  congregation  of  God  which 
is  at  Corinth,  to  the  sanctified  under  Christ  Jesus."  Paul  argues  with 
the  Hebrews  that  "By  the  will  of  God  we  are  sanctified  by  the  offering 
of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  only."  "For  by  this  one  offering  he 
has  for  eTer  perfected  (the  conscience)  of  the  sanctified."  So  usual  was 
it  for  the  Apostles  to  address  their  disciples  as  sanctified  persons,  that 
occasionally  they  are  thus  designated  in  the  inscription  upon  their 
epistles.  Thus  Jude,  addressing  indiscriminately  the  whole  Christian 
community,  inscribes  his  catholic  epistle — "To  the  sanctified  by  God 
our  Father,  and  to  the  preserved  (or  saved)  by  Jesus  Christ,  to  the 
called."  "The  Sanctifier  and  the  sanctified  are  all  of  one  family,"  says 
the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  And  therefore  the  sanctifier  addressed 
the  sanctified  as  his  brethren;  and  all  his  brethren,  the  disciples,  a3 
sanctified.  But  once  more  we  must  hear  Paul,  and  hear  him  connect- 
ing his  sanctification  with  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  says,  (I. 
Cor.  iv.  16,)  "But  now  you  are  sanctified  by  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God." 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  ol5 

I'KOrOSITlO'    IV. 

The  ancient  Christians,  the  apostolic  converts,  were  addressed  as 
^'reconciled  to  God." 

Paul  repeatedly  declares  that  the  disciples  were  reconciled  to  God, 
(Rom.  V.  10,)  "When  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death 
of  his  Son."  To  the  Corinthians,  (II.  Epis.  v.  18,)  he  says,  "Ood  haa 
reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ;"  and  to  the  Colossians,  (i.  21.) 
he  asserts,  "It  pleased  the  Father  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  him, 
having  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his  cross;  I  say,  whether  they  be 
things  on  the  earth  or  things  in  the  heavens.  Even  you  [Gentiles]  who 
were  formerly  alienated  in  mind,  and  enemies  by  works  which  aro 
wicked,  he  has  now,  indeed,  reconciled  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  through 
death."  To  the  Ephesians  he  declares,  that  though  "once  they  were 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world,  far  off,  they  are  now, 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  made  nigh."  He  has  made  the  believing 
Jews  and  Gentiles  one,  that  he  might,  under  Christ,  reconcile  both  in 
one  body  to  God,  through  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  between 
both  thereby.  Indeed,  he  represents  God  as  in  Christ,  reconciling  a 
world  to  himself;  and  so  all  under  Christ  are  frequently  said  to  be 
reconciled  to  God  through  him:  which  was  the  point  to  be  proved. 

PROPOSITIOX    V. 

The  first  disciples  were  considered  and  addressed  by  the  Apostles,  as 
"adopted  into  the  family  of  God." 

This  adoption  is  presented  by  the  Apostle  as  the  great  reason  which 
called  forth  the  Son  of  God.  "God."  (says  he,  Gal.  iv.  6,)  "rent  forth 
his  Son,  born  of  a  woman,  born  under  the  law,  that  he  might  buy  off 
those  under  the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." 
"And  because  you  are  S07is,  he  has  sent  forth  the  spirit  of  his  Son 
into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father."  "You  are,  therefore,  now 
sons  of  God." 

Indeed,  the  same  writer,  in  his  letter  to  the  Ephesians,  goes  still 
farther,  and  represents  this  adoption  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  into  the 
rank  and  dignity  of  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty,  as  the 
great  object  contemplated  in  God's  predestination.  (Eph.  i.  5.)  "Having," 
says  he,  "predestinated,  or  beforehand  determinately  pointed  us  out, 
for  an  adoption  into  the  number  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ,  for  him- 
self, according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will."  Another  testimony 
must  suffice  on  this  point.  "Beloved,"  says  the  Apostle  John,  "now  are 
we  the  sons  nf  God ;  and  what  manner  of  love  has  God  bestowed  upon 
ur.  that  we  should  be  called  sons  of  God!  If  sons,  then  we  are  heirs  of 
God — joint  heirs  with  Christ." 


616  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

PROPOSITION    VI. 

My  sixth  proposition  is,  that  the  first  Christians  were  taught  by  the 
inspired  teachers  to  consider  themselves  as  saved  persons. 

Because  of  some  ambiguity  in  the  popular  import  of  the  term 
saved,  when  applied  to  the  disciples  of  Christ,  we  shall  define  it  as 
used  in  this  proposition.  I  need  not  here  descant  upon  the  temporal 
saviours  and  teimporal  salvations  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  sacred 
history;  nor  need  I  mention  that  Noah  and  his  family  were  saved  from 
the  judgment  inflicted  upon  the  Old  World;  the  Israelites  from  the 
Egyptians,  and  from  all  their  enemies — as  Paul's  companions  were  saved 
from  the  deep,  and  God's  people,  in  all  ages,  in  common  with  all  man- 
kind, from  ten  thousand  perils  to  which  their  persons,  their  families, 
and  their  property  have  been  exposed.  It  is  not  the  present  salvation 
of  our  persons  from  the  ills  of  this  life;  but  it  is  the  salvation  of  the 
soul  from  the  guilt,  pollution,  and  dominion  of  sin.  "Thou  shalt  call  his 
name  Jesus,  for  he  will  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  It  is  the 
salvation  of  the  soul  in  this  present  life  of  which  we  speak.  And  here 
it  ought  to  be  clearly  and  distinctly  stated  that  there  is  a  present  and  a 
future  salvation,  of  which  all  Christians  are  to  be  partakers.  The 
former  is  properly  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  and  the  latter  is  the  sal- 
vation of  the  body,  or  the  whole  man,  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
There  are  few  professing  Christianity,  perhaps  none,  who  do  not  expect 
a  future  salvation — the  glory  or  salvation  to  be  revealed  in  us  at  the 
last  time.  Peter,  who  uses  this  expression  in  the  beginning  of  tls  first 
epistle,  and  who  invites  the  saints  to  look  forward  to  the  salvation  yet 
future,  in  the  same  connection  reminds  them  that  they  have  tioio 
received  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  Indeed,  the  salvation  of  the  soul 
is  but  the  first  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  and  but  an  earnest  until  the  adoption, 
"the  redemption  of  the  body"  from  the  bondage  of  corruption.  It  was 
in  this  sense  of  the  word  that  salvation  was  announced  to  all  who  sub- 
mitted to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  hence  it  is  in  this  connection  equivalent 
to  a  deliverance  of  the  soul  from  the  guilt,  pollution,  and  dominion 
of  sin.  Having  thus  defined  the  present  salvation  of  the  soul,  I  pro- 
ceed to  the  proof  of  my  second  proposition,  viz. — that  the  first  Christians 
were  taught  by  their  inspired  teachers  to  consider  themselves  as  saved 
persons. 

Peter,  on  Pentecost,  exhorted  the  Jews  to  save  themselves  from  that 
untoward  generation,  by  reforming  and  by  being  "immersed  for  the 
remission  of  their  sins  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Luke,  in 
recording  the  success  attendant  on  Peter's  labors,  expresses  himself 
thus,  (Acts  ii.  42,)  "And  the  Lord  added,  daily,  the  saved  to  the  con- 
gregation." Those  who  obeyed  the  gospel  were  recorded  by  Luke  as 
''the  saved."    The  King's  translators  supplied  out  of  their  own  system 


THE    MILLKyXlAL    HAJtBiyOER    ABRIDGED.  517 

the  words  ••nhould  be."  They  are  not  iu  any  copy  of  the  Greek  Scrip- 
tures. Such  is  the  first  application  of  the  words,  -the  saved,"  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures. 

Paul  uses  the  same  words  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians, 
and  applies  them  to  all  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  (chap.  i.  18.)  "To  the 
destroyed  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  is  foolishness;  but  to  us,  the  saved. 
It  is  the  power  of  God."  In  the  same  letter,  (chap.  xv.  2,)  he  says 
or  the  gospel,  "By  which  you  are  saved  if  you  retain  in  your  memory 
the  word  which  I  announced  to  you."  In  his  second  letter  he  uses 
the  same  style,  and  distinguishes  the  disciples  by  the  same  designa- 
tion: "We  are  to  God  a  fragrant  odor  of  Christ  among  the  saved, 
and  among  the  destroyed."  The  Ephesians  he  declares  are  saved 
through  favor;  and  to  Titus  he  says,  "God  has  saved  us  not  by  works 
of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  his  own 
mercy."  By  what  means  we  shall  soon  hear  Paul  aflSrm.  To  mul- 
tiply testimonies,  when  there  is  no  need  of  them,  is  only  making  a 
display  for  its  own  sake.  The  above  selections  are  chosen  because 
they  are  pointed,  express,  and  unequivocal.  Promises  of  salvation 
to  the  obedient  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  public  address  pro- 
nounced by  the  Apostles  and  first  preachers.  For  the  Saviour  com- 
manded them  to  assure  mankind  that  every  one  who  believed  the 
gospel,  and  was  immersed,  should  be  saved.  And,  connecting  faith 
with  immersion,  Peter  averred  that  immersion  saved  us,  purifying 
the  conscience  through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

While  Christians  are  taught  to  expect  and  hope  for  a  future  sal- 
vation—a salvation  from  the  power  of  death  and  the  grave— a  sal- 
vation to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time— they  receive  the  first  fruit 
of  the  Spirit,  the  salvation  of  the  soul  from  guilt,  pollution,  and 
the  dominion  of  sin.  and  come  under  the  dominion  of  righteousness, 
peace,  and  joy.  This  is  what  Peter  affirms  of  all  the  Christians  in 
Pontus.  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia  Minor,  and  Bithynia.  to  whom  he 
thus  speaks:  "Jesus,  having  not  seen,  you  love;  on  whom,  not  now 
looking,  but  believing,  you  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory,  receiving  the  reward  of  your  faith,  the  salvation  of  your 
souls." 

These  six  propositions,  being  each  and  every  one  of  them,  clearly 
sustained  by  the  unequivocal  testimony  of  God,  as  adduced,  and  as 
Is  well  known  to  the  Intelligent  disciples,  by  many  more  passages, 
equally  plain  and  forcible,  not  adduced;  we  shall  now  engross  them 
into  one  leading  proposition,  which  we  shall  in  this  essay  consider 
as  not  to  be  questioned — as  irrefragably  proved. 

The  converts  made  to  Jesus  Christ  by  the  Apostles  were  taught 
to  consider  themselves  pardoned,  justified,  sanctified,  reconciled, 
adopted,  and  saved;  and  were  addressed  as  pardoned,  justified,  sane- 


518  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

iified,  reconciled,  adopted,  and  saved  persons,  by  all  loho  first  preached 
the  gospel  of  Christ. 

While  this  proposition  is  before  us,  it  may  be  expedient  to  remark 
that  all  these  terms  are  expressive  not  of  any  quality  of  mind — not 
of  any  personal  attribute  of  body,  soul,  or  spirit;  but  each  of  them 
represents,  and  all  of  them  together  represent  a  state  or  condition. 
But  though  these  terms  represent  state  and  not  character,  there  is  a 
relation  between  state  and  character,  or  an  influence  which  state  has 
upon  character,  which  makes  the  state  of  immense  importance  in  a 
moral  and  religious  point  of  view. 

Indeed,  the  strongest  arguments  which  the  Apostles  use  with  the 
Christians  to  urge  them  forward  in  the  cultivation  and  display  of  all 
the  moral  and  religious  excellencies  of  character,  are  drawn  from 
the  meaning  and  value  of  the  state  in  which  they  are  placed.  Because 
forgiven,  they  should  forgive;  because  justified,  they  should  live  right- 
ecusly;  because  sanctified,  they  should  live  holily  and  unblameably 
because  reconciled  to  God,  they  should  cultivate  peace  with  all  men, 
and  act  benevolently  towards  all;  because  adopted,  they  should 
walk  in  the  dignity  and  purity  of  sons  of  God;  because  saved, 
they  should  abound  in  thanksgiving,  praises,  and  rejoicings,  living 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  looking  forward  to  the  blessed 
hope. 

As  this  essay  is  designed  for  readers  of  the  most  common  capacity 
and  most  superficial  education,  I  trust  I  may  be  permitted  to  speak 
still  more  plainly  upon  the  difference  between  state  and  character. 
Childhood  is  a  state;  so  is  manhood.  Now  a  person  in  the  state  of 
childhood  may  act  sometimes  like  a  person  in  the  state  of  manhood, 
and  those  arrived  at  the  state  of  manhood  may  in  character  or  behav- 
iour resemble  those  in  a  state  of  childhood.  A  person  in  the  state  of  a 
son  may  have  the  character  of  a  servant,  and  a  person  in  the  state 
of  a  servant  may  have  the  character  of  a  son.  This  is  not  generally 
tc  be  expected,  though  it  sometimes  happens.  Parents  and  children, 
masters  and  servants,  husbands  and  wives,  are  terms  denoting  rela- 
tions or  states.  To  act  in  accordance  with  these  states  or  relatione, 
is  quite  a  different  thing  from  being  in  any  of  these  states.  Many 
persons  enter  into  the  state  of  matrimony,  and  yet  act  unworthily 
of  it.  This  is  true  of  many  other  states.  Enough,  we  presume,  is 
said  to  contradistinguish  state  and  character,  relations  and  moral 
qualities. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  here,  that,  as  the  disciples  of 
Christ  are  declared  to  be  in  a  pardoned,  justified,  sanctified,  recon- 
ciled, adopted,  and  saved  state,  they  are  the  only  persons  in  such  a 
state;  and  all  others  are  in  an  unpardoned,  unjustified,  unsanctifled, 
unreconciled,  unadopted,  and  lost  state. 


THE    MILLESMAL    llAUlilSGElt    AliltlDGED.  519 

Whe/i,  then,  is  a  change  of  state  effected,  and  by  what  means?  Thio 
is  the  great  question  soon  to  be  discussed. 

We  are  constrained  to  admit  that  a  change  in  any  one  of  these 
states  necessarily  implies,  because  it  involves,  a  change  in  all  the 
others.  Every  one  who  is  pardoned  is  justified,  sanctified,  reconciled, 
adopted,  and  saved;  and  so  every  one  that  is  saved,  is  adopted,  recon- 
ciled, sanctified,  justified,  and  pardoned. 

To  illustrate  what  has  already  been  proved,  let  us  turn  to  some  of 
the  changes  of  state  which  take  place  in  society  as  at  present  consti- 
tuted. A  female  changes  her  state.  She  enters  into  the  state  of 
matrimony.  So  soon  as  she  has  surrendered  herself  to  the  affectionate 
government  and  control  of  him  who  has  become  her  husband,  she  has 
not  only  become  a  wife,  but  a  daughter,  a  sister,  an  aunt,  a  niece,  etc., 
and  may  stand  in  many  other  relations  in  which  she  before  stood  nol. 
All  these  are  connected  with  her  becoming  the  wife  of  a  person  who 
stands  in  many  relations.  So  when  a  person  becomes  Christ's,  he  is  a 
son  of  Abraham,  an  heir,  a  brother,  or  is  pardoned,  justified,  sancti- 
fied, reconciled,  adopted,  and  saved. 

To  be  in  Christ,  or  under  Christ,  then,  is  to  stand  in  th3se  new- 
relations  to  God,  angels,  and  men:  and  to  be  out  of  him,  or  not  under 
his  mediatorship  or  government,  is  to  be  in,  or  under  Adam  only.  It  is 
to  be  in  what  is  called  "the  state  of  nature,"  unpardoned,  unjustified, 
unsanctified,  unreconciled,  and  an  alien  from  the  family  of  God,  lost 
in  trespasses  and  sins. 

These  things  premised,  the  question  presents  itself.  When  are  per- 
sons in  Christ?  I  choose  this  phrase  in  accommodation  to  the  familiar 
style  of  this  day.  No  person  is  in  a  home,  in  a  ship,  in  a  state,  in  a, 
kingdom,  but  he  that  has  gone  or  is  introduced  into  a  house,  into  a 
ship,  into  a  state,  into  a  kingdom;  so  no  person  is  in  Christ  but  he 
who  has  been  introduced  into  Christ.  The  Scripture  style  is  most 
religiously  accurate.  We  have  the  words  "in  Christ"  and  the  words 
"into  Christ"  often  repeated  in  the  Christian  Scriptures;  but  in  no 
one  place  can  the  one  phrase  be  substituted  for  the  other.  Hence  in 
all  places,  when  any  person  is  said  to  be  in  Christ,  it  refers  not  to 
his  conversion,  regeneration,  or  putting  on  Christ,  but  to  a  state  of 
rest  or  privilege  subsequent  to  conversion,  regeneration,  or  putting  on 
Christ.  But  the  phrase  "into  Christ"  is  always  connected  with  conver- 
sion, regeneration,  immersion,  or  putting  on  Christ.  Before  we  are 
justified  in  Christ,  live  in  Christ,  or  fall  asleep  in  Christ,  we  must 
come,  be  introduced,  or  immersed  into  Christ.  Into  belongs  only  to 
Terba  implying  motion  towards;  and  in  to  verbs  implying  rest,  or 
motion  in.  He  eats,  sleeps,  sits  in  the  house.  He  walks  into  ^he  field, 
he  rides  into  the  city.  "Into  Christ"  Is  a  phrase  only  applicable 
to  lonversion.   immersion,  or  regeneration,  or  what   is  called  puttin;; 


520  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

on   Chrisi,   translation   into  his  kingdom,  or   submission   to   his  gov- 
ernment.* 

Presuming  on  the  intelligence  of  our  readers,  so  far  as  to  suppose 
them  assured  that  this  is  no  mere  verbal  criticism,  but  a  discrimina- 
tion that  detects  one  of  the  pillars  of  an  apostate  church,  I  proceed  to 
another  preliminary  proposition  which  I  choose  to  submit  in  the  fol- 
lowing words,  to  wit: — 


•  To  prevent  mistakes  I  shall  here  transcribe  a  part  of  a  note  found  in  the  Appen- 
dix to  the  second  edition  of  the  new  version  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  page  452 : 

"  I  am  not  desirous  of  diminishing  the  difference  of  meaning  between  immersing 
a  person  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  into  the  name  of  the  Father.  They  are  quite 
different  ideas.  But  it  will  be  asked,  Is  this  a  correct  translation?  To  which  I  an- 
swer, most  undoubtedly  it  is.  For  the  preposition  eis  is  that  used  in  this  place,  and 
not  en.  By  what  inadvertency  the  King's  translators  gave  it  in  instead  of  iiito  in  this 
passage,  and  elsewhere  gave  it  info  when  speaking  of  the  same  ordinance,  I  presume  not 
to  say.  But  they  have  been  followed  by  most  of  the  modern  translators,  and  with 
them  they  translate  it  into  in  other  places  where  it  occurs,  in  relation  to  this  institution : 
For  example— I.  Cor.  xii.  13,  'For  by  one  spirit  we  are  all  immersed  into  one  body.' 
Eom.  vi.  3, '  Don't  you  know  that  so  many  of  you  as  were  immersed  into  Christ,  were 
immersed  into  his  death?'  Gal.  iii.  27,  'As  many  of  you  as  have  been  immersed  into 
Christ,  have  put  on  Christ.'  Now  for  the  same  reason  they  ought  to  have  rendered  the 
following  passages  the  same  way.  Acts  viii.  16,  '  Only  they  were  immersed  into  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.'  Acts  xix.  3,  '  Into  what  were  you  then  immersed?  When 
they  heard  this  they  were  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.'  L  Cor.  i.  13, 
'  Were  you  immersed  into  the  name  of  Paul?  Lest  any  should  say,  I  had  immersed  into 
my  own  name.'  I.  Cor.  x.  1,  '  Our  fathers  were  all  immersed  into  Moses  in  the  cloud 
and  in  the  sea.'  Now  in  all  these  places  it  is  eis,  and  en  is  clearly  marked  in  the  last 
quotation.  They  were  immersed  into  Moses— not  into  the  cloud,  and  into  the  sea,  but  in 
the  cloud,  and  in  the  sea.  To  be  immersed  into  Moses  is  one  thing,  and  in  the  sea  is  an- 
other. To  be  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  are 
just  as  distinct.  'In  the  name'  is  equivalent  to  hy  the  authority  of.  In  the  name  of  the 
.  king,  or  commonwealth,  is  by  the  authority  of  the  king  or  commonwealth.  Now  the 
question  is, '  Did  the  Saviour  mean  that  disciples  were  to  be  immersed  by  the  authority 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit?  If  by  the  authority  of  the  Father,  for  what  pur- 
pose were  they  immersed?  The  authority  by  which  any  action  is  done  is  one  thing,  and 
the  object  for  which  it  is  done  is  another.  None  who  can  discriminate,  can  think  that 
it  is  one  and  the  same  thing  to  be  immersed  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  to  be  im- 
mersed into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  former  denotes  the  authority  by  which 
the  action  is  performed — the  latter  the  object  for  which  it  is  performed.  Persons  are 
said  to  enter  into  matrimony,  to  enter  into  an  alliance,  to  go  into  debt,  to  run  into 
danger.  Now  to  be  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  a  form  of  speech  in 
ancient  usage  as  familiar  and  significant  as  any  of  the  preceding.  And  when  we  ana- 
lyze these  expressions,  we  find  they  all  import  that  the  persons  are  either  under  the 
obligations  or  influence  of  those  things  into  which  they  are  said  to  enter,  or  into  which 
they  are  introduced.  Hence  those  immersed  into  one  body,  were  under  the  influences 
and  obligations  of  that  body.  Those  immersed  into  Moses,  assumed  Moses  as  their  law- 
giver, guide,  and  protector,  and  risked  every  thing  upon  his  authority,  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness.  Those  who  were  immersed  into  Christ,  put  him  on,  or  acknowledged 
his  authority  and  laws,  and  were  governed  by  his  will:  and  those  who  were  immersed 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  regarded  the  Father  as  the  fountain 
of  all  authority— the  Son  as  the  only  Saviour— and  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  only  advocate 
of  the  truth,  and  teacher  of  Christianity.  Hence  such  persons  as  were  immersed  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  acknowledged  him  as  the  only  living  and  true  God — Jesus 
Christ,  as  his  only  begotten  Son,  the  Saviour  of  the  world — and  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
only  successful  advocate  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  upon  earth." 


THE   MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  521 

riujro.siiio.N   VII. 

A  change  of  heart,  though  it  necessarily  precedes,  is  in  uo  case 
equivalent  to,  and  never  to  be  identified  with,  a  change  of  state. 

In  all  the  relations  of  this  life,  in  all  states  or  conditions  of  mer. 
we  feel  tho  truth  of  this;  and  I  would  to  Heaven  that  our  readers 
could  see  as  plainly  what  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  them, 
that  no  change  of  heart  is  equivalent  to,  or  can  be  substituted  for. 
a  change  of  state!  A  change  of  heart  is  the  result  of  a  change  of 
views;  and  whatever  can  accomplish  a  change  of  views  may  accom- 
plish a  change  of  heart  or  feeling,  but  a  change  of  state  always  calls 
for  something  more. 

Lavinia  was  the  servant  of  Palemon,  and  once  thought  him  a  har.l 
master.  She  changed  her  views  of  him,  and  her  feelings  were  also 
changed  towards  him;  still,  however,  she  continued  in  the  state  of 
a  handmaid.  Palemon  offered  her  first  his  heart,  and  then  his  hand, 
and  she  accepted  them.  He  vowed  and  she  vowed  before  witnesses, 
and  she  became  his  wife.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  was  her  state 
changed.  She  is  no  longer  a  servant — she  is  now  a  xcife.  A  change  of 
views  and  of  feeling  led  to  this  change  in  state;  but  let  it  be  noted 
that  this  might  not  have  issued  in  a  change  of  state;  for  Maria,  who 
was  another  handmaid  of  Palemon,  and  changed  her  views  of  him 
and  her  feelings  towards  him  as  much — nay,  more  than  did  Lavinia; 
yet  Maria  lived  and  died  the  servant  maid  of  Palemon  and  Lavinia. 

William  Agricola  and  his  brother  Thomas,  both  Canadians,  were 
once  much  opposed  to  the  constituted  government  of  New  England 
They  both  changed  their  views,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  their  feel- 
ings were  changed.  William  became  a  citizen  of  Rhode  Island;  but 
Thomas,  notwithstanding  his  change  of  heart,  lived  and  died  a  colonial 
subject  of  a  British  King. 

John  and  James  Superbus  became  great  enemies  to  each  other. 
They  continued  irreconciled  for  many  years.  At  length  a  change  of 
views  brought  about  a  change  of  heart;  but  this  change  for  more  than 
a  year  was  concealed  in  the  heart,  and  by  no  overt  act  appeared. 
They  were  not  reconciled  until  mutual  concessions  were  made  and 
pledges  of  a  change  of  feeling  were  tendered  and  reciprocated.  From 
enemies  they  became  friends. 

A  thousand  analogies  might  be  adduced,  to  show  that  though  a 
change  of  state  often — nay,  generally  results  from  a  change  of  feel- 
ings, and  this  from  a  change  of  views,  yet  a  change  of  state  does  not 
necessarily  follow,  and  is  something  quite  different  from,  and  can  not 
be  identified  with  a  change  of  heart.  So  in  religion  a  man  may  change 
his  views  of  Jesus,  and  his  heart  may  also  be  changed  towards  him* 
but  unless  a  change  of  state  ensues  he  is  still  unpardoned,  unjustified, 


522  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

unsanctified,  unreconciled,  unadopted,  and  lost  to  all  Christian,  life 
and  enjoyment.  For  it  has  been  proved  that  these  terms  represent, 
states  and  not  feelings,  condition  and  not  character;  and  that  a  changf. 
of  views  or  of  heart,  is  not  a  change  of  state.  To  change  a  state  is  to 
pass  into  a  new  relation,  and  relation  is  not  sentiment,  nor  feeling. 
Some  act,  then,  constitutional,  by  stipulation  proposed,  sensible,  and 
manifest,  must  be  performed  by  one  or  both  the  parties  before  such 
a  change  can  be  accomplished.  Hence,  always,  in  ancient  times,  tht' 
proclamation  of  the  gospel  was  accompanied  by  some  instituted  act 
proposed  to  those  who  changed  their  views,  by  which  their  state  was 
to  be  changed,  and  by  which  they  were  to  stand  in  a  new  relation 
to  Jesus  Christ. 

This  brings  us  to  ''the  obedience  of  faith."  From  the  time  the 
proclamation  of  God's  philanthropy  was  first  made  there  was  an  act 
of  faith  proposed  in  it  by  which  the  believers  of  the  proclamation  were 
put  in  actual  possession  of  its  blessings,  and  by  conformity  to  which 
act  a  change  of  state  ensued. 

To  perceive  what  this  act  of  faith  is,  it  must  be  remarked  that 
where  there  is  no  command  there  can  be  no  obedience.  These  are  cor- 
relate terms.  A  message  or  proclamation  which  has  not  a  command 
in  it,  can  not  be  obeyed.  But  the  gospel  can  be  obeyed  or  disobeyei, 
and  therefore  in  it  is  a  command.  Lest  any  person  should  hesitate  m 
a  matter  of  such  importance,  we  will  prove, 

PROPOSITION    VIII. 

That  the  gospel  has  in  it  a  command,  and  as  such  must  be  obeyed. 

And  here  I  need  not  ask,  "Where  are  they  who  shall  be  punished  with 
everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord?  Paul  replies, 
(II.  Thess.  i.  8,)  "They  who  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel 
Of  his  Son."  To  "obey  the  gospel,"  and  "to  become  obedient  to  the 
faith,"  were  common  phrases  in  the  apostolic  discourses  and  writings. 
Rom.  i.  5,  "By  whom  we  have  received  apostleship,  in  order  to  the 
obedience  of  faith  in  all  nations,  on  account  of  his  name."  Rom.  xv\. 
26,  "By  the  commandment  of  the  everlasting  God  the  gospel  is  made 
known  to  all  nations  for  the  obedience  of  faith."  Acts  vi.  7,  "A  great 
company  of  the  priests  became  obedient  to  the  faith."  Rom.  x.  8, 
"But  they  have  not  all  obeyed  the  gospel."  And  I.  Pet.  iv.  17,  "What 
shall  be  the  end  of  them  who  obey  not  the  gospel?"  From  those  say- 
ings it  is  unquestionably  plain,  that  either  the  gospel  itself,  taken  as  a 
whole,  is  a  command,  or  that  in  it  there  is  a  command  through  the  obe- 
dience of  \fliich  salvation  is  enjoyed. 

The  obedience  of  the  gospel  is  called  the  obedience  of  faith  com 
pared  with  the  obedience  of  law,  faith  in  God's  promise  through 
Jesus  Christ  being  the  principle  from  which  the  obedience  flows.     To 


Till-:    MILLE\MAL    IIARBlSGElt    ABIUDGKD.  o23 

present  the  gospel  in  the  form  of  a  command  is  an  act  ot  favor 
because  it  engages  the  will  and  the  affections  of  men  and  puts  it  in 
their  power  to  have  an  assurance  of  their  salvation  from  which  they 
would  be  necessarily  excluded  if  no  such  act  of  obedience  was  enjoined 

Whatever  this  act  of  faith  may  be,  it  necessarily  becomes  the  line 
of  discrimination  between  the  two  states  before  described.  On  this 
side,  and  on  that,  mankind  are  in  quite  different  states.  On  the  one 
side  they  are  pardoned,  justified,  sanctified,  reconciled,  adopted,  and 
saved:  on  the  other  they  are  in  a  state  of  condemnation.  This  act 
ih  sometimes  called  immersion,  regeneration,  conversion;  and  that 
this  may  appear  obvious  to  all,  we  shall  be  at  some  pains  to  confirm 
and  illustrate  it. 

That  a  relation  or  a  state  can  be  changed  by  an  act,  I  need  scarcely 
at  this  time  attempt  to  prove;  especially  to  those  who  know  that  the 
act  of  marriage,  of  naturalization,  adoption,  and  of  being  born,  changes 
the  state  of  the  subjects  of  such  acts.  But  rather  than  attempt  to 
prove  that  a  state  is,  or  may  be  changed,  by  an  act;  I  should  rather 
ask  if  any  person  has  heard,  knows,  or  can  conceive  of  a  state  being 
changed  without  some  act?  This  point  being  conceded  to  us  by  all 
the  rational,  we  presume  not  to  prove  it.  But  a  question  may  arise 
whether  faith  itself,  or  an  act  of  obedience  to  some  command  or  insti- 
tution, is  that  act  by  which  our  state  is  changed. 

PROPOSITIOX     IX. 

That  it  is  not  faith,  but  an  act  resulting  from  faith  which  changes 
our  state,  ice  shall  now  attempt  to  ■prove. 

No  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  the  material  world — no  political 
relation,  or  relation  to  society,  can  be  changed  by  believing,  apart  from 
the  acts  to  which  that  belief,  or  faith,  induces  us.  Faith  never  made 
an  American  citizen,  though  it  may  have  been  the  cause  of  many  thou- 
sands migrating  to  this  continent,  and  ultimately  becoming  citizens 
of  these  United  States.  Faith  never  made  a  man  a  husband,  a  father, 
a  son,  a  brother,  a  master,  a  servant,  though  it  may  have  been  essen- 
tially necessary  to  all  these  relations,  as  a  cause,  or  principle  prepara- 
tory, or  tending  thereunto.  Thus,  when  in  Scripture,  men  are  said  to 
be  justified  by  faith,  or  to  receive  any  blessing  through  faith,  it  is 
because  faith  is  the  principle  of  action,  and  as  such,  the  cause  of  those 
acts  by  which  such  blessings  are  enjoyed.  But  the  principle  without 
those  acts  is  nothing,  and  it  is  only  by  the  acts  which  it  induces  to 
perform,  that  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  any  blessings  to  men. 

Many  blessings  are  metonymically  ascribed  to  faith  in  the  sacred 
writings.  We  are  said  to  be  justified*  sanctified,  and  purified  by  faith — 
to  walk  by  faith,  and  to  live  by  faith,  etc.,  etc.  But  these  sayings  as 
qualified  by  the  Apostles,  mean  no  more  than  by  believing  the  truth  of 


524  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

God,  we  have  access  into  all  these  blessings.  So  that  as  Paul  explains, 
"by  faith  we  have  access  into  the  favor  in  which  we  stand."  These 
"words  he  uses  on  two  occasions  (Rom.  v.  2;  Eph.  iii.  12)  when  speaking 
oi  the  value  of  this  principle,  contrasted  with  the  principle  of  law;  and 
in  his  letter  to  the  Hebrews,  when  he  brings  up  his  cloud  of  witnesses 
to  the  excellency  of  this  principle,  he  shows  that  by  it  the  ancients 
obtained  a  high  reputation — that  is,  as  he  explains,  by  their  acts  of 
faith  in  obedience  to  God's  commands. 

That  faith  by  itself  neither  justifies,  sanctifies,  nor  purifies,  is 
admitted  by  those  who  oppose  immersion  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 
They  all  include  the  idea  of  the  blood  of  Christ.  And  yet  they  seem 
not  to  perceive,  that  in  objecting  to  immersion  as  necessary  to  forgive- 
ness in  connection  with  faith,  their  own  arguments  preclude  them  from 
connecting  the  blood  of  Christ  with  faith.  If  they  admit  that  faith, 
apart  from  the  blood  of  Christ,  can  not  obtain  pardon,  they  admit  all 
that  is  necessary  to  prove  them  inconsistent  with  themselves  in  oppos- 
ing immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins;  or  immersion,  as  that  act  by 
which  our  state  is  changed. 

PROPOSITION    X. 

But  that  an  act  of  faith,  and  not  faith  itself,  changes  our  state;  we 
prove,  not  by  reasoning  analogically,  but  from  the  apostolic  wHtings 
And  to  these  we  shall  now  attend.  This  proposition  is,  we  think,  sus- 
tained by  the  following  testimonies:  — 

The  Apostle  Peter,  when  first  publishing  the  gospel  to  the  Jews, 
taught  them,  that  they  were  not  forgiven  their  sins  by  faith;  but  by 
an  act  of  faith,  by  a  believing  immersion  into  the  Lord  Jesus.  That 
this  may  appear  evident  to  all,  we  shall  examine  his  Pentecostian 
address,  and  his  Pentecostian  hearers. 

Peter  now  holding  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  and  fpeaking 
under  the  commision  for  converting  the  world,  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  guided,  inspired,  and  accompanied  by  the  Spirit- 
may  be  expected  to  speak  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  plainly  and 
intelligibly,  to  his  brethren  the  Jews.  He  had  that  day  declared  the 
gospel  facts,  and  proved  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  Jesus  to 
the  conviction  of  thousands.  They  believed  and  repented — believed 
that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  had  died  as  a  sin-offering,  was  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  crowned  Lord  of  All.  Being  full  of  this  faith,  they 
inquired  of  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles,  what  they  ought  to  do  t:> 
obtain  remission.  They  were  informed,  that  though  they  now  believed 
and  repented,  they  were  not  pardoned;  but  must  ''reform  and  he 
immersed  for  the  remission  of  sins."  Immersion  for  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  was  the  command  addressed  to  these  believers,  to  these  peni- 
tents,  in   answer  to  the  most   earnest   question;    and   by   one  of  the 


THE    MILLENNIAL    UAlililNGER    ABRIDGED.  525 

most  sincere,  candid,  and  honest  speakers  ever  heard.  This  act  ol 
faith  was  presented  as  that  act  by  which  alone  they  could  oe  par- 
doned. They  who  "gladly  received  this  word  were  that  day  im 
mersed;"  or,  in  other  words,  that  same  day  were  converted,  or  regen- 
erated, or  obeyed  the  gospel.  These  expressions  in  the  Apostles'  style, 
when  applied  to  persons  coming  into  the  kingdom,  denote  the  same 
act  as  will  be  perceived  from  the  various  passages  in  the  writings 
of  Luke  and  Paul.  This  testimony,  when  the  speaker,  the  occasion, 
and  the  congregation  are  all  taken  into  view,  is  itself  alone  sufficient 
to  establish  the  point  in  support  of  which  we  have  adduced  it. 

But  the  second  discourse,  recorded  by  Luke  from  the  lips  of  the 
same  Peter,  pronounced  in  Solomon's  Portico,  is  equally  pointed, 
clear,  and  full  in  support  of  this  position.  After  he  had  explained 
the  miracle  which  he  had  wrought  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesur, 
and  stated  the  same  gospel  facts,  he  proclaims  the  same  command — 
"Reform  and  be  converted  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out;"  or, 
"Reform  and  turn  to  God,  so  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out, 
that  seasons  of  refreshment  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  may  come, 
and  that  he  may  send  Jesus  whom  the  heavens  must  receive  till  thu 
ai  coraplishment  of  all  the  things  which  God  has  foretold,"  etc.  Peter, 
in  substituting  other  terms  in  this  proclamation,  for  those  used  on 
Pentecost,  does  preach  a  new  gospel,  but  the  same  gospel  in  terms 
equally  strong.  He  used  the  same  word  in  the  first  part  of  the  com- 
mand, which  he  used  on  Pentecost.  Instead  of  "be  immersed,"  he 
has  here  "be  converted,"  or  "turn  to  Ood;"  instead  of  "for  the  remis- 
sion of  your  sins"  here  it  is,  "that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out;" 
and  instead  of  "you  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  here  it 
is,  "that  seasons  of  refreshment  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  may 
come."  *  On  Pentecost,  it  was,  L  "Reform."  2.  "Be  immersed."  3. 
"For  the  remission  of  your  sins."  And  4.  "You  shall  receive  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit."  In  Solomon's  Portico,  it  was,  1.  "Reform."  2. 
"Be  converted."  3.  "That  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out."  And  }. 
"That  seasons  of  refreshment  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  may 
come;"  that  "you  may  have  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  a  holy 
spirit."  So  read  the  different  clauses  in  these  two  discourses  to  thj 
Jews,  expressive  of  the  same  acts. 

There  is  yet,  in  this  discourse  in  the  Portico,  a  very  strong  expres 
sion,  declarative  of  the  same  gracious  connection  between  immersion 


•There  is  no  propriety  in  the  common  version  of  this  member  of  the  sentence— 
viheii,  insteiiii  of  that,  "  seasons  of  refreshment."  Some  make  modern  rcrirnls  "  seasons  of 
refreshment,"  such  as  these  here  alluded  to.  Then  it  would  reail,  "That  your  sins  may 
be  blotted  out  in  the  times  of  revivals"— when  revivals  shall  cornel  The  term  is  opo», 
which,  in  this  construction,  as  various  critics  have  contended,  is  equivalent  to  "  thai  '*  in 
our  tongue.  To  promise  a  future  remission  is  no  part  of  the  gospel,  nor  of  the  apos- 
tolic proclamation.  All  Christians  experience  seasons  of  refreshment  in  cordially 
obeying  the  gospel. 


526  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  remission.  It  is  the  last  period  in  the  discourse.  "Unto  you,  first, 
brethren  of  the  Jews,  God  having  raised  up  his  Son  Jesus,  sent  him 
lo  bless  you,  every  one  of  you,  in  the  act  of  turning  from  your  iniq- 
uities;" or,  as  we  would  say,  in  the  act  of  conversion.  Why  the  Apos- 
tle Peter  should  have  used  "converted,"  or  "turning  to  God,"  instead 
of  "be  immersed,"  is,  to  the  candid  and  unprejudiced  reader  of  this 
narrative,  very  plain.  After  Pentecost,  the  disciples  immersed  on  that 
day,  having  turned  to  God  through  Jesus,  were  spoken  of  by  their 
brethren  as  discipled  or  converted  to  Jesus.  The  unbelieving  Jews, 
soon  after  Pentecost,  knew  that  the  disciples  called  the  immersed, 
"converted;"  and  immersion  being  the  act  of  faith  which  drew  tiie 
line  of  demarcation  between  Christians  and  Jews,  nothing  could  be 
more  natural  than  to  call  the  act  of  immersion  the  converting  of  a 
Jew.  The  time  intervening  between  these  discourses  was  long  enough 
to  introduce  and  familiarize  this  style  in  the  metropolis;  so  that 
when  a  Christian  said,  "Be  converted,"  or,  "Turn  to  God,"  every  Jew 
knew,  the  act  of  putting  on  the  Messiah  to  be  that  intended.  After 
the  immersion  of  some  Gentiles  into  the  faith,  in  the  house  and  neigh- 
borhood of  Cornelius,  it  was  reported  that  the  Gentiles  were  converted 
to  God.  Thus,  (Acts  xv.  3,)  the  Apostles,  in  passing  through  the 
country,  gave  great  joy  to  the  disciples  from  among  the  Jews,  "telling 
them  of  the  conversion"  or  immersion  of  the  Gentiles.  Indeed,  in  a 
short  time  it  was  a  summary  way  of  representing  the  faith,  reforma 
tion,  and  immersion  of  disciples,  by  using  one  word  for  all.  Thus, 
(Acts  ix.,)  "All  the  inhabitants  of  Sharon  and  Lydda  turned,"  or 
"were  converted  to  the  Lord." 

While  on  the  subject  of  conversion,  we  shall  adduce,  as  a  fourth 
testimony,  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  Paul,  when  he  called  him. 
Paul  is  introduced  by  Luke  in  the  Acts,  telling  what  the  Lord  said 
to  him  when  he  received  his  apostleship.  Acts  xxvi.  17,  18,  "I  send 
you  Paul,  by  the  faith  that  respects  me,  to  open  their  eyes;  to  tur7i  or 
convert  them  from  darkness  to  light;  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
to  God;  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  an  inheritance 
among  the  saved."  Every  thing  to  be  accomplished  among  the  Gen- 
tiles was  to  be  effected  by  the  faith  or  truth  in  Christ.  The  Saviour 
connected  that  with  opening  their  eyes;  their  conversion  from  the 
ignorance  and  tyranny  of  sin  and  Satan;  their  forgiveness  of  sins; 
and  finally,  an  inheritance  among  the  saved  or  sanctified.  First,  faith 
or  illumination;  then,  conversion;  then,  remission  of  sins;  then,  the 
inheritance.  All  these  testimonies  concur  with  each  other  in  pre- 
senting the  act  of  faith — Christian  immersion,  frequently  called  con- 
version; as  that  act,  inseparably  connected  with  the  remission  cf 
sins;   or  that  change  of  state,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  527 

One  reason  wliy  we  would  arrest  the  attention  of  the  reaxler  to  th-» 
substitution  of  tlie  terms  convert  and  conversion,  for  immerse  and 
immersion,  in  the  apostolic  discourses  and  in  the  sacred  writings,  Is 
not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  proving  that  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  or  a  change  of  state,  is  necessarily  connected  with  that  act  ol 
faith  called  "Christian  immersion;"  as  it  is  to  fix  the  minds  of  the 
Biblical  students  upon  a  very  important  fact,  viz.:  that  immersion  is 
the  converting  act;  or,  that  no  person  is  discipled  to  Christ  until  he 
is  immersed.  It  is  true,  that  this  view  of  the  matter  bears  strongly 
upon  the  question;  but  it  bears  upon  other  great  matters  pertaining 
to  the  present  and  ancient  order  of  things. 

Discovering  that  much  depended  upon  having  correct  views  ou 
this  point,  we  have  minutely  examined  all  those  passages  where  "con- 
version," either  in  the  common  version,  or  in  the  new  version,  or  ii 
the  original,  occurs,  and  have  found  an  uniformity  in  the  use  of  thi.^ 
term,  and  its  compounds  and  derivatives,  which  warrant  the  conclu 
sion,  that  the  converting  act  is  immersion;  or  that  the  assumption 
of  the  Lord's  name  is  in  this  Institution.  That  such  was  the  apostolic 
import  of  the  term,  we  have  no  doubt.  No  person  was  said  to  be  con- 
verted until  he  was  immersed;  and  all  persons,  who  were  immersed, 
were  said  to  be  converted.  If  any  apostatized,  and  were  again  con 
verted,  it  was  in  that  sense  in  which  our  Lord  applied  the  word  to 
Peter,  "When  you  are  converted,  strengthen  your  brethren;"  or,  as 
James  used  it  in  his  letter  when  he  said,  "If  any  of  you  err  from 
the  truth,  and  one  convert  him,  let  him  know  that  he  who  converts  a 
transgressor  from  the  error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death, 
and  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 

In  a  number  of  the  Christian  Baptist,  nigh  the  close  of  seventh 
volume,  we  noticed,  that  in  the  commission  to  convert  the  nations, 
the  act  by  which  this  work  was  to  be  completed,  was  the  act  of 
immersion.  This  was  argued  from  the  charge,  as  given  by  the  Sav- 
iour, from  the  manner  in  which  the  order  was  ordained-  "Going 
forth,"  says  he,  "disciple  all  nations,  or  convert  all  the  nations-- 
immersing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Ho'y 
Spirit,  teaching  the  disciples  to  observe  all  the  things  I  have  com- 
manded you,"  etc.  On  this  a  question  was  proposed,  viz.:  "Does  not 
the  active  participle  always,  when  connected  with  the  imperative 
mood,  express  the  manner  in  which  the  thing  commanded  is  to  be  per- 
formed? Cleanse  the  room,  u-ashing  it;  clean  the  floor,  siceepitig  it: 
cultivate  the  field,  ploughing  it;  sustain  the  hungry,  feeding  them; 
furnish  the  soldiers,  arming  them;  convert  the  nations,  immersing 
them — are  exactly  the  same  forms  of  speech.  No  person  will,  we 
presume,  controvert  this."  This  has,  however,  been  warmly  attacked 
by  several  writers.     A  writer  in  a  New  York  paper,  and  Christianon, 


528  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  "No  Theorisf  in  the  Religious  Herald,  have  warmly  opposed  this 
rule.  They  have  only  denied  that  it  is  universal.  That  is  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  and  that  the  examples  given  are  all  fairly  under  it,  no  one 
has,  as  yet,  presumed  to  controvert.  Its  universality  alone  has  been 
called  in  question.  It  was  felt  that  its  generality  could  not  bi?i 
impugned.  To  escape  from  its  force,  it  is  necessary  to  prove  it  noc 
universal.  If,  however,  it  were  proved  not  universal,  still  its  gener- 
ality might  prevent  the  possibility  of  escape  from  its  applicability  in 
this  case.  And  what  surprises  me  not  a  little  is,  that  brother  Andrew 
Broaddus,  the  most  acute,  and  discriminating  of  those  who  hav3 
impugned  its  universality,  does  not  observe  that  here  it  must  apply 
were  it  only  a  general  and  not  a  universal  rule.  There  is  but  one 
position  he  can  take  to  elude  its  applicability  in  this  case;  and  this 
I  am  persuaded  he  will  not  take.  He  will  not  say,  that  a  di?ciple  is 
finished,  and  made,  or  co-mpleted,  without  immersion.  That  the  work 
of  discipling  is  finished  before  immersion  and  without  immersion. 
Neither  Catholics,  nor  Protestants,  will,  as  such,  contend  that  a  Pagan 
or  a  Jew  was  ever  discipled  or  converted  to  the  Christian  faith  with- 
out immersion.  Indeed,  I  presume,  that  brother  Broaddus  has  been 
so  much  engrossed  in  discussing  the  mere  universality  of  the  rule, 
and  has  been  so  much  engaged  in  attempting  to  find  exceptions  to  it, 
that  he  has  not  looked  to  the  bearing,  nor  to  the  cui  hono,  the  utility, 
of  his  examples.  That  the  nations  could  be  converted  to  Jesus  Christ 
without  immersion,  he  must  affirm,  if  he  allege  the  rule  is  inappli- 
cable in  this  place.  Will  be  take  this  ground?  If  he  does  not  take 
this  ground,  he  is  only  beating  the  air;  or,  what  is  still  less  profitable, 
he  is  sapping  and  mining  that  which  he  has  been  building  up  all  his 
life — that  immersion  is  a  discipling  institution.  I  care  not  whether 
he  object  to  those  words:  it  is  a  fact,  a  sober  fact,  that  he  has,  as  a 
Baptist,  made  immersion  a  discipling  institution.  I  would  not  say 
of  him  what  I  have  to  say  of  many  of  my  opponents,  that  he 
would  rather  go  back  to  Judaism,  or  Presbyter ianism,  than  that  I 
should  convince  him  of  the  import  of  Christian  immersion.  Indeed, 
they  are,  in  principle,  going  back  to  Pedobaptism;  and  before  this 
controversy  is  ended  they  will  be  driven  there,  or  into  the  ancient 
gospel. 

"No  Theorist,"  whom  we  suspect  to  have  written  much  in  favor 
of  immersion  against  Dr.  Rice  of  pamphleteering  memory,  is  well 
skilled  in  managing  Paidobaptist  arguments;  yet  I  will  engage  to 
show  him,  that  he  must  "give  up  the  ship,"  if  he  will  try  me  on  the 
affirmative  of  this  position — "a  person  may  &e  converted  according  to 
the  covimission  without  immersion.''''  I  say,  let  him  take  the  affirma- 
tive of  this  position,  (which  he  obliges  himself  to  do  in  attempting 
to  show  that  my  rule  is  not  applicable  here,)   and  I  will  attempt  to 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  529 

prove  that  his  argument  against  Paido-tsni  is,  vox  et  prcterea  7iihil. 
sound  and  nothing  else. 

The  question  is,  Who  is  to  l)e  immersed — a  Christian,  a  disciple, 
a  convert  to  Christ;  or  a  believing  candidate  for  discipleship?  One 
who  has  put  on  Christ;  or  one  who  wishes  to  put  him  on?  One  who 
is  under  Christ;  or  one  who  wishes  to  be  under  him?  One  in  the 
Ivingdom  of  Jesus  Christ;  or  one  who  wishes  to  become  a  citizen? 
This,  brethren,  is  the  question.  And,  although  you  may  not  have  seen 
it,  in  opposing  my  rule  in  its  application  here,  you  take  the  Paido- 
baptist  side,  and  I  am  the  Baptist  now. 

But,  perhaps,  he  does  not  oppose  the  application  of  the  rule  in 
this  case;  but  only  wishes  to  try  his  strength  in  critical  disquisi- 
tions: and  thinking  that  he  has  got  an  advantage  over  me  in  this 
case,  he  and  brother  Keeling  are  determined  to  push  me  to  the  wall 
and  to  carry  this  point  by  dint  of  critical  investigation.  Be  it  so.  1 
ought  not  to  envy  them  this  pleasure.  But  I  wish  them  to  bear  in 
mind,  that  in  succeeding  in  this  case,  their  success  will  l>e  a  serious 
loss  to  themselves. 

But  as  the  question  of  conversion,  as  well  as  the  act  of  converting, 
is  implicated  in  this  controversy  upon  the  participle,  I  will,  though. 
it  may  appear  tedious,  introduce  brother  Broaddus  at  his  own  request, 
and  let  him  speak  to  my  readers,  in  reply  to  my  former  criticism 
upon  his  criticism. 

IFrom  the  Religious  Herald.] 

CRITICISM    AGAIN. 
"  Disciple  or  convert  the  nations,  immersing  them,"  etc. 

The  poittt  at  issue  between  Mr.  Campbell  and  myself,  in  this  case, 
is  not  whether  baptism  appertains  to  the  character  of  a  disciple  of 
Christ:  this  I  not  only  admit,  but  maintain.  And  so  of  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  supper,  and,  indeed,  of  "all  those  things '  which 
our  King  left  in  charge  with  his  Apostles.  Nor  is  the  question 
between  us,  whether  baptism  is  the  act  by  which  persons  are  formally 
recognized  as  disciples:  for  here  again  we  agree.  But  the  question  is 
this: — Does  it  follow  from  the  grammatical  construction  of  the  com- 
mission, when  translated,  "convert  all  the  nations,  immersing  them." 
etc.,  that  baptism  is  to  be  considered  as  really  and  properly  the  con- 
verting act:  is  that  by  which  the  command  to  convert  was  to  be 
obeyed,  and  the  nations  converted?  Mr.  Campbell  affirms,  and  I  have 
undertaken  to  deny:  and  here  we  are  at  issue. 

In  support  of  his  position,  Mr.  Campbell  argues,  that  "the  active 
participle  does  always,  when  connected  with  the  imperative  mood, 
express  the  manner  in  which  the  thing  commanded  is  to  be  per 
formed;"  and  thus,  that  the  commission  given  by  our  Lord,  "convert 


530  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

all  the  nations,  immersing  them,"  etc.,  must  be  interpreted,  convert 
them  by  immersing  them:  "That  was  the  act  [he  says]  by  which  the 
command  to  convert  the  nations  was  to  be  obeyed."  (C.  B.,  vol.  7, 
p.  164.) 

Strongly  persuaded  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  too  sanguine  in  his  ooii- 
elusion,  I  ventured  to  call  in  question  the  validity  of  his  criticism; 
and  undertook  to  show,  that  the  universality  of  his  position  could  not 
be  maintained.  That  the  active  participle  does  not  always  express 
the  manner  of  performing  the  preceding  command;  but  that  some- 
times it  expresses  another  thing,  distinct  from  the  first;  or,  in  other 
words,  that  it  has  the  force  of  another  imperative  mood.  This  point 
being  established,  the  argument  founded  on  Mr.  Campbell's  criticism 
would  fall  to  the  ground;  and  we  must  then  resort  to  other  data  to 
decide  the  question,  "Is  baptism  really  the  converting  act?"  Here, 
still  I  differed  from  Mr.  Campbell,  and  endeavored  briefly  to  show 
that  conversion  does  not  consist  in  baptism.  This,  I  believe,  is  a 
fair  statement  of  the  case. 

From  the  manner  in  which  my  friend  of  the  Harbinger  has  replied 
to  my  strictures,  (waving  his  palm  triumphantly  over  me,)  it  would 
seem  that  he  is  quite  confident  my  "Criticism"  is  blown  all  to  atoms; 
and  possibly  some  others  may  think  so  too.  Mr.  Campbell  can  argue 
not  only  powerfully,  when  on  the  right  side,  but  plausibly,  when  he 
happens  to  be  on  the  wrong  side.  What  will  be  thought  when  I  now 
say,  with  confidence,  (though  I  trust,  with  becoming  modesty,  and 
certainly  with  perfect  friendship,)  that  /  feel  myself  prepared  to  sms- 
tain  my  criticism,  as  well  as  to  defend  my  theology!  g^^  The 
point  we  have  been  on  has  not  yet  received  a  proper  attention.  It 
is  desirable  I  should  not  be  tedious,  and  I  will  enter  immcr'.iately 
into  the  matter. 

My  position  is  this:  that  the  active  participle,  connected  with  the 
imperative  mood,  does  not  always  express  the  manner  in  which  the 
preceding  command  is  to  be  performed: — that  sometimes  (and  more 
frequently  indeec  than  I  had  supposed)  it  expresses  a  distinct  action 
— having  the  force  of  another  imperative,  and  being  convertible  inlo 
that  mood,  with  the  conjunction,  and,  before  it,  expressed  or  under- 
stood. Be  it  observed,  that  the  construction  I  contend  for,  takes  place 
in  condensed  sentences,  condensed  as  to  matter  and  form;  there  being 
a  close  connection  between  the  parts  of  the  sentence,  and  an  affinity 
in  the  object. 

I  was  just  about  to  illustrate  my  position,  by  casting  another 
bullet  in  the  same  mould;  thinking  it  might  be  smoother  than  my 
other  two;  I  was  just  about  to  invent  another  example.  But  I  for- 
bear; there  is  no  need;  and  I  might  not  only  give  my  friend  some 
trouble  in  "converting  it  into  good  common  English,"  or  in  exposing 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  531 

its  good-for-nothingness;  but  bring  on  myself  also  some  chastisement, 
for  the  violence  1  might  happen  to  commit  on  the  principles  of  lat- 
guage.     Well  then;   let  me  exemplify  from  better  authority. 

I  am  called  on  to  bring  one  example  to  my  purpose,  "only  one 
example,  from  any  standard  writer,  Grecian,  Roman,  or  English;' 
and  I  will  do  more  than  that:  I  will  perform,  for  once,  a  work  of 
supererogation. 

Col.  iii.  16,  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all 
wisdom;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another,  in  psalms,  an  J 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs."  Now  permit  me  to  say,  that  these  two 
active  principles,  teaching  and  admonishing,  do  not,  strictly  and 
properly  speaking,  express  the  manner  in  which  the  foregoing  injunc- 
tion or  exhortation  is  to  be  complied  with;  but  that  they  express 
kindred  exercises,  requisite  to  be  added  to  the  first  mentioncnl  quail 
fication;  that,  therefore,  they  are  virtually  distinct  imperatives,  and 
capable  of  being  converted  into  imperative  moods;  the  language.  In 
both  cases,  being  pure  and  classical.  If  I  am  correct,  it  can  not  b.) 
denied  that  I  have  here  brought  an  example  in  point  And  that  I 
am  correct,  1  call  to  witness  the  common  version  and  Greek  Testa 
ment,  in  both  of  which  the  active  participles  are  used;  and  Dr.  Mar- 
knight — yes.  Dr.  Macknight,  the  learned  critic  and  translator,  who 
has  actually  translated  these  participles  by  the  imperative  mood — ren- 
dering them  clearly  distinct  from  the  first  imperative,  by  introducing 
the  copulative  and.  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly;  and 
with  all  wisdom  teach  and  admonish  each  other,"  etc.  Now  Mr. 
Campbell  says,  "To  convert  participles  into  imperative  moods  is  only 
necessary  when  there  is  some  unreasonable  point  to  carry."  But  Mac- 
knight has  actually  done  this:  (see  Mr.  Campbell's  New  Translation,' 
and  I  do  not  suppose  Mr.  Campbell  will  accuse  7iim  of  having  dono 
this  to  carry  some  unreasonable  point.  Has  not  my  good  friend  been 
rather  rash  and  hasty?  Most  of  us  are  liable  to  this:  may  we  learn 
to  improve!     Here  comes  another  example. 

I.  Pet.  V.  6,  7,  "Huvtblc  yourselves  therefore  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God  that  he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time;  casting  all  your  caro 
upon  him;  for  he  careth  for  you."  It  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  th.« 
above  remarks  which  are  apposite  and  applicable  here.  Macknight 
considers  the  participle  as  enjoining  an  additional  exercise,  and  ac- 
cordingly renders  it  by  the  imperative  mood.  "Cast  all  your  anxiou-i 
care  on  him,"  etc.     (See  New  Translation  again.) 

Other  similar  examples  might  be  adduced  from  the  Epistles:  othe'- 
"bullets  made  in  the  same  moulds,"  namely,  in  the  Greek  Testament, 
in  the  common  version,  and  in  Macknight's  translation.  But  let  uj 
now  once  more  try  the  commission.  And  here  I  might,  by  way  of 
example,    take    this    passage,    as    it    stands    in    the    common    version. 


632  THE    MILLENIUAL    ffARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"Teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them:"  for  scarcely  any  person,  I  pre- 
sume, would  insist  on  a  construction  of  this  sort;  "teach  them  by  bap- 
tizing them."  I  might  take  this  example,  if  it  were  necessary,  to  keep 
me  in  countenance  at  least.  However,  I  will  not  here  insist  on  it. 
Let  us  try  Dr.  Campbell's  translation. 

"Go,  therefore,  convert  all  the  nations,  baptizing  (or  immersing,* 
them,"  etc.  Here  it  is  that  we  are  told,  without  any  hesitation  or 
shadow  of  doubt,  the  meaning  is,  "convert  the  nations  by  immersing 
them:"  and  that  it  must  be  so  for  this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  namely, 
that  the  active  participle,  connected  with  the  imperative  mood,  does 
always  express  the  manner  of  performing  that  command.  Already, 
however,  the  force  of  this  criticism  appears  to  be  greatly  spent.  Mac- 
knight  has  withered  its  strength.  Let  us  see  how  it  will  be  treated  by 
the  illustrious  Dr.  George  Campbell. 

In  his  critical  note  (mark  that!  a  critical  note)  on  this  passage, 
(Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20,)  he  says,  "There  are  manifestly  three  things 
which  our  Lord  here  distinctly  enjoins  his  Apostles  to  execute  with 
regard  to  the  nations,  to  wit,  matheteuein,  haptizein,  didaskein;  th-it 
is,  to  convert  them  to  the  faith — to  initiate  the  converts  into  the 
church  by  baptism — and  to  instruct  the  baptized  in  all  the  duties  of 
the  Christian  life."  Mr.  Campbell  says  expressly,  "If  distinct  com- 
mands, they  ought  to  be  distinct  imperatives.  So  will  decree  all  the 
colleges  in  Christendom."  But  his  namesake  the  Doctor  as  positively 
maintains,  that  here  "there  are  three  things  distinctly  enjoined;" 
that?  is,  virtually,  three  imperatives,  though  two  expressed  in  the 
participial  form.  So  decrees  George  Campbell,  D.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  Prin- 
cipal of  MariscJial  College,  Aberdeen.  Behind  his  ample  Telamoniaa 
shield  I  take  shelter. 

It  is  now  left  to  the  candid  and  judicious — or  I  may  say,  to  the 
learned,  (for  I  too  am  willing  to  appeal,  in  this  case,  to  the  learned,) 
to  all  competent  persons  it  is  left  to  judge,  whether  I  have  not  pro- 
duced authority — good  standard  authority  to  justify  my  criticism. 
And  I  think  I  might  ask  my  friend  of  the  Harbinger  himself 
whether  it  still  appears  that  I  was  so  glaringly  wrong  in  supposing 
that  the  phraseology  of  the  commission  might  well  be  construed 
according  to  that  criticism?  and  whether  I  ought  not  to  be  considered, 
as  in  some  measure  redeemed  from  the  charge  of  an  outrage  upon  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth  of  letters? 

In  the  discussion  of  this  point,  I  have  not  been  led  on  to  oppose 
the  views  of  my  friend  Mr.  Campbell  by  an  ambitious  desire  to  pluck 
one  laurel  bud  from  the  chaplet  which  decks  his  brow,  though,  indeed, 
if  this  were  done,  he  might  well  afford  it.  He  will  have  enough  left 
to  satisfy  any  reasonable  man.  We  take  pleasure  in  owning  him 
the  conqueror  of  Walker  and  M'Calla  on  Baptism;   and  the  Christian 


THE    MILLEXMAL    UAliBlSGEIt    ABRIDGED.  533 

Ijulilic  must  hail,  with  gratulation,  the  complete  discomfiture  of  tha 
atheistic  Owen;   who,  like  the  Moloch  of  Milton, 

••  l)(jwn  cloven  to  th«  waist,  with  shutten-il  anus, 
Aiul  uncouth  paiu,  fled  bellowing." 

Many  admirable  things,  I  own,  Mr.  Campbell  has  written;  but  we 
know  he  is  not  infallible.  If  my  position  is  now  established  (as  I 
think  it  is)  "that  the  active  participle,  connected  with  the  imperative 
mood,  does  sometimes  carry  the  force  of  an  additional  injunction," 
then  Mr.  Campbell's  argument,  founded  on  the  grammatical  construc- 
tion of  the  sentence,  must  fall  of  course,  and  his  views  must  depend 
on  other  data  for  support. 

Let  me  now  take  occasion  to  say,  that  on  the  point  in  question, 
there  would  probably  be  no  material  difference  between  us,  were  't 
not  that  Mr.  Campbell  in  his  zeal  for  external  conversion,  seems  to 
lose  sight  of  internal  conversion,  or  to  make  it  only  a  thing  by  the 
by;  or,  in  other  words,  that  he  appears  almost  to  disregard  the  line 
of  distinction  between  the  visible  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  power 
of  that  kingdom  (or  reign)  within  us.  Mark  well!  I  do  not  wish  to 
separate,  but  to  (Ustinguish  between  them.  "Convert  the  nations;  ' 
turn  their  hearts  to  the  Ix>rd:  "immersing  them;"  thus  preparing 
them  to  enter  and  enjoy  the  visible  kingdom:  "teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things,"  etc.,  thus  accomplishing  them  as  subjects  prepai- 
ing  for  the  approbation  of  their  King.  "We  come  to  Christ  by  bap- 
tism." Yes;  but  this  is  not  the  only  way.  We  first  come  to  him 
spiritually  by  a  living  faith;  and  then  externally  and  visibly  by 
being  "baptized  into  his  death."  While  I  am  writing,  from  my  heart 
I  am  wishing,  that  I  and  all  of  us,  could  see  satisfactory  ground  for 
harmonizing  more  cordially  with  one,  for  whom  personally  1  feel  a 
real  friendship;  for  whose  talents  and  learning  I  have  the  highest 
respect;  and  to  whose  labors  I  own  we  are  indebted  for  a  noble  vindi- 
cation of  the  truth  in  some  of  its  branches.  Would  that  there  were 
not  some  dangerous  blows  dealt  out,  against  which  I  think  we  ought 
to  be  guarded. 

The  remarks  in  the  above  paragraph  go,  in  some  measure,  towards 
a  defense  of  my  theology.  There  will  not  be  space  for  me  now  to  say 
much  in  that  way.  But  I  can  not  forbear  expressing  my  surprise  ani 
regret,  that  Mr.  Campbell  should  so  vehemently  reprobate  my  account 
of  conversion.  In  the  sincerity  of  my  heart  I  thought  it  a  good  and 
valid  account,  and  still  I  think  it  so.  But  this,  I  know,  is  not 
enough.  la  it  Scriptural?  Clearly  so,  I  think.  "Conversion  (I  said) 
is  a  turning  of  the  heart  to  holiness:"  here  Mr.  Campbell  stops  me 
short,  without  quoting  out  the  sentence,  impatient,  it  would  seem,  to 
cast  my  definition  (as  an  idol)  "to  the  moles  and  bats."  He  stops 
me  here,  and  talks  about  "mental   converts,"  and  "philosophical  coo- 


534  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

verts,"  and  how  "Christian  converts  are  persons  whose  lives  aro 
changed."  Well!  but  hear  me  out  (it  is  but  fair)  and  see  whether 
this  essential  requisite  is  not  included.  "Conversion  is  a  turning  of 
the  heart  to  holiness,  by  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  towards 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  this  repentance  bringeth  forth  "fruits  meet," 
and  this  faith  "working  by  love."  Now  I  ask.  Is  not  the  necessary 
change  of  life  embraced  here?  And  what  possible  fault  can  be  found 
with  this  account  of  conversion,  by  any  person  who  consixlers  a 
turning  of  the  heart  as  well  as  a  change  of  life  to  be  necessary?  An  J 
is  not  a  turning  of  the  heart  to  holiness  necessary?  Or  will  God,  who 
requires  the  heart  to  be  given  to  him,  accept  of  mere  external  refor- 
mation? Or  are  our  hearts  naturally  turned  already  to  him?  I  go 
for  conversion  from  centre  to  circumference — from  the  heart  to  the 
life.  Ah,  my  good  sir,  I  am  aware  indeed  that  the  notions  of  many 
people  about  conversion,  need  correction;  but  let  us  take  care,  that 
while  we  are  cutting  away  the  unsound  flesh,  we  cut  not  the  heart. 

Caroline,  Virginia.  Christianos. 

P.  S. — Mr.  Campbell,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  so  obliging  as  to  give  this 
reply  a  place  in  the  next  Harhinger.  c. 

I  am  pleased  to  see  that  Christianos  does  not  defend  the  examples 
which  he  before  alleged.  This  is  candid.  And  had  not  Dr.  Macknight 
turned  the  Greek  participles  into  English  imperatives,  in  the  two 
examples  here  adduced;  I  am  so  charitable  as  to  think  they  would 
not  have  been  here  adduced  on  this  occasion.  This  is  another  ques- 
tion involving  other  canons  of  criticism.  How  far  a  translator  may, 
from  the  diversity  of  idioms  in  any  two  languages,  change  the  moods 
and  flexions  of  verbs,  to  give  greater  clearness  and  force  of  expres- 
sion, is  to  be  decided  before  another  tribunal,  and  to  be  tried  in 
another  court,  than  before  that  in  which  we  are  to  try  the  rights  of 
an  English  writer  to  convert  imperatives  into  participles,  or  participles 
into  imperatives.  The  remark  quoted  from  my  former  criticism,  and 
applied  with  so  much  zest  to  this  question  of  translation,  is  mis- 
placed: "To  convert  participles  into  imperative  moods  is  only  neces- 
sary when  there  is  some  unreasonable  point  to  carry!"  If  I  had  said 
to  translate  participles  into  imperative  moods  from  one  language  into 
another,  it  would  have  been  apposite;  but,  surely,  the  right  an  Eng 
lish  writer  has  to  convert  participles  into  imperatives,  is  another 
question!  I  can  not,  then,  so  much  admire  the  candor  of  my  friend 
Christianos  in  this  instance  as  in  the  former;  especially  as  he  knew 
that  the  Greeks  have  three  voices,  five  moods,  eight  tenses,  and  in 
each  voice  they  have  eigJit  participles,  and  six  imperatives.  If  all 
these  are  translated  into  a  language  with  fewer  moods,  tenses,  ana 
participles;  changes  of  moods,  tenses,  and  participles  must  take  place 
Supposing  these  remarks  to  have  no  bearing  whatever  on  this  ques- 


THE    MILLESSIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  535 

tion,  still  they  go  to  show  the  impropriety  of  converting  a  canon  of 
writing  English  into  a  canon  of  translating.  This  remark  applies  to 
"No  Theorist,"  as  fully  as  to  "Christianos."  His  whole  criticism  js, 
however,  a  mistake  of  the  question;  and  as  it  seems  he  wrote  his 
criticism  at  the  request  of  somebody,  not  having  read  my  remarks. 
a.6  he  says;  it  would  be  preposterous  for  me  to  pay  any  more  atten- 
tion to  them  than,  to  inform  him,  that  he  must  read  first,  and  write 
afterwards.  Then  will  an  apology  for  attacking,  ho  knows  not  what, 
bo  unnecessary. 

Christianos  will  yet  see,  I  trust,  that  I  have  neither  been  as  rash, 
nor  as  hasty  as  "No  Theorist;"  nor  so  rash  and  hasty  as  he  supposes 
me  to  have  been,  in  alleging  the  universality  of  this  rule  in  its  legit- 
imate interpretation  and  application.  Dr.  Macknight  translating  the 
participles  by  imperatives,  and  supplying  an  and  may,  or  may  not 
be  defended,  and  still  the  rule  be  true.  Indeed  his  inserting  an  and 
shows  that  he  felt  that  if  the  participial  form  was  changed.  It  must 
either  be  disconnected  from  the  imperative  by  and,  or  cut  off  from  it 
by  placing  a  full  period  between  them,  which  is  a  general  rule  in 
such  cases.  His  translating  a  participle  by  an  imperative,  required 
a  supplementary  and  according  to  my  rule;  but  none,  according  to 
Christiancs. 

The  reasons  which  induced  Macknight  in  this  case,  aopear  to 
have  been,  that  the  punctuation  in  some  Greek  and  English  copies 
connected  the  words  "in  all  icisdo)n,"  with  the  command,  "Let  the 
word  of  God  dwell  in  you  richly."  This  is  the  common  version; 
but  he  follows  the  pointing  which  Griesbach  preferred,  and  read.s 
it,  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly,  and  in  all  wisdom 
teach,"  etc.  To  give  it  greater  force,  and  to  mark  more  distinctly 
the  connection  between  "in  all  wisdom"  and  teaching,  he  chose  thi3 
course.  It  would  have  been  equally  plain  in  rendering  it  as  Thomp- 
son has  done — "Let  the  word  of  the  Christ  dwell  richly  in  you  with 
all  wisdom,  when  you  teach  and  admonish  one  another,  when  with 
psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs  you  sing  gratefully  to  the  Lord 
with  your  heart."  Here  it  is  thrown  into  another  mood.  Pierce,  as 
learned  a  critic  as  any  of  them,  says  the  phrase,  the  word  of  Christ, 
is  "the  discourse  concerning  the  Christ,"  and  not  the  ordinary  con- 
versation of  Christians,  which  is  alluded  to;  and,  therefore,  it  oughi 
to  read,  "Let  the  history  of  Christ  dwell  richly  among  you,  teach 
Ing,"   etc. 

Having  now  attended  to  some  of  the  reasons  for  the  translation, 
let  ua  hear  our  friend  reason  upon  this  his  example.  He  asserts  that 
teaching  and  c.dmonishing  "do  not 'strictly,  and  properly  speaking, 
express  the  manner  in  which  the  foregoing  Injunction  is  to  be  com- 
plied with;"  bi;t  not  stricth/,  and  iviprnpcrhj  speaking,  they  do!     But 


536  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

"they  express  kindred  exercises,"  German  cousins  at  least;  but  noth- 
ing neareir  akin,  and  ''therefore''  (this  is  a  logical  particle  after  two 
assertions! )  they  are  "virtually''  distinct  imperatives!  This  is  the 
reason  why  they,  improperly  speaking,  express  the  manner  of  the 
action!  My  friend  Christianos  relied  too  much  upon  Dr.  Macknight'3 
helping  him  out,  and  thought  that  this  would  pass  for  logic,  backed 
as   it  would  be,  by  the  new  version. 

But  I  have  yet  to  make  my  most  serious  objection  to  this  example; 
and  it  is,  because  it  is  not  a  pertinent  one.  There  is  more  than  a 
simple  imperative  mood;  nay,  virtually,  two  or  three  imperatives  in 
this  sentence.  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you,"  would  be  a 
simple  imperative.  But,  "Let  it  dwell  in  you  richly,"  is  another  com- 
mand: and  what  if  teaching  and  admonishing  belong  to  the  richly, 
and  not  to  the  simple  imperative?  Then  it,  strictly  and  properly 
speaking,  does  show  the  manner  in  which  the  word  is  to  dwell  in  us 
richly.  This  assertion,  without  argument,  is  certainly  as  conclusive 
as  Christianos'  assertion — that  it  does  not  strictly  and  properly  ex- 
press the  manner.  But  I  can  do  more  than  assert;  for  the  following 
words  show  that  the  manner  of  dwelling  in  us,  is  the  primary  object. 
"In  all  wisdom,  teaching,"  etc.  The  second  imperative  in  this  sen- 
tence is  richly;  and  according  to  the  common  version,  the  third 
imperative  is  "in  all  wisdom."  "Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in 
you,"  is  one  command.  "Let  it  dwell  in  you  richly,"  is  the  second 
command.  "Let  it  dwell  in  you  in  all  wisdom,"  is  a  third  command; 
and  the  participles  teaching,  admonishing,  and  praising,  show  the 
manner  in  which  these  commands  are  to  be  obeyed.  I  now  leave  it 
with  the  discerning  public  to  say  what  has  become  of  my  friend 
Christianos'  triumphant  exception  to  this  universal  rule. 

Having  found  that  this  is  not  the  one  example  demanded  in  my 
former  criticism,  I  will  be  excused  from  considering  "the  work  of 
supererogation,"  for  the  second  example  falls  before  the  same  tri- 
bunal. 

But  it  falls  before  another  tribunal  also.  If  separated,  as  Mack- 
night  does  in  his  punctuation  of  the  sentence,  then  it  is  not  con- 
nected with  the  imperative  humhle;  and  so  it  destroys  its  being  an 
example  at  all.  And  standing  before  two  other  imperatives,  it  may 
apply  to  them,  or  to  one  of  them  in  sense.  Suppose,  then,  that  cast- 
ing our  care  upon  the  Heavenly  Father,  does  not  express  the  manner 
of  humbling  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  it  may  show 
the  manner  in  which  the  succeeding  imperatives  are  to  be  cbeyed. 
This,  the  punctuation  must  determine.  Thompson,  into  whose  ver- 
sion I  have  just  now  looked,  points  it  as  follows — "Having  cast  all 
your  care  upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you,  be '  sober,  be  watchful; 
because  your  adversary  the  devil   is  walking   about,"   etc.    What  a 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    AH  RIDGED.  537 

pity  that  my  friend  Christianos  should  be  so  unfortunate  in  finding 
examples! 

Other  critics  have  suggested  to  me  as  exceptions— "Take  the  hei- 
met  of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  praying  always  with 
all  prayer  and  supplication."  But  the  praying  always  is  the  adjunct 
of  the  following  words— "with  all  prayer  and  supplication,  praying 
always"— and  this  is  the  manner  in  which  every  part  of  the  Christian 
panoply  is  to  be  put  on. 

"Rising  be  immersed,  and  wash  you  from  your  sins,  calling  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord,"  is  also  adduced  as  an  exception  by  two  others. 
Culling  here  shows  the  manner  in  which  he  is  to  submit  to  the  con- 
mandment.  It  is  in  the  passive  voice,  and  shows  the  manner  of  sub- 
mitting, not  of  acting.  In  this  way  he  is  to  connect  his  immersioa 
with  invocation  of  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Thus,  while  immersing 
into  the  name  of  the  Lord,  all  the  immersed  should  invoke  his  name. 
And  thus,  in  spirit  and  reality,  do  all  who  intelligently  go  down  into 
the  water. 

'Standing,  going,  and  arising,"  precede  many  imperatives  in  th? 
Septuaglnt  idiom.  Because  these  are  modes  and  manners  in  which 
a  servant  first  places  himself  to  receive  or  to  execute  instructions. 
Standing  forward,  be  immersed;  coming  forward,  wash  your  hands; 
arising,  enter  the  synagogue,  etc.,  are  all  expressions  of  the  same 
family,  and  do  not  constitute  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Because,  even 
when  most  rigidly  interpreted,  they  show  the  manner  in  which  the 
person  is  to  obey  the  command,  or  the  manner  in  which  the  com- 
mand is  to  be  obeyed;  and  both  are  included  in  my  definition  of  it. 

But  my  friend  Christianos  returns  to  the  commission,  and  after  a 
mere  hint  of  what  might  be  achieved,  if  the  common  version  could 
be  sustained,  C'teach  all  nations,"  instead  of  "co7iverr)  generously, 
however,  giving  this  up,  he  throws  himself  behind  the  shield  of  Ur. 
George  Campbell,  which  places  me  in  as  awkward  a  position  as  was 
William  Tell,  who  had  to  split  an  apple  on  the  head  of  his  son;  either 
at  the  hazard  of  his  own  life  if  he  shot  too  high,  or  at  the  hazard 
of  his  son's  if  he  shot  too  low.  What  in  such  a  crisis  is  to  be  done"' 
Try  to  escape,  or  to  die  like  a  soldier?  We  shall  hear  what  are  the 
conditions  proposed.  Dr.  George  Campbell  says  there  are  three  dis- 
tinct acts  in  the  commission,  and  yet  but  one  imperative:  and  I  have 
said  that  if  distinct  commands,  they  ought  to  be  distinct  imperatives. 
Am  I  not  stranded  here!!  I  dare  not  say  that  Dr.  George  Campbell 
is  in  an  error.  I  dare  not  retract  my  position,  that  if  distinct  com- 
mands they  ought  to  be  distinct  imperatives.  To  save  myself  and 
the  Doctor,  is  now  a  consummation  most  devoutly  to  be  wished.  Let 
us  see  if  any  way  of  escape  remains.  A  says  to  B,  Saddle  my  horse. 
This   is   one    imperative.     But,    in   obeying   this   command,   B   has   to 


538  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

perform,  three  acts — to  catch  the  horse,  to  bridle  the  horse,  and  to 
saddle  him.  D  says  to  E,  Make  a  fire  in  the  study.  One  imperative 
again.  But  how  many  acts — go  after  the  fuel,  carry  it  into  tho  study. 
build  It  upon  the  hearth,  go  after  a  spark,  apply  it,  and  fan  it  into  a 
flame.  One  imperative  and  six  acts.  Well,  now,  I  agree  with  Dr. 
George  Campbell,  that  there  are  three  distinct  acts.  There  is  first 
proclaiming  the  gospel;  then  immersing  the  believers;  and  then 
teaching  the  immersed  how  to  behave  themselves.  But  in  each  of 
these  acts  there  are  diverse  acts.  In  immersing,  for  instance,  there 
is  walking  to  the  bath  or  river;  there  is  a  call  for  the  good  confes- 
sion; there  is  walking  down  into  the  water,  taking  hold  of  the  can- 
didate, pronouncing  the  words  of  the  institution,  putting  the  person 
under  the  water,  and  raising  him  up  again.  Here  are  seven  acts. 
But  who  will  say,  that  there  ought  to  be  seven  commands?  You  say 
so,  replies  Christianos.  I  request  him  to  read  what  I  have  writ- 
ten again:  "If  distinct  acts,  they  ought  to  be  distinct  imperatives." 
No:  that  is  not  what  I  have  written.  If  distinct  commands,  I  say 
they  ought  to  be  distinct  imperatives.  And  so  one  horn  of  the  dilem- 
ma is  broken! 

In  the  most  perfect  good  will  and  esteem  for  my  very  intelligent 
friend  and  brother  Broaddus,  I  have  written  the  preceding  remarks. 
And  I  must  add,  that  I  feel  obliged  to  him  for  the  unsparing  critical 
severity  with  which  he  has  examined  this  rule.  I  feel,  if  possible, 
more  confidence  in  it  than  before;  seeing  it  pass  the  ordeal  of  one 
who  has  a  hundred  eyes  for  one  of  some  of  my  opponents,  and  whos-e 
attainments,  as  a  writer,  are  so  conspicuous,  and  so  generally  acknowl- 
edged and  admired  as  to  need  neither  notice  nor  encomium. 

I  think  my  friend  Christianos  is  quite  alarmed  at  the  idea  of 
making  baptism  the  converting  act  This  is  the  reason  why  he  sought 
out  exceptions  to  a  rule  which  he  has  admitted  is  general,  and  with 
what  success  he  has  sought  for  exceptions  I  leave  others  to  say.  As 
I  have  given  all  the  exceptions  to  it  which  I  have  heard  from  all 
quarters,  I  will  now  add  the  opinion  of  a  plain  good-sense  English 
scholar,  who  never  harangued  a  congregation.  He  is  from  a  county 
bordering  on  the  cure  of  bishop  Broaddus. 

"Christianos  seems  to  be  very  tenacious  of  his  views  on  Rom.  viii. 
and  also  of  his  criticism.  But,  not  being  able  to  produce  one  example 
similar  to  his  own,  he  has  given  two  examples  quite  foreign  from 
the  point.  He  might  have  given  many  such  examples;  but  they  aro 
no  exceptions  to  the  rule.  Because  in  these  examples  the  participles 
are  used  mentally,  and  do  not  relate  to  the  same  word  which  is  gov- 
erned by  the  imperative  mood  as  in  the  commission.  In  this,  and  in 
all  similar  examples,  the  participlesi  are  used  physically;  that  is,  to 
denote  an  act  of  the  body.     To  prevent  all  mistake,  I  would  add  lo 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  539 

your  rule,   provided   the  participle  is   used  physically,  to   denote  any 
act  of  the  body." 

I  have  heard  the  views  of  sundry  learned  persons,  who  are  unani- 
mous in  their  opinion  of  its  perfect  accuracy.  But  so  long  as  the 
general  accuracy  of  it  is  admitted  by  all,  with  the  commission  in  all 
its  circumstances,  with  the  practice  of  the  Apostles  under  it,  declar- 
ative of  the  fact,  that  unless  the  nations  were  immersed  they  were 
not  converted,  I  see  no  good  reason  for  contesting,  nor  need  for  defend- 
ing its  absolute  truth  universally.  I  pray  the  teachers  of  the  Scrip- 
tures to  consider,  that  no  person  in  the  Scripture  style,  (and  for  that 
we  contend)  is  said  to  be  converted  to  God  until  he  iS  immersed. 
I  think  I  can  reconcile,  even  Christianos  to  the  idea,  that  the  act  of 
immersion  is  an  act  of  conversion;  and  what  may  be  called  the  new 
birth  or  regeneration,  spoken  of  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Christianoa 
will  agree  with  me,  that  many  terms  have  a  Bible  sense,  different 
from  the  ecclesiastic  sense;  and  that  it  is  our  safety,  as  it  is  our 
province,  and  our  happiness,  to  understand  the  Bible  language  in 
the  Bible  sense,  or  to  attach  the  apostolic  ideas  to  the  apostolic  words. 

rROPosrnoN  x. 

/  now  proceed  to  shoio  that  immersion  and  regeneration  are  two 
Bible  names  for  the  same  act,  contemplated  in  two  different  points 
of  view. 

The  term  regeneration  occurs  but  twice  in  the  common  version  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  not  once  in  the  Old  Testament  The  first  is 
Matt.  xix.  28.  "You  that  have  followed  me  in  the  regeneration,  when 
the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  you  also  shall 
sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  Dr. 
George  Campbell,  following  the  punctuation  adopted  by  Griesbach, 
and  substituting  the  word  renovation  instead  of  regeneration,  renders 
it — "That,  at  the  renovation,  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  seated  on 
his  glorious  throne,  you,  my  followers,  sitting  also  upon  twelve 
thrones,  shall,"  etc.  Genesis,  being  the  term  used  for  creation,  palin^ 
grnesia  denotes  the  new  creation.  Either  literally  at  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  or  figuratively,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
era,  or  at  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium.  Josephus  the  Jew 
called  the  return  of  Israel  to  their  own  land,  and  institution,  "the 
regeneration,"  or  "palingenesia." 

No  writer  of  any  note,  critic  or  expositor,  supposes  that  regener- 
ation in  Matt.  xix.  applies  to  what  is,  in  theology,  called  the  neve 
birth,  or  regeneration  of  the  soul — not  even  the  Presbyterian  Matthew 
Henry,  nor  Dr.  Whitby,  Campbell.  Macknigbt.  Thompson;  nor,  indeoil, 
any  writer  we  recollect  ever  to  have  read.  Regeneration  in  this  pas- 
sage denotes  a  state,  a  new  state  of  things.     In  the  same  sense  wo 


540  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

often  use  the  term.  The  American  Revolution  was  the  regeneration 
of  the  country  or  the  government.  The  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  was  a  regeneration — so  will  be  the  Millennial  Era — so  will 
be  the  creation  of  the  new  Heavens  and  new  Earth.  As  this  Is  so 
plain  a  matter,  and  so  generally  admitted,  we  proceed  to  the  second 
occurrence  of  this  term. 

"God  has  saved  us  by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit"  (Common  version,  Tit.  iii.  5).  God  has  saved  us 
through  the  bath  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  is  the  second  time  the  word  regeneration  is  found  in  the  New 
Testament;  and  here  it  is  conceded  by  the  most  learned  Paidobaptists 
and  Baptists,  that  it  refers  to  immersion.  Though  I  have  been  led 
to  this  conclusion  from  my  views  of  the  Christian  religion,  yet  I 
neither  hold  it  myself,  nor  justify  it  to  others  on  this  account.  1 
choose  rather  to  establish  it  by  other  testimonies,  than  by  those  who 
agree  with  me  in  the  import  of  this  institution.  Amongst  these  I 
shall  place  Dr.  James  Macknight,  formerly  prolocutor  or  moderator 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  and  translator  of  the  Apo-v 
tolic  Epistles.  One  of  his  notes  upon  Tit.  iii.  5,  is  in  the  following 
words: — "Through  the  bath  of  regeneration."  "Through  baptism,  called 
the  bath  of  regeneration,  not  because  any  change  in  the  nature"  (but 
1  would  say  in  the  state)  "of  the  baptized  person  is  produced  by  bap- 
tism; but  because  it  is  an  emblem  of  the  purification  of  his  soul  from 
sin."  He  then  quotes  in  proof,  (Acts  xxii.  16,)  "Arise,  and  be 
immersed,  and  wash  thee  from  thy  sins." — Paul.  He  supports  this 
view  also  from  Eph.  v.  26,  and  John  iii.  5.  "The  bath  of  regeneration," 
is  then,  according  to  the  learned  Paidobaptist,  Christian  immersion, 

Parkhurst,  in  his  lexicon,  upon  the  word  loiitron,  connects  this 
same  phrase,  the  washing  or  bath  of  regeneration,  with  Eph.  v.  26, 
and  John  iii.  5,  as  alluding  to  immersion.  So  say  all  the  critics,  one 
by  one,  as  far  as  I  know.  Even  Matthew  Henry,  the  good  and  ven- 
erable Presbyterian  commentator,  concedes  this  point  also,  and  quotes 
Eph.  V.  26,  Acts  xxii.  16,  and  Matt,  xxviii,  19,  20,  in  support  of  the 
conclusion,  that  the  washing  of  regeneration  refers  to  baptism. 

Our  opponents  themselves  being  judges,  we  have  gained  this  point; 
viz.:  that  the  only  time  the  word  regeneration  occurs  in  the  Ne\V 
Testament  with  a  reference  to  a  personal  change,  it  means,  or  is 
equivalent  to,  immersion.  Regeneration  and  immersion  are,  therefor", 
two  names  for  the  same  thing.  Although  I  might  be  justified  in  pro- 
ceeding to  another  topic,  and  in  supposing  this  point  to  be  fully  estab- 
lished, I  choose  rather,  for  the  sake  of  the  slow  to  apprehend,  to  fortify 
this  conclusion  by  some  other  testimonies  and  arguments. 

As  regeneration  is  taught  to  be  equivalent  to  ''being  born  again.'' 
and  understood  to  be  of  the  same  import  with  a  new  birth,  we  shall 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  541 

examine  it  under  this  metaphor.  For  if  immersion  be  equivalent  to 
regeneration,  and  regeneration  be  of  the  same  import  with  being  born 
again,  then  being  born  again,  and  being  immersed  are  the  same  thing; 
for  this  plain  reason,  that  things  which  are  equal  to  the  same  thing, 
are  equal  to  one  another.  All  must  admit,  that  no  person  can  he  hor.-i 
ufjain  of  that  which  he  receives.  For  as  no  person  is  born  naturally; 
so  no  person  can  be  born  again,  or  born  metaphorically,  of  that  which 
he  receives.  It  destroys  the  idea,  the  figure,  the  allusion,  and  every 
thing  else  which  authorizes  the  application  of  these  words  to  any 
change  which  takes  place  in  man,  to  suppose  that  the  subject  of  the 
new  birth,  or  regeneration,  is  born  again  of  someUiing  which  he  has 
received.  This  single  remark  shows  the  impropriety,  and  inaccuracy 
of  thought;  or,  perhaps,  the  want  of  thought,  which  the  popular 
notions  of  regeneration  sanction,  and  sanctify. 

In  being  born  naturally  there  is  the  begetter,  and  that  which  Is 
begotten.  These  are  not  the  same.  The  act  of  being  born  is  different 
from  that  which  is  born.  Now  the  Scriptures  carry  this  figure  through 
every  prominent  point  of  coincidence.  There  is  the  begetter.  "Of  his 
own  will  he  has  begotten,  or  impregnated  us,"  says  James  the  Apostle. 
'•By  the  word  of  truth,"  as  the  incorruptible  seed;  or,  as  Peter  says, 
"We  are  born  again,  not  from  corruptible,  but  from  incorruptible  Beed, 
the  word  of  God  which  endureth  forever."  But  when  the  act  of  beins; 
born  is  spoken  of,  then  the  water  is  introduced.  Hence,  before  we 
come  into  the  kingdom,  we  are  born  of  water. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  begetter,  the  gospel  is  the  seed;  and  being 
thus  begotten,  and  quickened,  we  are  born  of  the  water.  A  child 
is  alive  before  it  is  bom,  and  the  act  of  being  born  only  changes  its 
state,  not  its  life.  Just  so  in  the  metaphorical  birth.  Persons  are 
begotten  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  impregnated  by  the  Word,  and  bom  of 
the  water. 

In  one  sense  a  person  is  born  of  his  father;  but  not  until  he  is 
first  bom  of  his  mother.  So  in  evei-y  place  where  water  and  the  Spirit, 
or  water  and  the  Word,  are  spoken  of,  the  water  stands  first.  Every 
child  is  born  of  its  father,  when  it  is  born  of  its  mother.  Hence  the 
Saviour  put  the  mother  first,  and  the  Apostles  follow  him.  No  other 
reason  can  be  assigned  for  placing  the  water  first.  How  uniform  this 
stylel  Jesus  says  to  Nicodemus,  "You  must  be  born  again,  or  yon 
can  not  discern  the  Reign  of  God."  Born  again!  What  means  this? 
"Nicodemus,  unless  you  are  born  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit,  you  can 
not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  So  Paul  speaks  to  the  Ephesians, 
(v.  26,)  "He  cleansed  the  church,"  or  the  disciples,  "by  a  bath  of 
water,  and  the  Word."  And  to  Titus  he  says,  "He  saved  the  disciples 
ht/  the  bath  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Now, 
aa  soon  as,  and  not  before,  a  disciple,  who  has  been  begotten  of  God,  is 


542  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

born  of  water  he  is  born  of  God,  or  of  the  Spirit.  Regeneration  is, 
therefore,  the  act  of  being  horn.  Hence  its  connection  always  with 
v/ater.  Reader  reflect — what  a  jargon,  what  a  confusion,  have  the 
mystic  doctors  made  of  this  metaphorical  expression,  and  of  this  topic 
of  regeneration.  To  call  the  receiving  of  any  spirit,  or  any  influence, 
or  energy,  or  any  operation  upon  the  heart  of  man,  regeneration,  is 
an  abuse  of  all  speech,  as  well  as  a  departure  from  the  diction  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  calls  nothing  personal  regeneration,  except  the  act 
of  immersion. 

Ohjection  1. — "You  then  make  every  immersed  person  a  child  of 
God,  by  the  very  act  of  immersion;  and  you  represent  every  person 
as  born  of  God  who  is  born  of  water,  or  immersed." 

Provided  always,  that  he  has  been  begotten  of  God;  or,  that  he 
has  been  impregnated  by  the  gospel.  If  quickened  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  before  he  is  buried  in  the  water,  he  is  bom  of  God,  whenever 
bt  is  born  of  water;  just  as  every  other  child  is  born  of  its  father, 
when  born  of  its  mother.  But  if  he  do  not  believe  the  gospel,  or 
ip  other  words,  if  he  be  not  quickened  by  the  Word,  he  is  not  born 
of  God  when  he  is  born  of  water — he  is,  to  speak  after  the  manner  of 
men,  still  born. 

Objection  2. — "Then  none  are  bom  of  God,  or  of  the  Spirit,  unless 
those  who  are  immersed  in  water,  and  raised  out  of  it." 

I  admit  the  objection;  for  he  that  has  never  been  buried  in  water, 
never  has  been  raised  out  of  it.  He  that  has  never  been  in  the  womb 
of  waters,  never  has  been  born  of  water.  Begotten  of  God  he  may  be; 
but  born  of  God  he  can  not  be,  until  bom  of  water.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  that  Dr.  Macknight,  who  certainly  had  no  predilections  for 
this  view  of  the  matter,  has  the  word  begotten  in  every  passage  in 
the  first  Epistle  of  John,  where  the  common  version  has  the  word 
born,  and  with  the  greatest  propriety,  too. 

Objection  3. — "Then  none  of  the  unimmersed  can  be  saved;  for 
none  can  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but  those  born  of  water." 

This  is,  or  is  not  true,  according  as  you  understand  the  term 
saved.  If  you  understand  the  term  as  defined  in  the  preceding  pages, 
they  are  not  saved;  for  the  present  salvation  of  the  gospel  is  that 
salvation  into  which  we  enter,  when  we  become  citizens  of  the  King- 
dom of  God.  But  whether  they  may  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  future 
and  eternal  glory  after  the  resurrection,  is  a  question  much  like  that 
question  long  discussed  in  the  schools,  viz.:  Can  infants  who  have 
been  quickened,  but  who  died  before  they  were  born,  be  saved?  We 
may  hope  the  best,  but  can  not  speak  with  the  certainty  of  knowl- 
edge. One  thing  we  know,  that  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  for  believers 
to  be  born  of  water;  and  if  any  of  them  wilfully  neglect,  or  disdain 
it,  we  can  not  hope  for  their  future  and  eternal  salvation.     But  wj 


THE    MILLE:SNIAL   HARBINOER    abridged.  543 

have  uo  authority  to  speak  comfortably  to  them  who  will  not  submit 
to  the  government  of  the   Saviour. 

Many  persons,  I  doubt  not,  who  never  were  informed  on  these 
matters,  but  simply  mistooli  the  import  and  design  of  the  Institution, 
who  were  nevertheless  honestly  disposed  to  obey,  and  did  obey  as 
far  as  they  were  instructed,  may,  as  the  devout  Jews  and  Patriarchs 
who  lived  before  the  Christian  era,  be  admitted  into  the  Kingdom  of 
future  glory.  But  this  by  the  way,  to  prevent  the  calumnies  of  those 
who  are  better  disposed  to  censure  every  thing  we  write,  than  to  obey 
the  Lord.  1  am  sure  of  one  thing;  because  the  decree  is  published,  viz.. 
that  he  that  believes  the  gospel,  and  is  immersed,  shall  be  saved;  and 
he  who  submits  not  to  the  government  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  he 
condemned. 

Some  curious  criticisms  have  been  offered,  to  escape  the  force  of 
the  plain  declaration  of  Jesus  and  his  Apostles,  upon  this  subject. 
Some  say,  that  the  words,  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  Spirit," 
are  not  to  be  understood  literally.  Surely,  then,  if  to  be  born  of  water 
does  not  moan  to  be  born  of  water,  to  be  born  of  the  Spirit  must  meaji 
something  else  than  to  be  born  of  the  Spirit.  This  is  so  fanatical  and 
extravagant  as  to  need  no  other  exposure.  He  who  can  not  see  tha 
propriety  of  calling  immersion  a  being  born  again,  can  see  no  propriety 
in  any  metaphor  in  common  use.  A  resurrection  is  a  new  birth.  Jesus 
is  said  to  be  the  first  born  from  the  dead;  because  the  first  who  rose 
from  the  dead  to  die  no  more.  And,  surely,  there  is  no  abuse  in  speecii; 
but  the  greatest  propriety  in  saying,  that  he  who  has  died  to  sin,  and 
been  buried  in  water,  when  raised  up  again  out  of  that  element,  is  born 
again,  or  regenerated.  If  Jesus  was  born  again,  when  he  came  out 
of  a  sepulchre,  surely  he  is  born  again  who  is  raised  up  out  of  the 
grave  of  waters. 

Those,  who  are  thus  begotten,  and  born  of  God,  are  children  of  God. 
It  would  be  a  monstrous  supposition,  that  such  persons  are  not  freed 
from  their  sins.  To  be  born  of  God,  and  born  in  sin.  is  inconceivable. 
Remission  of  sins  is  as  certainly  granted  to  "'Ihe  born  of  God;"  as  life 
eternal,  and  deliverance  from  corruption,  will  be  granted  to  the  children 
of  the  resurrection,  when  born  from  the  grave. 

To  illustrate  what  has,  we  presume  to  say,  been  now  proved,  we 
shall  consider  political  regeneration.  Though  the  term  regeneration 
is  laxly  employed  in  this  association;  yet,  by  such  a  license  of  speech, 
we  may  illustrate  this  subject  to  the  apprehension  of  all.  Yes,  the 
whole  subject  of  faith,  change  of  heart,  regeneration,  and  character. 

All  civilized  nations  and  kingdoms  have  constitutions;  and  in  their 
constitutions  they  have  declared  who  are  members  of  the  social  com- 
pact. Besides  those  who  constitute  the  community  at  the  time  a  con- 
stitution  is  adopted,  they  say  who   shall  compose  the  community  in 


544  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

all  time  coming;  that  is,  who  shall  be  admitted  into  it,  and  by  what 
iiieans  they  shall  become  members  of  it.  They  have  always  decreed, 
that  their  own  posterity  shall  inherit  their  political  rights  and  immu- 
nities. But  they  have,  also,  ordained,  that  foreigners;  that  is,  meiu- 
bers  of  other  communities,  may  become,  by  adoption,  or  naturalization, 
citizens,  or  fellow  members,  of  the  same  community.  But  they  have, 
in  their  wisdom  and  benevolence,  instituted  a  rite  or  form  of  adoption, 
which  form  has  much  meaning;  and  which,  when  submitted  to,  changes 
the  state  of  the  subject  of  it.  Now,  as  the  Saviour  consented  to  be 
called  a  King,  and  to  call  the  community  over  which  he  presides,  a 
Kingdom,  it  was  because  of  the  analogy  between  these  human  institu- 
tions and  his  institution;  and  for  the  purpose,  not  of  confounding, 
but  of  aiding  the  human  mind  in  apprehending  and  comprehending 
the  great  object  of  his  mission  to  the  world.  And  it  is  worthy  of  tbe 
most  emphatic  attention,  that  it  was  when  speaking  of  a  kingdotm. 
HE  SPOKE  OF  BEING  BORN  AGAIN.  Yes,  On  that  occasiou,  and  on  that 
occasion  only,  when  he  spoke  of  enteritig  into  his  Kingdom,  he  did 
speak  of  the  necessity  of  being  born  again.  And  had  he  not  chosen 
that  figure,  he  would  not  have  chosen  the  figure  of  a  new  birth. 
With  these  facts  and  circumstances  before  us,  let  us  examine  politi- 
cal regeneration  as  the  best  conceivable  illustration  of  religious 
regeneration. 

A  B  was  bom  in  the  island  of  Great  Britain,  a  native  subject  of 
George  III.,  King  of  Great  Britain.  He  was  much  attached  to  his 
native  island,  to  the  people,  the  manners  and  customs  of  his  ances- 
tors and  kinsmen.  With  all  these  attachments,  still  increasing,  he 
grew  up  to  manhood.  Then  he  heard  the  report  of  this  good  land; 
of  this  large,  fertile,  and  most  desirable  country.  The  country,  the 
people,  and  the  government,  were  represented  to  him  in  the  most 
favorable  light.  Sometimes  these  representations  were  exaggerated; 
but  still  he  could  separate  the  truth  from  the  fable;  and  was  fully 
persuaded  not  only  of  the  existence  of  these  United  States,  but,  also, 
of  the  eligibility  of  being  a  citizen  thereof.  He  believed  the  testi- 
mony which  he  heard,  resolved  to  expatriate  himself  from  the  land 
of  his  nativity,  to  imperil  life  and  property,  putting  himself  aboard 
of  a  ship,  and  bidding  adieu  to  all  the  companions  of  his  youth,  his 
kinsmen  and  dear  friends.  So  full  was  his  conviction,  and  so  Btrong 
his  faith,  that  old  Neptune  and  King  Eolus,  with  all  their  terrors, 
could  not  appall  him.  He  sailed  from  his  native  shores,  and  landed 
on  this  continent.  He  was,  however,  ignorant  of  many  things  per- 
taining to  this  new  country,  and  government;  and  on  his  arrival 
asked  for  the  rights  and  immunities  of  a  citizen.  He  was  told,  that 
the  civil  rights  of  hospitality  to  a  stranger  could  be  extended  to  him 
as  a  sojourner;  but  not  one  of  the  rights,  or  immunities  of  a  citizen. 


THhJ    MILLESMAL    JJAUBIXOER    ABRIDGED.  545 

could  be  his,  unless  he  were  born  again.  "Born  uijain!"  Baid  be, 
in  a  disappointed  tone,  to  Columbus,  with  whom  he  had  his  first 
conversation  on  the  subject.  "What  do  you  mean  by  being  born 
again?" 

Columbus — You  must  be  naturalized,  or  adopted  as  a  citizen;  or, 
what  we  call  being  born  again. 

A.  B. — I  do  not  understand  you.  How  can  a  man  be  born  wheu 
he  iP  grown? 

Col. — That  which  is  born  of  Great  Britain  is  Briti-sh,  and  that 
which  Is  born  of  America  is  American.  If,  then,  you  would  be  an 
American  citizen,  you  must  be  born  of  America. 

A.  B. — "Born  of  America!"  You  astonish  me!  I  have  come  to 
America  well  disposed  towards  the  people  and  the  country.  I  was 
once  attached  to  England,  but  I  became  attached  to  the  United  States; 
and  because  of  my  faith,  and  attachments,  I  have  come  hither;  an'l 
will  you  not  receive  me  into  your  kingdom,  because  I  could  not  help 
being  born  in  England? 

Col. — Well  disposed  as  I  am,  and  we  are,  to  receive  you,  most 
assuredly,  I  say  to  you,  unless  you  are  regenerated  in  a  court-house, 
and  be  enfranchised  by  and  before  the  judges,  you  can  never  become 
a  citizen  of  these  United   States. 

A.  B. — Yours  is  an  arbitrary  and  despotic  government.  What  airs 
of  sovereignty  you  have  assumed! 

Col. — By  no  means.  Right,  reason,  wisdom,  policy,  and  benevo- 
lence for  you;  as  well  as  the  safety,  dignity,  and  happiness  of  the 
whole  community,  require  that  every  alien  shall  be  naturalized,  or 
made  a  citizen,  before  he  exercise,  or  enjoy  the  rights  of  a  citizen. 

A.  B. — You  are  certainly  arbitrary — if  not  in  the  thing  itself,  of 
regeneration — in  the  place  and  manner  in  which  it  shall  be  done. 
Why,  for  instance,  say,  that  it  must  be  done  in  a  court-house? 

Col. — I  will  tell  you:  because  there  are  the  judges,  the  records, 
and  the  seal  of  the  government. 

A.  B. — I  understand  you.  Well,  tell  me,  how  is  a  man  born  again? 
Tell  me  plainly  and  without  a  figure. 

Col. — With  pleasure.  You  were  born  of  your  mother  and  of  your 
father,  when  you  were  born  in  England;  but  you  were  born  legiti- 
mately, according  to  the  institutions  of  England.  Well,  then,  you 
were  born  of  England,  as  well  as  born  in  it;  and  were,  therefore, 
wholly  English.  This  was  your  first  birth.  But  you  have  expatriated 
yourself,  as  your  application  here  proves — I  say,  sentimentally  you 
have  expatriated  yourself;  but  we  must  have  a  formal,  solemn  pledge 
of  your  renunciation;  and  we  will  give  you  a  formal,  solemn 
pledge  of  your  adoption.  You  must,  c.r  aniwn.  in  the  presence  of  the 
Judges,   and   the  Recorders,  renounce   all    allegiance   to  every   foreign 


546  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

prince  and  potentate;  and  especially  His  Majesty,  tlie  King  of  Great 
Britain. 

A.  B. — Is  that  the  thing?  I  can,  with  all  my  heart,  renounce  ail 
political  allegiance  to  every  foreign  prince  and  government.  Is  that 
all?     I  have,  then,  no  objection  to  that. 

Col. — There  is  this  also: — You  are  not  only  to  renounce  all  politi- 
cal allegiance;  but  you  must  also,  ex  animo,  from  the  soul,  solemnly 
TOW,  in  the  presence  of  the  same  Judges  and  Recorders,  that  you  will 
adopt,  and  submit  to,  the  constitution  and  government  of  these  United 
States. 

A.  B. — I  can  do  that  also.  I  can  renounce,  and  I  can  adopt.  Nor 
do  I  object  to  the  place  where  it  shall  be  done.  But,  pray,  what 
solemn  pledge  will  you  give  mef 

Col. — So  soon  as  you  have  vowed  renunciation,  and  adoption,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Judges  and  the  Recorders;  we  will  give  you  a  cer- 
tificate, with  a  red  seal,  the  seal  of  state,  attached  to  it;  stating  that 
you,  having  now  been  naturalized;  or  born  according  to  our  institu- 
tions, are  born  of  America;  and  are  now  a  son,  an  adopted  son,  of 
America.  And  that  red  seal  indicates  that  the  blood,  the  best  blood 
of  this  government,  will  be  shed  for  you,  to  protect  you  and  defend 
you;  and  that  your  life  will,  when  called  for,  be  cheerfully  given  up 
for  your  mother,  of  whom  you  have  been  politically  born;  as  it  would 
have  been  for  your  own  natural  political  mother,  of  whom  you  were 
first  born. 

A.  B. — To  this  I  must  subscribe.  In  my  mother  tongue  it  all 
means,  that  I  give  myself  up  politically  to  this  government,  and  it 
gives  itself  up  to  me,  before  witness  too.  How  soon,  pray,  after  this 
new  birth,  may  I  exercise  and  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  a  citizen? 

Col. — They  are  yours  the  first  breath  you  breathe  under  your  new 
mother.  'Tis  true,  we  have  not,  in  these  United  States,  any  symbol 
through  which  a  person  is  politically  regenerated.  We  only  ask  a 
solemn  pledge,  and  give  one.  Other  nations  have  symbols.  But  K\e 
understand  that  the  moment  the  vow  is  taken,  the  person  is  politi- 
cally born  again.  And  as  every  other  child  has  all  the  rights  of  a 
child  which  it  can  exercise,  so  soon  as  it  inhales  the  air;  so  have  all 
our  political  children  all  political  rights,  so  soon  as  the  form  of  natu- 
ralization ia  consummated.     But,  remember,  not  till  then. 

A.  B. — You  say  other  nations  had  their  symbols.  What  do  you 
mean  by  these? 

Col. — I  mean  that  the  naturalized  had  to  submit  to  some  emblem- 
atic rite,  by  which  they  were  symbolically  detached  from  every  other 
people,  and  introduced  among  those  who  adopted  them,  and  whom 
they  adopted.  The  Indian  nations  wash  all,  whom  they  adopt,  in  a 
running  stream;  and  impose  this  task  upon  their  females.     The  Jews 


THE    MJLLEMfilAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  547 

circumcised  aud  waslied  all  whom  they  admitted  to  the  rights  of  their 
institutions.  Other  customs  and  forms  have  obtained  in  other 
nations;  but  we  regard  simply  the  meaning  of  the  thing,  and  have 
no  symbol. 

A.  B. — In  this  I  feel  but  little  interested.-  I  wish  to  become  a 
citizen  of  these  United  States;  especially  as  I  am  informed  I  can 
have  no  inheritance  among  you,  nor  a  voice  in  the  nation,  nor  any 
immunity,  unless  I  am  born  again. 

Col. — You  must,  then,  submit  to  the  institution:  and  I  know,  that 
so  soon  as  you  are  politically  born  again,  you  will  feel  more  of  the 
importance  and  utility  of  this  institution,  than  you  now  can;  and 
will  be  just  as  anxious  as  I  am,  to  see  others  submit  to  this  wisf. 
wholesome,  and  benevolent  institution. 

A.  B. — As  my  faith  brought  me  to  your  shores;  and  as  I  approve 
your  constitution  and  government,  I  will  not  (now  that  I  understand 
your  institutions)  suffer  an  opportunity  to  pass.  I  will  direct  my 
course  to  tha  place  where  I  can  be  born  again. 

I  ought  here  to  offer  an  apology  for  a  phrase  occurring  frequently 
in  this  essay  and  in  this  dialogue.  When  we  represent  the  subject  of 
immersion  as  active,  either  in  so  many  words,  or  impliedly,  we  so 
far  depart  from  that  style  whix;h  comports  with  the  figure  of 
"being  born."  For  all  persons  are  passive  in  being  born.  So  in 
immersion,  the  subject  buries  not  himself,  raises  not  himself;  but 
is  buried  and  raised  by  another.  So  that  in  the  act  the  subject 
is  always  passive.  And  it  is  of  th.e  act  alone  of  which  we  llius 
speak. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  on  regeneration,  and  from  the  illus- 
tration just  now  adduced,  the  following  conclusions,  must,  we  think, 
be  apparent  to  all:  — 

1.  Begetting  and  quickening  necessarily  precede  being  bom. 

2.  Being  born  imparts  no  new  life;  but  is  simply  a  change  of  state, 
and  introduces  into  a  new  mode  of  living. 

3.  Regeneration,  or  immersion — the  former  referring  to  the  import 
of  the  act;  and  the  latter  term  to  the  act  itself — denote  only  the  act 
of  being  bom. 

4.  God,  or  the  Spirit  of  God,  being  the  author  of  the  whole  insti- 
tution, imparting  to  it  its  life  and  efficiency,  is  the  begetter,  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  that  term.  Yet,  in  a  subordinate  sense,  every  one, 
skilful  in  the  word  of  God,  who  converts  anothef,  may  be  said  to 
have  begotten  him  whom  he  enlightens.  So  Paul  says,  "I  have  begot- 
ten Onesimus  in  my  bonds:" — and  "I  have  begotten  you,  Corinthians, 
through  the  gospel." 

5.  The  gospel  is  declared  to  l)e  the  seed:  the  power  and  strength 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  impart  life. 


548  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

6.  And  the  great  argument,  pertinent  to  our  object,  in  this  long 
examination  of  conversion  and  regeneration,  is  that  which  we  con- 
ceive to  be  the  most  apparent  of  all  other  conclusions,  viz.: — that 
remission  of  sins,  or  coming"  into  a  state  of  acceptance,  being  one  Of 
the  present  immunities  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  can  not  be  enjoyed 
by  any  person  before  immersion.  As  soon  can  a  person  be  a  citizen 
before  he  is  born,  or  have  the  immunities  of  an  American  citizen 
while  an  alien;  as  one  enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  son  of  God  before  he 
is  born  again.  For  Jesus  expressly  declares,  that  he  has  not  given 
the  privilege  of  sons  to  any  but  to  those  born  of  God.  (John  i.  12.) 
If,  then,  the  present  forgiveness  of  sins  be  a  privilege,  and  a  right 
of  those  under  the  new  constitution,  in  the  kingdom  of  Jesus;  and  if 
being  born  again,  or  being  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  is  neces- 
sary to  admission;  and  if  being  born  of  water  means  immersion,  as 
clearly  proved  by  all  witnesses;  then,  remission  of  sins  can  not.  In 
this  life,  be  received  or  enjoyed  previous  to  immersion.  If  there  be 
any  proposition,  regarding  any  item  of  the  Christian  institution, 
which  admits  of  clearer  proof,  or  fuller  illustration  than  this  one,  I 
have  yet  to  learn  where  it  may  be  found. 

But  before  we  dismiss  the  fifth  evidence,  which  embraces  so  many 
items,  I  beg  leave  to  make  a  remark  or  two  on  the  propriety  of  con- 
sidering the  term  "immersion,"  as  equivalent  to  the  term  "conver- 
sion." And  this  I  do  with  special  reference  to  the  objection  of 
Cliristianos. 

"Conversion"  is,  on  all  sides,  understood  to  be  a  turning  to  God. 
Not  a  thinking  favorably  of  God,  nor  a  repenting  for  former  misdeeds, 
but  an  actual  turning  to  God,  in  word  and  in  deed.  It  is  true,  that  no 
person  can  be  said  to  turn  to  God,  whose  mind  is  not  enlightened, 
and  whose  heart  is  not  well  disposed  towards  God.  All  human  actions, 
not  resulting  from  previous  thought  or  determination,  are  rather  the 
actions  of  a  machine,  than  the  actions  of  a  rational  being.  "He  that 
comes  to  God,"  or  turns  to  him,  "must  believe  that  God  exists,  and 
that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  every  one  who  diligently  seeks  him."  Then 
he  will  seek  and  find  the  Lord.  An  "external  conversion"  is  no  con- 
version at  all.  A  turning  to  God  with  the  lips,  while  the  heart  is  far 
from  him,  is  mere  pretense  and  mockery.  But  though  I  never  thought 
any  thing  else,  since  I  thought  upon  religion;  I  understand  the 
"turning  to  God,  taught  in  the  New  Institution,  to  be  a  coming  to  tha 
Lord  Jesus — not  a  thinking  about  doing  it,  nor  a  repenting  that  we 
have  not  done  it; — but  an  actual  coming  to  him.  The  question  then 
is.  Where  shall  we  find  him?  Where  shall  we  meet  him?  Nowhere 
on  earth,  but  in  his  institutions.  "Where  he  records  his  name,"  there 
only  can  he  be  found;  for  there  only  has  he  promised  to  be  found. 
I  affirm,  then,  that  the  first  institution  in  which  we  can  meet  with 


THE    MILLE\MAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  54a 

God,  is,  tlie  institution  lor  remission.  And  here  it  is  worthy  of  notice, 
that  the  Aiwstles,  in  all  their  speeches,  and  replies  to  interrogatories, 
never  commanded  an  inquirer  to  pray,  read,  or  sing,  as  preliminary 
to  coming;  but  always  commanded  and  proclaimed  immersion  as  the 
first  duty,  or  the  first  thing  to  he  done,  after  a  belief  of  the  testimony. 
Hence,  neither  praying,  singing,  reading,  repenting,  sorrowing,  re- 
solving, nor  waiting  to  be  better,  was  the  converting  act.  Immersion 
alone  was  that  act  of  turning  to  God.  Hence,  in  the  commission  to  con- 
vert the  nations,  the  only  institution  mentioned  after  proclaiming 
the  gospel,  was  the  immersion  of  the  believers,  as  the  divinity  au- 
thorized way  of  carrying  out  and  completing  the  work.  And  from  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  to  the  final  A7nen  in  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  no 
person  was  said  to  be  converted,  or  to  turn  to  God,  until  he  was  bur- 
ied in,  and  raised  up  out  of  the  water.  I  call  upon  them  who  dissent, 
to  specify  an  instance  to  the  contrary. 

If  it  were  not  to  treat  this  subject  as  one  of  doubtful  disputation, 
I  would  say;  that,  had  there  not  been  some  act,  such  as  Immersion, 
agreed  on  all  hands,  to  be  the  medium  of  remission  and  the  act  of  con- 
version and  regeneration;  the  Apostles  could  not,  with  any  regard  to 
truth  or  consistency,  have  addressed  the  disciples  as  pardoned,  justi- 
fied, sanctified,  reconciled,  adopted,  and  saved  persons.  If  all  this  had 
depended  upon  some  mental  change,  as  faith;  they  could  never  have 
addressed  their  congregations  in  any  other  w^ay  than  as  the  modems 
do:  and  that  is  always  in  the  language  of  doubt  and  uncertainty — 
hoping  a  little,  and  fearing  much.  This  mode  of  address  and  the  mod- 
ern compared,  is  proof  positive  that  they  viewed  the  immersed  through 
one  medium,  and  we  through  another.  They  taught  all  the  disciples 
to  consider  not  only  themselves  as  saved  persons;  but  all  whom  they 
saw  or  knew  to  be  immersed  into  the  Lord  Jesus.  They  saluted  every 
one,  on  his  coming  out  of  the  water,  as  sorer?,  and  recorded  him  as 
such.  Luke  writes.  (Acts  ii.,)  "The  Lord  added  the  saved  daily  to 
the  congregation." 

Whenever  a  child  is  bom  into  a  family,  it  is  a  brother  or  sister  to 
all  the  other  children  of  the  family:  and  its  being  born  of  the  same 
parents,  is  the  act  causative  and  declarative  in  its  fraternity.  All  is 
mental  and  invisible  before  coming  out  of  the  water:  and  as  immersion 
is  the  first  act  commanded,  and  the  first  constitutional  act;  so  it  was  in 
the  commission,  the  act  by  which  the  Apostles  were  commanded  to 
turn,  or  convert  those  to  God,  who  believed  their  testimony.  In  this 
sense,  then,  is  the  converting  act.  No  man  can.  Scripturally.  be  said  to 
be  converted  to  God  until  he  is  immersed.  How  ecclesiastics  Interpret 
their  own  language  is  no  concern  of  ours.  We  contend  for  the  pure 
speech,  and  for  the  apostolic  ideas  attached  to  it.* 

•  I  must  roqnost  'Rio.  Kt'olinp  t<i  imMisli  this,  my  reply,  to  Christianas,  beginning  on 
pntfc  10.  tliii-il  i)iira>;i-ii]>li,  ami  iiidinj;  Iutc. 


550  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

To  resume  the  direct  testimonies  declarative  of  the  remission  of 
sins  by  immersion,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles.  Peter  was  sent  to  the 
house  of  Cornelius  to  tell  him  and  his  family  "words  by  which  they 
might  be  saved."  He  tells  these  words.  He  was  interrupted  by  the 
miraculous  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  it  is  to  be  noticed,  that  the 
testimony  to  which  the  Holy  Spirit  there  affixed  his  seal,  was  the  fol- 
lowing words: — "To  him  gave  all  the  prophets  witness,  that  every  one, 
who  believes  on  him,  shall  receive  remission  of  sins  iy  his  name.'' 
While  speaking  these  words,  concerning  remission  of  sins  by,  or 
through,  his  name,  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  its  marvelous  gifts  of  tongnes, 
fall  upon  them. 

Many,  seeing  so  much  stress  laid  upon  faith  or  belief,  suppose  that 
all  blessings  flow  from  it  immediately.  This  is  a  great  mistake. 
Faith,  indeed,  is  the  principle,  and  the  distinguishing  principle,  of 
this  economy.  But  it  is  only  the  principle  of  action.  Hence,  we  find 
the  name,  or  person  of  Christ  always  interposed  between  faith  and  the 
cure,  mental  or  corporeal.  The  woman,  who  touched  the  tuft  of  the 
mantle  of  Jesus,  had  as  much  faith  before  as  after;  but  though  her 
faith  was  the  cause  of  her  putting  forth  her  hand,  and  accompanied  it; 
she  icas  not  cured  until  the  touch.  That  great  type  of  Christ,  the 
brazen  serpent,  cured  no  Israelite  simply  by  faith.  The  Israelites,  as 
soon  as  they  were  bitten,  believed  it  would  cure  them.  But  yet  they 
were  not  cured  as  soon  as  they  were  bitten;  nor  until  they  looked  to 
the  serpent.  It  was  one  thing  to  believei,  that  looking  at  the  serpent 
would  cure  them;  and  another  to  look  at  it.  It  was  the  faith,  remotely; 
but,  immediately,  the  look,  which  cured  them.  It  was  not  faith  in  the 
waters  of  Jordan  that  healed  the  leprosy  of  Naaman  the  Syrian.  It 
was  immersing  himself  in  it,  according  to  the  commandment.  It  was 
not  faith  in  the  pool  of  Siloam,  that  cured  the  blind  man,  whose  eyes 
Jesus  anointed  with  clay;  it  was  his  washing  his  eyes  in  Siloam'3 
water.  Hence  the  imposition  of  hands,  or  a  word,  or  a  touch,  or  the 
shadow,  or  something  from  the  persons  of  those  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  was  the  immediate  cause  of  all  the  cures  recorded  in  the 
New  Testament.  'Tis  true,  also,  that  without  it  it  is  impossible  to  be 
healed;  for  in  some  places  Jesus  could  not  work  many  miracles,  be- 
cause of  their  unbelief.  It  is  so  in  all  the  moral  remedies  and  cures. 
It  is  impossible  to  receive  the  remission  of  sins  without  faith.  In. 
this  world  of  means,  (however  it  may  be  in  the  world  where  there  are 
no  means,)  it  is  as  impossible  to  receive  any  blessing  through  faith 
without  the  appointed  means.  Both  are  indispensable.  Hence,  thJ 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  interposed  between  faith  and  forgiveness, 
justification  and  sanctification,  even  where  immersion  into  that  name 
is  not  detailed.  It  would  have  been  unprecedented  in  the  annals  of 
the  world,  for  the  historian  always  to  have  recorded  all  the  circum- 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  551 

stances  of  the  same  institution,  on  every  allusion  to  it;  and  it  would 
have  been  equally  so  for  the  Apostles  to  have  mentioned  it  always 
in  the  same  words.  Thus,  in  the  passage  before  us,  the  name  of 
the  Lord  is  only  mentioned.  So  in  the  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians, 
the  disciples  are  represented  as  saved,  as  washed,  as  justified,  sanc- 
tified ly  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God. 
The  frequent  interposition  of  the  name  of  the  Lx>rd  between  faith 
and  forgiveness,  justification,  sanctification,  etc.,  is  explained  in  a 
remark  in  James'  speech  in  Jerusalem.  (Acts  xv.  17.)  It  is  the 
application  of  an  ancient  prophecy,  concerning  the  conversion  of  the 
Gentiles.  The  Gentiles  are  spolcen  of  as  turning  to,  or  seelcing  th3 
Lord.  But  who  of  them  are  thus  converted?  "Even  all  the  Gen- 
tiles upon  whom  my  name  is  called."  It  is,  then,  to  those  upon 
whom  the  name  of  the  Lord  is  called,  that  the  name  of  the  Lord 
communicates  remission,  justification,  etc. 

Some  captious  spirits  need  to  be  reminded,  that  as  they  some- 
times find  forgiveness,  justification,  sanctification,  etc.,  ascribed  to 
grace,  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  to  the  name  of  the  Lord,  without  an 
allusion  to  faith;  so  we  sometimes  find  faith,  and  grace,  and  the 
blood  of  Christ  without  an  allusion  to  water.  Now,  if  they  have 
any  reason,  or  right  to  say,  that  faith  is  understood  in  the  one  case; 
we  have  the  same  reason  and  right  to  say,  that  water  or  immersion 
is  understood  in  the  other.  For  their  argument  is,  that  in  sundry 
places  this  matter  is  made  plain  enough.  This  is,  also,  our  argu- 
ment— in,  sundry  places  this  matter  is  made  plain  enough.  This 
single  remark  cuts  off  all  their  objections  drawn  from  the  fact,  that 
immersion  is  not  always  found  in  every  place  where  the  name  bf 
the  Lord,  or  faith  is  found  connected  with  forgiveness.  Neither  is 
grace,  the  blood  of  Christ,  nor  faith,  always  mentioned  with  forgive- 
ness. When  they  find  a  passage  where  remission  of  sins  is  men- 
tioned without  immersion,  it  is  weak,  or  unfair,  in  the  extreme,  to 
argue  from  that,  that  forgiveness  can  be  enjoyed  without  immersion. 
Ik  their  logic  be  worth  anything,  it  will  prove  that  a  man  Mav 
be  forgiven  without  grace,  the  blood  of  jesus,  and  without  faith: 
for  we  can  find  passages,  many  passages,  where  remission,  or 
justification,  sanctification,  or  some  similar  term  occurs,  and  no 
mention  of  either  (irack,  faith,  or  the  hi.ood  of  jesus. 

As  this  is  the  pith,  the  marrow,  and  fatness  of  all  the  logic  of  our 
most  ingenious  opponents  on  this  subject,  I  wish  I  could  make  it  more 
emphatic,  than  by  printing  it  in  capitals.  I  know  some  editors,  soma 
of  our  Doctors  of  Divinity,  some  of  our  most  learned  declaimers.  who 
make  this  argument,  which  wp  unhesitatingly  call  a  genuine  sophism, 
the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  their  speeches  against  the  meaning,  and 
indispensable  Importance  of  immersion,  or  regeneration. 


552  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  New  Testament  would  have  been  a  curious  book,  if,  every 
time  remission  of  sins  was  mentioned,  or  alluded  to,  it  had  been 
preceded  by  grace,  faith,  the  blood  of  Jesus,  immersion,  etc.,  etc.  But 
now  the  question  comes,  which,  to  the  rational,  is  the  emphatic  ques- 
tion— ^WHETHEB  DO  THEY  THINK,  BELIEVE,  TEACH,  AND  PEACTICE  MOKE 
WISELY  AND  MORE  SAFELY;  WHO  THINK,  BELIEVE,  AND  TEACH,  THAT  GRACE, 
FAITH,  THE  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  THE  NAME  OF  THE  LORD,  AND  IMMERSION,  ARE 
ALL  ESSENTIAL  TO  IMMEDIATE  PARDON  AND  ACCEPTANCE; — OR  THEY  WHO 
&AY,  THAT  FAITH  ONLY,  GRACE  ONLY,  THE  BLOOD  OF  CHRIST  ONLY,  THE 
KAME    OF    THE    LORD    ONLY — ^AND    IMMERSION,    NOT    AT    ALL?       To    all    men, 

women,  and  children,  of  common  sense,  this  question  is  submitted. 

It  is,  however,  to  me  admirable,  that  the  remission  of  sins  should 
be,  not  merely  unequivocally,  but  so  repeatedly  declared  through 
immersion,  as  it.  is  in  the  apostolic  writings.  And  here  I  would  ask 
the  whole  thinking  community,  one  by  one,  whether,  if  the  whole  race 
of  men  had  been  assembled  on  Pentecost,  or  in  Solomon's  Portico,  and 
had  asked  Peter  the  same  question,  which  the  convicted  proposed, 
would  he,  or  would  he  not,  have  given  them  the  same  answer?  Would 
he  not  have  told  the  whole  race  to  reform,  and  be  immersed  for  the 
remission  of  their  sins?  or,  to  reform  and  he  converted,  that  their 
sins  might  be  blotted  out? — to  arise,  and  be  immersed,  and  wash 
away  their  sins?  If  he  would  not,  let  them  give  a  reason;  and  if 
they  say  he  would,  let  them  assign  a  reason  why  they  do  not  go,  and 
do  likewise. 

Some  have  objected  against  the  "seasons  of  refreshment,"  or  the 
comforts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  being  placed  subsequent  to  "conversion, ' 
or  "regeneration,"  or  "immersion;"  (for,  when  we  speak  Scripturally, 
we  must  use  these  terms  as  all  descriptive  of  the  same  thing,)  because 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  poured  out  upon  the  Gentiles  before 
immersion.  They  see  not  the  design  of  thus  welcoming  the  Gentiles 
into  the  Kingdom.  They  forget  the  comparison  of  the  Gentiles  to  a 
returning  prodigal,  and  his  father  going  out  to  meet  him,  even  while 
he  was  yet  a  good  way  oif.  God  had  welcomed  the  first  fruits  of  the 
Jews  into  his  Kingdom,  by  a  stupendous  display  of  spiritual  gifts, 
called  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  before  any  one  of  the  Jews 
had  been  immersed  into  the  Lord  Jesus.  And,  as  Peter  explains  this 
matter  in  Cornelius'  case,  it  appears  that  God  determined  to  make  no 
difference  between  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  receiving  them  into  his 
Kingdom.  Hence,  says  Peter,  "He  gave  them  the  same  gift  which 
he  gave  to  us  Jews  at  the  beginning,"  (never  since  Pentecost.)  Thus 
Peter  was  authorized  to  command  those  Gentiles  to  be  immersed  by 
the  authority  of  the  Lord,  no  man  daring  to  forbid  it.  But  these 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  differed  exceedingly  from  the  seasons  of 
refreshment,  or  the  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 


THE    MILLESMAL    IlAUniXGER    AiiHWdi:!).  553 

the  common  enjoyment  of  all  who  woto  immersed  Into  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jeeus  for  the  remission  of  sins.* 

Let  it  be  noted  here,  as  pertinent  to  our  present  purpose,  tliat  as 
the  Apostle  Peter  was  interrupted  by  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
■when  he  began  to  speak  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  by  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus;  so  soon  as  he  saw  the  Lord  had  received  them,  he 
commanded  tliem  to  be  immersed  by  the  autliority  of  the  Lord.  And 
here  I  must  propose  another  question  to  the  learned,  and  the  unlearned. 
How  comes  it  to  pass,  that  though  once,  and  only  once,  it  is  com- 
nanded,  that  the  nations  who  believe  should  be  immersed  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and 
though  we  read  of  no  person  being  immersed  into  this  name  in  this 
■Ray;  I  say,  how  comes  it  to  pass,  that  all  sects  use  these  words  with- 
out a  scruple,  and  baptize  or  sprinkle  in  this  name;  when  more  than 
once  persons  are  commanded  to  be  immersed  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  but  a  few  of  the  proclaimers  can  be  induced  to  immerse  fo,- 
the  remission  of  sins,  though  so  repeatedly  taught  and  proclaimed  by 
the  Apostles?  Is  one  command,  unsupported  by  a  single  prece- 
dent, sufficient  to  justify  this  practice  of  Christians;  and  sundry 
commands  and  precedents  from  the  same  authority  insufficient  to 
authorize,  or  justify  us  in  immersing  for  the  remission  of  sins? 
Answer  this  who  can;  I  can  not,  upon  any  other  principle  than  that 
the  tyrant  Custom,  who  gives  no  account  of  his  doings,  has  so 
decreed. 

I  come  now  to  another  of  the  direct  and  positive  testimonies  of  the 
Apostles,  showing  that  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins,  is  an  in- 
stitution of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  address  of  Ananias  to  Saul.  "Arise 
and  be  immersed,  and  wash  aw^ay  your  sins,  calling  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord."  On  this  testimony  we  have  not  as  yet  descanted  in  this 
essay.     It  has  been  mentioned;  but  not  examined. 

Paul,  like  the  Pentecostian  hearers,  when  convinced  of  the  truth 
01  the  pretensions  of  the  Messiah,  asked  what  he  should  do.  He  was 
commanded  to  go  into  Damascus,  and  it  should  be  told  him  there  what 
to  do.  It  was  told  him  in  the  words  now  before  us.  But  say  some 
this  can  not  be  understood  literally. 

For  experiment,  then,  take  it  figuratively.  Of  what  was  it  figura 
tive?  of  something  already  received, — of  pardon  formerly  bestowed! 
a  figure  of  the  past!  This  is  anomalous.  I  read  one  writer,  and 
but  one,  who  converted  this  into  a  comwemoratirc  baptism,  like  Is- 
rael's commemorating  the  escape  from  Egypt,  or  Christians  commemo 
rating  the  Lord's  death.  And,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  some  preacher  said 
it  was  a  figurative  expression,  similar  to  "This  is  my  hodii!'."  One, 
whom  I  pressed  out  of  all  these  refuges,  was  candid  enough  to  say 


■'Sco  <'hriatian  Baptist,  vulumo  VI.,  p.  "JtW. 


554  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

he  really  did  not  know  what  it  meant;  but  it  could  not  mean,  that  Paul 
vas  to  "be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  his  sins." 

"To  wash  away  sins"  is  a  figurative  expression.  Like  other 
metaphoric  expressions,  it  puts  the  resemblance  in  place  of  the  proper 
word.  It  necessarily  means  something  analogous  to  what  is  said.  But 
we  are  said  to  be  washed  from  our  sins  in,  or  by,  the  blood  of  Christ. 
But  even  "washed  in  blood''  is  a  figurative  expression,  and  means 
something  analogous  to  washing  in  water.  Perhaps  we  may  find  in 
another  expression  a  means  of  reconciling  these  strong  metaphor?. 
Rev.  vii.  14,  "They  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  Here  are  two  things  equally  incomprehen- 
sible— to  wash  garments  white  in  blood,  and  to  wash  aioay  sins 
in  water!  An  efficacy  is  ascribed  to  water  which  it  does  not  possess; 
and,  as  certainly,  an  efficacy  is  ascribed  to  blood  which  it  does  not 
possess.  If  blood  can  whiten  or  cleanse  garments,  certainly  water  can 
uash  away  sins.  There  is,  then,  a  transferring  of  the  efficacy  of  blood 
to  water;  and  a  transferring  of  the  efficacy  of  water  to  blood.  This 
is  a  plain  solution  of  the  whole  matter.  God  has  transferred,  in  some 
way,  the  whitening  efficacy,  or  cleansing  power,  of  -v^ater  to  blood; 
and  the  absolving  or  pardoning  power  of  blood  to  water.  This  i^  done 
upon  the  same  principle  as  that  of  accounting  faith  for  righteousness. 
What  a  gracious  institution!  God  has  opened  a  fountain  for  sin,  for 
moral  pollution.  He  has  given  it  an  extension  far  and  wide  as  sin 
has  spread — far  and  wide  as  water  flows.  Wherever  water,  faith,  and 
the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are,  there  will  be  found 
the  efficacy  of  the  blood  of  Jesus.  Yes;  as  God  first  gave  the  efficacy 
CI  water  to  blood,  he  has  now  given  the  efficacy  of  blood  to  water 
This,  as  was  said,  is  figurative;  but  it  is  not  a  figure  which  misleads. 
for  the  meaning  is  given  without  a  figure;  viz.:  immersion  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  And  to  him  that  made  the  washing  of  clay  from  the 
eyes,  the  washing  away  of  blindness,  it  is  competent  to  make  the 
immersion  of  the  body  in  water  efficacious  to  the  washing  away  of  sin 
fiovi  the  conscience. 

From  the  conscience  I  say;  for  there  its  malignity  is  felt;  and  it 
is  only  in  releasing  the  conscience  from  guilt,  and  its  consequences, — 
fear  and  shame,  that  we  are  released  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  or 
washed  from  its  pollution  in  this  world.  This  immersion,  says 
Peter,  saves  us,  not  by  cleansing  the  body  from  its  filth,  but  the 
conscience  from  its  guilt;  yes,  immersion  saves  us  by  burying  us 
with  Christ,  raising  us  with  him,  and  so  our  consciences  are 
purged  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God.  Hence,  our  Lord 
gave  so  much  importance  to  immersion  in  giving  the  commission 
to  convert  the  world,  "He  that  believes,  and  is  immersed,  shall 
be  saved." 


THE    MILLERS  I AL    HAItlil  SOEli    ABIUDGKD.  565 

But,  while  viewing  the  water  and  the  blood  as  made  to  unite  their 
powers,  as  certainly  as  Jesus  came  by  water  and  blood,  we  ought  to 
consider  another  testimony  given  to  this  gracious  combination  of 
powers,  by  Paul  the  Apostle.  Heb.  x.  24,  "Being  sprinkled  in  heart 
from  an  evil  conscience,  and  being  washed  In  body  with  clean  water." 
The  application  of  water,  the  cleansing  element,  to  the  body,  is  made 
In  this  gracious  institution  to  reach  the  conscience,  as  did  the  blood 
of  sprinkling  under  the  Law. 

Some  ask.  How  can  water,  which  penetrates  not  the  skin,  reach  the 
conscience?  They  boast  of  such  an  objection,  as  exhibiting  great  intel- 
lect, and  good  sense.  But  little  do  they  think,  that  in  so  talking,  they 
laugh  at,  and  mock  the  whole  Divine  Economy,  under  the  Old  and 
New  Institutions:  for,  I  ask,  did  not  the  sacrifices,  and  Jewish  purga- 
tions, some  way  reach  the  conscience  of  that  people! !  If  they  did  not 
it  was  all  mere  frivolity  throughout  And  can  eating  Ijread,  and  drink 
ing  wine  not  influence,  nor  affect,  the  soull  And  can  not  Ihr  breath 
of  one  man  pierce  the  heart  of  another,  and  so  move  his  blood,  as  to 
make  his  head  a  fountain  of  tearsi  He,  who  thus  objects  to  water, 
and  the  import  of  immersion,  objects  to  the  whole  remedial  institution, 
as.  taught  by  Moses  and  by  Christ,  and  insults  the  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  God  in  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation.  And  he,  who  objects 
to  water,  because  it  can  only  take  away  the  filth  of  the  fiesh,  ought 
rather  to  object  to  blood;  because  it  rather  besmears  and  pollutes,  than 
cleanses  the  body,  and  can  not  touch  the  soul.  But  all  such  reasonera 
are  foolish  talkers.  To  submit  to  God's  institution  Is  our  wisdom,  and 
our  happiness.  The  experience  of  the  myriads  who  were  immersed 
for  the  remission  of  their  sins,  detailed  in  the  Christian  Scriptures, 
to  say  nothing  of  those  immersed  in  our  times,  is  worth  more  than 
volumes  of  arguments  from  the  lips  and  pens  of  those  who  can  only 
regard,  and  venerate  the  traditions  of  their  fathers;  because  It  is 
presumed  their  fathers  were  wiser,  and  more  able  to  judge  correctly 
than  their  sons. 

But  as  it  is  not  our  object  to  quote,  and  expatiate  upon,  all  the 
sacred  testimonies,  direct  and  allusive  to  immersion  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  we  shall  close  the  proof  and  illustration  of  this  proposition 
with  an  incidental  allusion  to  the  cleansing  efficacy  of  this  institution, 
found  in  the  2d  Epistle  of  Peter,  i.  9.  After  enumerating  the  additions 
tc  faith  necessarj-  to  securing  our  calling  and  election,  of  which 
courage  is  the  first;  and  charity,  or  universal  love,  the  last;  th-^  Apo-^ 
tie  says,  that  "he  who  has  not  these  things  is  blind,  shutting  his  eyes, 
and  forgetting  that  he  was  purified  or  purged  from  his  old  sins."  1 
need  not  here  say  that  this  Is,  perhaps,  (and  certainly  as  far  as  1 
know,)  universally  understood  to  refer  to  Christian  immersion.  The 
"old  sins,"  or  "former  sins"  can,  we  presume,  mean  no  other  sins  than 


556  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

those  washed  away  in  immersion.  No  person  has  yet  attempted  to 
show  that  these  words  can  import  any  thing  else.  It  is  one  of  thp  most 
unequivocal,  and,  because  incidental,  one  of  the  most  decisive  proofs, 
that,  in  Peter's  judgment,  all  former  sins  were  remitted  in  immorsioa. 
With  Peter  we  began  our  proof  of  this  position,  and  with  Peter  we 
shall  end  our  proof  of  it.  He  first  proclaimed  reformation  for  th'^ 
remission  of  sins;  and  in  his  last  and  farewell  letter  to  the  Christian 
communities,  he  reminds  them  of  that  purification  from  sin,  received 
in,  and  through  immersion;  and  in  the  strongest  terms  cautions  them 
against  forgetting  that  they  were  so  purified. 

Were  any  person  to  reason  upon  the  simple  import  of  the  action 
commanded  by  Jesus,  I  think  it  might  be  made  apparent  from  the 
action  itself,  in  its  two  parts,  the  burial  and  the  resurrection,  that  it 
must  import  every  thing  we  have  heard  tlie  Apostles  ascribe  to  it. 
Corruption  goes  down  into  the  grave  literally;  but  does  corruption 
come  forth  out  of  it?  Is  there  no  change  of  state  in  the  grave'  Who 
is  it  that  expects  to  come  forth  from  the  grave  in  the  same  state  in 
which  he  descends  into  it?  The  first  bom  from  the  dead  did  not; 
nor  shall  any  of  them  who  fall  asleep  in  him.  How,  then,  can  it 
be,  that  any  person,  buried  with  Christ  in  immersion,  can  rise  with 
Christ,  and  not  rise  in  a  new  state! !  Surely  the  Apostle  exhorts  to  a 
new  life  from  the  change  of  state  effected  in  immersion.  If,  indeed, 
you  have  risen  with  Christ,  set  your  affections  above.  Walk  in  a 
new  life. 

Again,  and  in  the  last  place  here,  is  a  child  in  the  same  state  after, 
as  before  its  birth?  Is  not  its  state  changed?  And  does  it  not  live 
a  new  life,  compared  with  its  former  mode  of  living?  As  new  born 
babes  desire  the  milk  of  the  breast,  so  let  the  newly  regenerate  desire 
the  unadulterated  milk  of  the  Word,  that  they  may  grow  thereby.  Call 
immersion,  then,  a  new  birth,  a  regeneration,  a  burial  and  resurrec 
tion,  and  its  meaning  is  the  same.  And  when  so  denominated,  it  must 
import  that  change  o<f  state  which  is  imported  in  putting  on  Christ, 
in  being  pardoned,  justified,  sanctified,  adopted,  reconciled,  saved, 
which  was  the  great  proposition  to  be  proved  and  illustrated,  and 
which,  we  think,  has  been  proved  and  illustrated  by  the  preceding  tes- 
timonies and  reflections. 

Though  no  article  of  Christian  faith,  nor  item  of  Christian  practice, 
can  legitimately  rest  upon  any  testimony,  reasoning,  or  authority,  out 
of  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Apostles,  were  it  only  one  day  after 
their  decease;  yet  the  views  and  practices  of  those  who  were  the  con- 
temporaries, or  tEe  pupils,  of  the  Apostles  and  their  immediate  succes- 
sors, may  be  adduced  as  corroborating  evidence  of  the  truths  taught, 
and  the  practices  enjoined,  by  the  Apostles;  and,  as  such,  may  be  cited; 
still  bearing  in  mind,  that  where  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  ends, 


Tilt:    MILLtLSMAL    HAUBlSGElt    AUIUUUED.  557 

Christian  faith  necessarily  terminates.  After  this  preliminary  remark, 
I  proceed  to  sustain  the  following  proposition:  — 

PROPOSITION     XI. 

AU  the  Apostolical  Fathers,  as  they  are  called;  all  the  pupils  of  the 
Apostles;  and  all  the  ecclesiastical  writers  of  note,  of  the  first  four 
Christian  centuries,\ohose  writings  have  come  doicn  to  us;  allude  to, 
and  speak  of  Christian  immersion,  as  the  "regeneration"  and  "remis- 
sion of  sins"  spoken  of  ui  the  Xcw  Testament. 

This  proposition  I  shall  sustain  by  the  testimony  of  those  who  have 
examined  all  Christian  antiquity,  and  by  citing  the  words  of  those 
usually  called  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  and  other  distinguished  writer.-? 
of  the  first  four  hundred  years,  ^^'hether  the  writing,  attributed  to 
Barnabas,  be  genuine  or  spurious,  it  is  on  all  hands  admitted  to  be 
a  fragment  of  the  highest  antiquity:  — 

BARNABA.S, 

In  his  Catholic  Epistle,  chapter  xi.,  says,  "Let  us  now  inquire  whether 
the  Lord  took  care  to  manifest  any  thing  beforehand,  concerning  water 
and  the  cross:  Now,  for  the  former  of  these,  it  is  written  to  the  people 
of  Israel,  how  they  shall  i\ot  receive  that  baptism  which  brings  to  for- 
giveness of  sins:  but  shall  institute  another  to  themselves  that  can 
not.  For  thus  saith  the  Prophet,  "Be  astonished,  O  Heaven!  and  let 
the  Earth  tremble  at  it;  because  this  people  have  done  two  great  and 
wicked  things:  They  have  left  me,  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and 
have  digged  for  themselves  broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water. 
Is  my  holy  mountain,  Zion,  a  desolate  wilderness?  For  she  shall  be  as 
a  young  bird  when  its  nest  is  taken  away."  "Consider  how  he  hath 
joined  both  the  cross  and  the  icater  together.  For  this  he  saith, 
"Blessed  are  they,  who,  putting  their  trtist  i7i  the  cross,  descend  into 
the  water:  for  they  shall  have  thoir  reward  in  due  time:  then,  saith 
he,  will  I  give  it  them."  But  as  concerning  the  present  time,  he  saith, 
'Their  leaves  shall  not  fail."  Meaning  thereby,  that  every  word  that 
shall  go  out  of  your  mouth,  shall,  through  faith  and  charity,  be  to  the 
conversion  and  hope  of  many.  In  like  manner  does  another  Prophet 
speak:  "And  the  land  of  Jacob  was  the  praise  of  all  the  earth;"  mag- 
nifying thereby  the  vessels  of  his  Spirit.  And  what  follows?  "And 
there  was  a  river  running  on  the  right  hand,  and  beautiful  trees  grew 
up  by  it:  and  he  that  shall  eat  of  them  shall  live  for  ever."  The  sig- 
nification of  which  is  this: — that  we  go  down  into  the  tcater,  full  of 
sins  and  pollutions;  but  come  up  again  bringing  forth  fruit;  having 
in  our  hearts  the  fear  and  hope  which  are  in  Jesus  by  the  Spirit  "And 
whosoever  .shall  eat  of  them  shall  live  forever."  That  is.  whosoever 
shall  hearken  to  those  that  call  them,  and  shall  believe,  shall  livo 
for  ever." 


558  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

CLEMENT    AND     HERMAS. 

The  former  gives  no  testimony  on  the  subject.  The  latter  deposes 
a?  follows.     [Book  of  Similitudes,  chapter  xvi.] — 

In  speaking  of  a  tower,  built  upon  the  water,  by  which  he  signified 
the  building  of  Christ's  church,  he  thus  speaks: — "Hear,  therefore, 
why  the  tower  is  built  on  the  waters: — Because  your  life  is  saved,  and 
shall  be  saved  by  water."  In  answer  to  the  question,  "Why  did  the 
stones  come  up  into  this  tower  out  of  the  deep?"  he  says,  "It  was 
necessary  for  them  to  come  up  by  (or  through)  water,  that  they 
might  be  at  rest;  for  they  could  not  otlierwise  enter  into  the  kingdom 
cf  Ood:  for  before  any  one  receives  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  he  is 
liable  to  death;  but  when  he  receives  that  seal,  he  is  delievered  from 
death,  and  assigned  to  life.  Now  that  seal  is  water,  into  which  per- 
sons go  down,  liable  to  death;  but  come  out  of  it,  assigned  to  life:  for 
which  reason  to  these  also  was  this  seal  preached:  and  they  made  use 
of  it,  that  they  might  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Both  Clement  and  Hermas  wrote  about  the  end  of  the  first,  or 
beginning  of  the  second  century. 

Hermas,  moreover,  deposes  as  follows,  in  another  work  of  his,  calle  1 
"The  Commands  of  Hermas."     [Com.   4,  chap,  iii.] — 

"And  I  said  to  him,  I  have  even  now  heard  from  certain  teachers, 
that  there  is  no  other  repentance  besides  that  of  'baptism;  when  we 
go  down  into  the  water,  and  receive  the  forgiveness  of  sins;  and  after 
that  we  should  sin  no  more,  but  live  in  purity.  And  he  said  to  me, 
Thou  hast  been  rightly  informed.'" 

Having  closely  and  repeatedly  examined  the  Epistles  of  Clement; 
of  Polycarp,  to  the  Philippians;  of  Ignatius,  to  the  Ephesians;  that 
to  the  Magnesians;  that  to  the  Trallians,  the  Romans,  the  Philadel- 
phians,  the  Smyrnians,  and  his  Epistle  to  Polycarp;  together  with 
the  Catholic  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  the  genuine  works  of  Hermas, 
I  can  affirm  that  the  preceding  extracts  are  the  only  passages,  in  all 
these  writings,  that  speak  of  immersion.  This  closes  the  evidence 
from  the  Apostolic  fathers.  Much  more  might  be  brought  forward, 
but  these  voices  are  sufficiently  clear  and  distinct.  Let  him  who  hath 
eyes  see,  and  who  hath  ears  hear  these  testimonies  as  to  what  was 
the  custom  and  teaching  during  the  times  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers. 

Having  heard  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  as  they  are  called,  depose  to 
the  views  of  the  pupils  of  the  Apostles,  down  to  A.  D.  140;  I  will 
summon  a  very  learned  Paidobaptist  antiquarian,  who  can  bring  for- 
ward every  writer  and  Father,  down  to  the  fifth  century;  and  before 
we  hear  any  of  his  witnesses,  we  shall  interrogate  him  concerning  his 
own  convictions  after  he  had  spent  several  years  in  rummaging  all 
Christian  antiquity:  — 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  559 

TESTIMONY    OF    DH.    W.    WALL,    AUTHOR    OF    THE    IIISTORV    OF 
INFANT    BAPTISM. 

Pray,  Doctor,  have  you  examined  all  the  primitive  writers,  from  the 
death  of  John  down  to  the  fifth  century? 

W.  Wall— I  have. 

And  will  you  explicitly  avow  what  was  the  established  and  universal 
view  of  all  Christians,  public  and  private,  for  four  hundred  years  from 
the  nativity  of  the  Messiah,  on  the  import  of  the  saying,  (John  lii. 
5.)  "Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God?" 

W.  Wall. — "There  is  not  any  one  Christian  writer,  of  any  antiquity. 
In  any  language,  but  who  understand  it  of  haptisnt :  and  if  it  be  not 
so  understood,  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  account  how  a  person  is  born 
of  tcater,  any  more  than  born  of  wood." — 4th  London  edition,  page 
116,  vol.  1,  A.  D.  1819. 

Did  all  the  Christians,  public  and  private,  and  all  the  Christian 
writers  from  Barnabas  to  the  times  of  Pelagius,  (410,)  as  far  as  you 
know,  continue  to  use  the  term  regenerate  as  only  applicable  to  im- 
mersion? 

W.  Wall. — "The  Christians  did,  in  all  ancient  times,  continue  the 
use  of  this  name,  'regeneration'  for  baptism;  so  that  they  never  use 
the  word  'regenerate.'  or  'Ijorn  again'  but  they  mean,  or  denote  by 
it,  baptism.  And  almost  all  the  quotations  which  I  shall  bring  in  this 
book,  shall  be  instances  of  it." — Vol.  1,  p.  24. 

Did  they  not  also  substitute  for  "baptism"  and  "baptize,"  the  words 
renewed,  sanctified,  sealed,  enlightened,  initiated,  as  well  as  regen- 
erated? 

W.  Wall. — "For  to  baptize,  they  used  the  following  w^ords- — Most 
commonly,  anagennan,  to  regenerate;  sometimes,  kainopoicn,  or  ana- 
kainizo.  to  renew;  frequently,  agiazein,  to  sanctify.  Sometimes  they 
call  it  the  seal;  and  frequently,  illumination,  as  it  is  also  called,  Heb. 
vi.  4,  and  sometimes,  ieliosis,  initiation." — Vol.  1,  p.  8.  "St.  Austin, 
not  less  than  a  hundred  times,  expressed  baptized  by  the  word  sancti- 
fied."—P.  194. 

We  shall  now  hear  some  of  W.  Wall's  witnesses;  and  I  choose 
rather  to  introduce  them  from  his  own  pen,  as  he  can  not  be  supposed 
partial  to  the  views  I  have  presented  in  this  essay: — 

JUSTIN    MARTYR. 

Justin  Martyr  wrote  about  forty  years  after  John  the  Apostlr"  died, 
and  stands  most  conspicuous  among  the  primitive  Fathers.  He  ad- 
dressed an  apology  to  the  Emperor  Antoninus  Pius.  In  this  apology  lie 
narrates   the  practices   of   the   Christians,   and   the   reasons  of   them. 


560  THE    MILLENISSIAL    HARBIINGER    ABRIDGED. 

Concerning  those  who  are  persuaded  and  believe  the  things  which  are 
taught,  and  who  promise  to  live  according  to  them,  he  writes:  — 

"Then  we  bring  them  to  some  place  where  there  is  water,  and  they 
are  regenerated  by  the  same  way  of  regeneration  by  which  we  were 
regenerated;  for  they  are  washed  in  water  (en  tu  udati)  in  the  name 
of  God  the  Father  and  Lord  of  all  things,  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  for  Christ  says.  Unless  you  be  regen- 
erated you  can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and  everybody 
knows  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  are  once  generated  (or  born)  to 
enter  again   into  their  mother's  womb. 

"It  was  foretold  by  Isaiah,  as  I  said,  by  what  means  they  who  should 
repent  of  their  sins  might  escape  them;  and  was  written  in  these 
words,  'Wash  you,  make  you  clean,  put  away  the  evil,'  etc. 

"And  we  have  been  taught  by  the  Apostles  this  reason  for  this 
thing.  Because  we  being  ignorant  of  our  first  birth,  were  generated 
by  necessity  (or  course  of  nature)  and  have  been  brought  up  in  ill 
customs  and  conversation;  that  we  should  not  continue  children  of 
that  necessity  and  ignorance,  but  of  will  (or  choice)  and  knowledge, 
and  should  obtain  forgiveness  of  the  sins  in  which  we  have  lived,  by 
water  (or  in  the  water.)  Then  is  invoked  over  him  that  has  a  mind 
to  be  regenerated,  the  name  of  God,  the  Father,  etc.  And  this  washing 
is  called  the  enlightening." 

As  you  trace  the  history  of  infant  baptism,  Mr.  Wall,  as  nigh  the 
apostolic  times  as  possible,  pray  why  do  you  quote  Justin  Martyr,  who 
Eever  mentions  it? 

W.  Wall. — "Because  his  is  the  most  ancient  account  of  tJie  xoay 
of  baptizing,  next  the  Scripture;  and  shows  the  plain  and  simple 
manner  of  administering  it.  Because  it  shows  that  the  Christians  of 
those  times  (many  of  whom  in  the  days  of  the  apostles)  used  the 
word  'regeneration'  (or  'being  born  again')  for  baptism;  and  that 
they  were  taught  to  do  so  by  the  Apostles.  And  because  we  see  by 
it  that  they  understood  John  iii.  5,  of  water  baptism;  and  so  did  all 
the  writers  of  these  400  years,  not  oxe  max  excepted." — P.  54. 

Did  any  of  the  ancients  use  the  word  matheteuin  (to  disciple)  as 
it  is  used  in  the  commission;  or  did  they  call  the  baptized  discipled? 

W.  Wall. — "Justin  Martyr,  in  his  second  apology  to  Antoninus,  uses 
it.  His  words  are: — 'Several  persons  among  us,  of  60  and  70  years 
old,  of  both  sexes,  who  were  discipled  {matheteuin)  to  Christ,  in  or 
the  writers  of  these   400   years,   not  one  man  excepted." — P.   54. 

So  soon  as  they  began  to  mysticise  they  began  to  teach  that  im- 
mersion without  faith  would  obtain  remission  of  sins,  and  that  immer- 
sion without  faith  was  regeneration.  Then  came  the  debates  about 
original  sin:  and  so  soon  as  original  sin  was  proved,  then  came  the 
necessity  of  infant  immersion  for  the  remission  of  original  sin.     And 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  561 

so  undisputed  was  the  import  of  baptism  for  remission,  that  when  the 
Pelagians  denied  original  sin,  pressed  with  the  difficulty,  "Why  im- 
merse those  who  have  no  sins?"  they  were  pushed  to  invent  actual 
sins  for  infants;  such  as  their,  crying,  peevishness,  restlessness,  etc., 
on  arcount  of  which  sins  they  supposed  that  infants  might,  with  pro- 
priety, be  immersed,  though  they  had  no  original  sin. 

TEETULLIAX. 

TertuUian,  the  first  who  mentions  infant  baptism,  flourished  about 
A.  D.  21G.  He  writes  against  the  practice:  and  among  his  most  con- 
clusive arguments  against  infant  immersion,  (for  then  there  was  no 
sprinkling,)  he  assumes,  as  a  fundamental  principle  not  to  be  ques- 
tioned, that  immersion  was  for  the  remission  of  sins;  and  this  being 
universally  conceded,  he  argues  as  follows: 

"Our  Lord  says,  indeed,  'Do  not  forbid  them  to  come  to  me;' 
therefore  let  them  come  when  they  are  grown  up — let  them  come  when 
they  understand — when  they  are  instructed  whither  it  is  that  they 
come.  Let  them  be  made  Christians  when  they  can  know  Christ. 
What  need  their  guiltless  age  make  such  haste  to  the  forgiveness  of 
sins^  Men  will  proceed  more  warily  in  worldly  goods;  and  he  that 
should  not  have  earthly  goods  committed  to  him,  yet  shall  have  heav- 
enly! Let  them  know  how  to  desire  this  salvation,  that  you  may  ap- 
pear to  have  given  to  one  that  asketh." — P.  74. 

ORIGEX. 

Origen,  though  so  great  a  visionary,  is,  nevertheless,  a  competent 
witness  in  any  question  of  fact.  And  here  I  would  again  remind  the 
reader,  that  it  is  as  witnesses  in  a  question  of  fact,  and  not  of  opinion, 
we  summon  these  ancients.  It  is  not  to  tell  their  own  opinions,  nor 
the  reasons  of  them;  but  to  depose  what  were  the  views  of  Christians 
on  this  institution  in  their  times.  There  was  no  controversy  on  this 
subject  for  more  than  four  hundred  years,  and  therefore  we  expect 
only  to  find  incidental  allusions  to  it;  but  these  are  numerous,  and 
of  the  most  unquestionable  character.  Origen,  in  his  homily  upon 
Luke,  says: 

"Infants  are  baptized  for  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins.  Of  what 
sins?  Or  when  have  they  sinned?  Or  how  can  any  reason  of  the 
law,  in  their  case,  hold  good,  but  according  to  that  sense  that  we  men- 
tioned even  now?  (that  is)  none  is  free  from  pollution,  though  his 
life  be  but  the  length  of  one  day  upon  the  eafth." 

And  in  another  place  he  says,  that 

"The  baptism  of  the  church  is  given  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  " 

And  again: 
"If  there  were  nothing  in  infants  that  wanted  forgiveness  and  mercy, 
the  grace  of  baptism  would  be  needless  to  them." 


562  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

In  another  place  he  says: 

"But  in  the  regeneration,  (or  new  birth,)  by  the  laver,  (or  bap- 
tism,) every  one  that  is  horn  again  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  is  clear 
from  pollution:  clear  (as  I  may  venture  to  say)  as  by  a  glass  daxkly." 
—P.  82. 

But  now  let  me  ask  Dr.  Wall — Do  Gregory,  Nazianzen,  Basil,  Am- 
brose, Chrysostom,  and  St.  Austin,  concur  with  all  their  predecessors 
in  those  views  of  regeneration  and  remission? 

W.  Wall. — Yes,  exactly.  I  have  observed,  among  the  several  names 
which  the  ancients  give  to  baptism,  they  often,  by  this  phrase,  'the 
forgiveness  of  sins,'  do  mean  the  sacrament  Of  baptism." — P.  179. 
"And  as  for  Chrysostom,  he  expressly  says:  "In  baptism,  or  the  spir- 
itual circumcision,  there  is  no  trouble  to  be  undergone  but  to  throw 
off  the  load  of  sins,  and  receive  pardon  for  all  foregoing  offenses." — 
P.  182.  And  again:  "There  is  no  receiving  or  having  the  bequeathed 
inheritance  before  one  is  baptized;  and  none  can  be  called  a  son  till 
he  is  baptized." — P.  183. 

The  controversy  about  infant  baptism  and  original  sin  were  con- 
temporaneous, and  just  as  soon  as  they  decided  the  nature  and  extent 
of  original  sin,  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins  was  given  to  infants 
because  of  this  pollution,  and  defended  because  of  the  necessity  of 
regeneration  and  forgiveness  to  salvation;  and  because  immersion  was 
universally  admitted  to  be  the  Scriptural  regeneration  and  remission. 
In  this  way,  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt,  but  infant  baptism  began; 
and  for  convenience'  saJie,  as  Dr.  Wall  contends,  it  was  substituted 
by   infant  sprinkling. 

Unless  we  were  to  transcribe  all  the  testimonies  of  antiquity,  one 
by  one,  no  greater  assurance  can  be  given,  that,  for  more  than  four 
hundred  years  after  Christ,  all  writers,  orthodox  and  heterodox,  Pela- 
gius  and  Austin  not  excepted,  concurred  in  the  preceding  views.  Were 
I  to  summon  others — Eusebius,  Dupin,  Lightfoot  and  Hammond,  cum 
multis  aliis — will  depose  the  same. 

This  proposition  we  will  dismiss  with  the  testimony  of  the  most 
renowned  of  the  Bishops  of  Africa.  I  extract  it  from  a  work  now 
generally  read,  called  the  "History  of  the  Martyrs."  It  is  from  the 
account  Cyprian  gives  of  his  conversion. — P.  317. 


"While  (says  he)  I  laid  in  darkness  and  uncertainty,  I  thought 
on  what  I  had  heard  of  a  second  birth,  proposed  by  the  divine  good- 
ness; but  could  not  comprehend  how  a  man  could  receive  a  new  life 
from  his  being  immersed  in  water;  cease  to  be  what  he  was  before, 
and  still  remain  the  same  body.  How,  said  I,  can  such  a  change  be 
possible?    How  can  he,  who  is  grown  old  in  a  worldly  way  of  living. 


THE    MILLi:XMAL    llARBlXGEli    ABRIDGED.  563 

strip  himself  of  his  former  intliiiations.  and  inveterate  habits?  Can 
he,  who  has  spent  his  whole  time  in  plenty,  and  indulged  his  appe- 
tite without  restraint,  ever  be  transformed  into  an  example  of  fru- 
gality or  sobriety?  Or  he  who  has  always  appeared  in  splendid  appar- 
el, stoop  to  the  plain,  simple,  and  unornamental  dress  of  the  common 
people?  It  is  impossible  for  a  man,  who  has  borne  the  most  honorable 
posts,  ever  to  submit  to  lead  a  private  and  an  obscure  life:  or  that  he 
who  was  never  seen  in  public  without  a  crowd  of  attendants,  and  per- 
sons who  endeavored  to  make  their  fortunes  by  attending  him,  should 
ever  bear  to  be  alone.  This  (continues  he)  was  my  way  of  arguing; 
I  thought  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  leave  my  former  course  of  life, 
and  the  habits  I  was  then  engaged  in,  and  accustomed  to:  but  no 
sooner  did  the  life-giving  water  wash  the  spots  off  my  soul,  than  my 
heart  received  the  heavenly  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  trans- 
formed me  into  a  new  creature;  all  my  difficulties  were  cleared,  my 
doubts  dissolved,  and  my  darkness  dispelled.  I  was  then  able  to  do 
wliat  before  seemed  impossible;  could  discern  that  my  former  life 
was  earthly  and  sinful,  according  to  the  impurity  of  my  birth;  but 
that  my  spiritual  birth  gave  me  new  ideas  and  inclinations,  and  di- 
rected all  my  views  to  God." 

Cyprian  flourished  A.  D.  250. 

PROPOSITION  xrr. 

But  even  the  reformed  creeds.  Episcopalian,  Presbyterian,  Method- 
ist, and  Baptist,  substantially  avoic  the  same  vieics  of  itnmersion, 
though  apparently  afraid  to  carry  thevi  out  in  faith  and  practice. 

This  proposition  will  be  sustained  by  an  extract  from  the  creed  of 
each  of  these  sects. 

EPISCOPALIAN. 

The  clergy  are  ordered,  before  proceeding  to  baptize,  to  make  the 
following  prayer. — Common   Prayer,   p.  165. 

"Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  who,  of  thy  great  mercy,  didst  save 
Noah  and  his  family  in  the  Ark  from  perishing  by  water;  and  also 
didst  safely  lead  the  children  of  Israel  thy  people  through  the  Red 
Sea;  figuring  thereby  thy  holy  Baptism;  and  by  the  Baptism  of  thy 
well-beloved  Son  Jesus  Christ  in  the  river  Jordan,  didst  sanctify  the 
element  of  water,  to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin;  we  beseech 
thee,  for  thine  infinite  mercies,  that  thou  wilt  mercifully  look  upon 
these  thy  servants;  wash  them  and  sanctify  thctn  with  the  Holy 
Ghost;  that  they,  being  delivered  from  thy  wrath,  may  be  received  into 
the  Ark  of  Christ's  Church;  and  being  steadfast  in  faith,  joyful  through 
hope,  and  rooted  in  charity,  may  so  pass  the  waves  of  this  trouble- 
some world,  that  finally  they  may  come  to  the  land  of  everlasting  life; 
there  to  reign  with  thee,  world  without  end,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.     Amen." 


564  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

After  reading  a  part  of  the  discourse  with  Nicodemus,  they  are 
ordered  to  make  the  following  exhortation. — P.  165: 

"Beloved,  ye  hear  in  this  gospel  the  express  words  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,  that  except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can 
not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Whereby  ye  may  perceive  the 
great  necessity  of  the  sacrament,  where  it  may  be  had.  Likewise, 
immediately  after  his  ascension  into  heaven,  (as  we  read  in  the  last 
chapter  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel,)  he  gave  command  to  his  disciples,  say- 
ing, Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 
He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believ- 
eth  not,  shall  be  damned.  Which  also  showeth  unto  us  the  great 
benefit  we  reap  thereby.  For  which  cause  St.  Peter  the  Apostle,  when 
upon  his  first  preaching  of  the  gospel  many  were  pricked  at  the 
heart,  and  said  to  him  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  Men  and  breth- 
ren, what  shall  we  do?  replied,  and  said  unto  them.  Repent  and  be 
baptized,  every  one  of  you,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  re- 
ceive the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  for  the  promise  is  to  you  and  your 
children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our 
God  shall  call.  And  with  many  other  words  exhorted  he  them,  say- 
ing. Save  yourselves  from  this  untoward  generation.  For,  as  the  same 
Apostle  testifieth  in  another  place,  even  baptism  doth  also  now  save 
us,  (not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of 
a  good  conscience  towards  God,)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Doubt  ye  not,  therefore,  but  earnestly  believe  that  he  will  favorably 
receive  these  present  persons,  truly  repenting,  and  coming  unto  him 
by  faith;  that  he  will  grant  them  remission  of  their  sins,  and  bestow 
upon  them  the  Holy  Ghost;  that  he  will  give  them  the  blessing  of 
eternal  life,  and  make  them  partakers  of  his  everlasting  kingdom." 

This,  I  need  not  add,  is  in  accordance  with  the  sentiments  ad- 
vanced in  this  essay.  What  a  pity  that  the  Episcopal  Church  does 
not  believe  and  practice  her  own  creed! 

PRESBYTERIAN. 

The  Presbyterian  Confession,  on  Baptism,  chap,  xxviii.,  sect.  1, 
declares  that— 

"Baptism  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,  ordained  by  Jesus 
Christ,  not  only  for  the  solemn  admission  of  the  party  baptized  in 
the  visible  church,  but  also  to  be  unto  him  a  sign  and  seal  of  the  cov- 
enant of  grace,  of  his  engrafting  into  Christ,  of  regeneration,  of  re- 
mission of  sins,  and  of  his  giving  up  unto  God,  through  Jesus  Christ, 
to  walk  in  newness  of  life:  which  sacrament  is,  by  Christ's  own  ap- 
pointment, to  be  continued  in  his  church  until  the  end  of  the  world." 

"A  sign  and  seal  of  remission  of  sins.'!"  This  is  much  nigher 
the  truth  than  this  church   seems  to  be  apprized   of.     However,   she 


THE    MILLESSIAL    UAnLSlSUini    AUi:iDGi:J).  5G3 

can  not  believe  her  own  creed;  for  she  does  not  believe  that  baptism 
is  a  sign  and  a  seal  of  remission  of  sins,  nor  of  regeneration,  in  her 
own  sense  of  it,  to  her  baptized  or  sprinkled  infants.  But  in  paying 
any  regard  to  the  Scriptures,  she  could  not  say  less  than  she  has  said 
It  is  no  wonder  that  many  sectarians  can  not  be  persuaded  *o  think 
that  the  Scriptures  mean  what  they  say;  for  they  are  so  much  accus- 
tomed to  say  what  they  do  not  mean,  that  they  can  not  think  God  does 
mean  what  he  says. 

METHODIST. 

The  Methodist  Creed  says: 

"Dearly  beloved,  forasmuch  as  all  men  are  conceived  and  born  in 
sin,  (and  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  they  that  are  in 
the  flesh  can  not  please  God,  but  live  in  sin,  committing  many  actual 
transgressions; )  and  that  our  Saviour  Christ  saith.  None  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,  except  he  be  regenerate  and  bom  anew  of 
water  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  I  beseech  you  to  call  upon  God  the  Father, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  of  his  bounteous  goodness  he  will 
grant  to  these  persons,  that  which  by  nature  they  can  not  have; 
that  they  may  be  baptized  with  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
received  into  Christ's  holy  church,  and  be  made  lively  members  of 
the  same." 

Then  it  is  ordained  that  the  minister  repeat  the  following  prayer:  — 

"Almighty  and  immortal  God,  the  aid  of  all  that  need,  the  helper 
of  all  that  flee  to  thee  for  succor,  the  life  of  them  that  believe,  and 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead:  We  call  upon  thee  for  these  persons,  that 
they,  coming  to  thy  holy  baptism,  may  receive  remission  of  their  sins, 
by  spiritual  regeneration.  Receive  them,  0  Lord,  as  thou  hast  prom- 
ised by  thy  well-beloved  Son,  saying.  Ask  and  ye  shall  receive,  seek 
and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you:  so  give 
unto  us  that  ask;  let  us  that  seek,  find;  open  the  gate  unto  us  that 
knock;  that  these  persons  may  enjoy  the  everlasting  benediction  of 
the  heavenly  washing,  and  may  come  to  the  eternal  kingdom  which 
thou  hast  promised  by  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." — Dis..  p.  105. 

Thus  the  Methodist  Creed  and  Church  are  nearly  as  Scriptural  as 
the  church  from  which  they  sprang.  She  prays  for  those  to  be  bap- 
tized, that  in  baptism  they  may  receive  remission  of  sins!  Does  sh'a 
believe  what  she  says? 

BAIT  I  ST, 

Chapter  xxx..  Section  1:  — 

"Baptism  is  an  ordinance  of  the  New  Testament,  ordained  bv  Jesus 
Christ,  to  be  unto  the  party  baptized  a  sign  of  his  fellowship  with 
him  in  his  death  and  resurrection;  of  his  being  engrafted  into  him; 
of  remission  of  sins,  and  of  his  giving  up  unto  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  to  live  and  walk  in  newness  of  life." 


566  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

The  Baptist  follows  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  servilely  as  the 
Methodist  Church  follows  the  English  hierarchy.  But  she  avows  her 
faith  that  immersion  is  a  sign  of  remission.  A  sign  of  the  past,  the 
present,  or  the  future!     A  sign  accompanying! 

Calvin  and  Wesley  are  with  us  here.  Calvin  makes  remission  the 
principal  thing  in  baptism. — Inst.  I.  4,  c.  xv.,  p.  327. 

"Baptism,"  says  he,  "resembles  a  legal  instrument  properly  attested, 
bj  which  he  assures  us  that  all  our  sins  are  cancelled,  effaced,  and 
obliterated,  so  that  they  will  never  appear  in  his  sight,  or  come  into 
his  remembrance,  or  be  imputed  to  us.  For  he  commands  all  who  be- 
lieve to  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  their  sins.  Therefore,  thos.? 
who  have  imagined  that  baptism  is  nothing  more  than  a  mark  or 
sign  by  which  we  profess  our  religion  before  men,  as  soldiers  wear 
the  insignia  of  their  sovereign  as  a  mark  of  their  profession,  have 
not  considered  that  which  was  the  principal  thing  in  baptism;  which 
is,  that  we  ought  to  receive  it  with  this  promise — 'He  that  believeth, 
and  is  baptized,   shall  be  saved.'  " 

John  "Wesley,  in  his  comment  on  the  New  Testament,  (p.  350,) 
speaks  plainer  than  either  the  Methodist  Discipline  or  the  Regular 
Baptist  Confession.  His  words  are: — "Baptism  administered  to  real 
penitents,  is  both  a  means  and  a  seal  of  pardon.  Nor  did  God  ordi- 
narily, in  the  primitive  church,  bestow  this  (pardon)  on  any,  unless 
through  this  means."  This  is  almost,  if  not  altogether,  as  much  as  we 
have  said  on  the  forgiveness  of  sins  through  immersion. 

May  we  not  say,  that  we  have  sustained  this  last  proposition  to  the 
full  extent  of  the  terms  thereof? 

With  the  testimony  of  John  Wesley,  the  last  of  the  reformers,  1 
close  my  list  of  human  vouchers  for  the  import  of  Christian  immer- 
sion. This  list  I  could  swell  greatly;  for,  indeed,  I  have  been  quite 
disappointed  in  looking  back  into  creeds,  councils,  commentators,  and 
lerormers,  ancient  and  modern.  I  begin  to  fear,  that  I  should  be  susr 
pected  to  have  come  to  the  conclusions,  which  I  have  exhibited  from 
consulting  human  writings,  creeds,  and  reformers.  My  fears  are  not 
that  we,  who  plead  for  reformation,  may  appear  to  have  nothing 
criginal  to  offer  in  this  reformation;  that  we  are  mere  gleaners  in  the 
fields  which  other  minds  have  cultivated.  It  is  not  on  this  account  our 
fears  are  excited:  for  the  reformation  we  plead  is  not  characterized 
by  new  and  original  ideas,  or  human  inventions;  but  by  a  return  to 
the  original  ideas  and  institutions  developed  in  the  New  Institution. 
Nor  do  we  profess  to  have  any  originality  of  mind,  strength  of  reason, 
or  compass  of  imagination  worthy  of  admiration,  worthy  of  a  temple, 
or  a  memorial  of  any  sort  whatever.  But  we  fear  lest  any  should 
suspect  the  views  offered  to  be  a  human  invention  or  tradition;  because 
we  have  found  so  much  countenance  for  them  in  the  works  of  the  most 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINOER    ABRIDOED.  567 

ancient  and  renowned  Christian  writers,  and  the  creeds  of  ancient  and 
modern  reformers.  We  can  assure  our  readers,  that  we  have  been  led  lo 
these  conclusions  from  the  simple  perusal,  unprejudiced  and  impartial 
examination  of  the  New  Teetament  alone.  And,  we  may  add,  that  we  are 
as  much  astonished,  as  any  reader  of  this  essay  can  be,  to  find  such  a 
cloud  of  witnesses  to  the  truth,  and  importance  of  the  views  offered. 

Though  we  had,  many  years  ago,  read  most  of  these  documents,  wo 
read  them  as  many  of  our  readers  read  the  Bible;  without  attending 
to  what  is  read,  or  feeling  the  import  of  it.  We  can  sympathize  with 
those  who  have  this  doctrine  in  their  own  creeds  unregarded,  and 
unheeded  in  its  import  and  utility;  for  we  exhibited  it  fully  in  our 
debate  with  Mr.  M'Calla,  1823,  without  feeling  its  great  importance, 
and  without  beginning  to  practice  upon  its  tendencies  for  some  time 
afterwards.  But  since  it  has  been  fully  preached  and  practiced  upon,  it 
has  proved  itself  to  be  all  divine. 

We  now  press  it  upon  all  persons  to  believe  the  gospel,  and  to  be 
immersed  for  the  remission  of  their  sins;  that  seasons  of  refreshment 
from  the  Lord,  may  come  to  them.  Every  one  who  has  so  much  faith 
in  the  mission  and  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  much  attachment 
to  his  person  as  to  submit  to  his  absolute  government,  we  invite^ 
command,  entreat,  to  receive  the  bounty,  and  enlist  during  the  war: 
to  put  on  his  regimentals,  to  stand  in  the  ranks,  and  to  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith.  We  discover,  in  practice,  that  this  change'  of  state, 
this  seal  of  remission,  changes  the  affections  still  more  and  more,  and 
reforms  the  lives  of  all  who  honestly  submit  to  it.  It  produces  more 
peace,  love,  joy,  righteousness,  and  more  holiness  of  heart  and  life, 
than  we  ever  witnessed  to  result  from  the  Calvinian,  Arminian,  or 
mixed  gospels  of  the  day.  We  love  the  ancient  gospel  for  its  fruits,  its 
holiness  of  heart,  and  righteousness  of  life.  None,  but  those  who  have 
frequently  witnessed  it,  can  form  any  adequate  idea  of  the  impulse 
which  is  given  to  the  mind  by  a  believing  reception  of  this  'vashing 
of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Like  a  strong  im- 
pulse given  to  a  ball  which  puts  it  in  motion,  immersion  for  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  carries  the  mind  forward,  far  beyond  all  tl\e  experi- 
ences formerly  demanded  as  preparatory  to  immersion.  A  change  of 
state  so  great,  so  sensible,  so  complete,  so  sudden,  operates  more  like 
the  ancient  cures,  than  the  cold,  dark,  and  tedious  mental  regenera- 
tions of  the  philosophizing  theologues.  He,  that  passes  from  V'rginia 
into  Pennsylvania,  passes  over  a  mere  imaginary  geographical  line, 
without  scarcely  perceiving  the  transition;  but  he  that  passes  from 
Virginia  into  the  State  of  Ohio  by  swimming  the  river,  the  natural  and 
sensible  boundary,  immediately  realizes  the  change.  Still  greater,  and 
more  sensible  is  the  rhange  from  the  state  of  condemnation  to  the 
state  of  favor. 


568  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

But  to  return  to  the  argument.  The  propositions  now  provod,  and 
illustrated,  must  convince  all,  that  there  is  some  connection  between 
immersion,  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  What  that  connection  is, 
may  be  disputed  by  some;  but  that  such  a  connection  exists,  none  can 
dispute,  who  acknowledge  the  New  Testament  to  contain  a  divine  com- 
munication to  man.  With  John  Wesley  we  say,  it  is  "to  the  believing 
the  means  an'd  seal  of  pardon  for  all  previous  offenses;"  and  we  not 
only  say  we  think  so,  but  we  preach  it  as  such,  and  practice  it  as  such. 
Those  who  think  of  any  other  connection,  would  do  well  to  attempt  to 
form  clear  ideas  of  what  they  mean:  for  we  are  assured  there  is  no 
meaning  in  any  other  connection.  To  make  it  a  commemorative  sign 
of  past  remission  is  an  outrage  upon  all  rules  of  interpretation,  and 
a  perfect  anomaly  in  all  the  revelation  of  God.  To  make  it,  prospec- 
tively, the  sign  of  a  future  remission,  is  liable  to  the  same  exceptions. 
Nothing  remains,  but  that  it  be  considered,  what  it  is  in  truth,  the 
accompanying  sign  of  an  accompanying  remission;  the  sign  and  the 
seal,  or  the  means  and  the  seal  of  remission  then  granted  through  the 
water,  connected  with  the  blood  of  Jesus  by  the  divine  appointment,  and 
through  our  faith  in  it. 

We  have  heard  some  objections,  and  we  can  conceive  of  new  objec- 
tions which  may  be  presented  to  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
Some  of  them  are  anticipated  and  attended  to  in  the  preceding  re- 
marks. We  could  wish  that  we  had  them  all  drawn  up  numerically, 
that  we  might  examine  and  refute  them.  There  can  be  objections  made 
to  any  person,  doctrine,  sentiment,  or  practice,  natural,  moral,  political, 
or  religious,  which  ever  existed.  But  notwithstanding  all  the  objections 
made  to  every  thing,  there  are  thousands  of  matters  and  things  we  hold 
to  be  facts  and  truths  indubitable.  Amongst  those  certain  and  sure 
things,  not  to  be  shaken,  is  this  Christian  institution. 

We  will  state  and  examine  some  objections  partially  noticed  already: 
but,  because  they  are  the  most  common,  or  may  become  common,  we 
will  bestow  upon  them  a  formal  statement,  and  a  formal  refutation. 

Objection  1. — "To  make  the  attainment,  and  the  enjoyment  of  present 
salvation,  pardon,  justification,  sanctification,  reconciliation,  adoption, 
dependent  upon  the  contingency  of  water  being  present,  or  accessible, 
is  beneath  the  dignity  and  character  of  a  salvation  from  God." 

And  to  make  the  attainment,  and  the  enjoyment  of  present  salva 
tion,  pardon,  etc.,  dependent  upon  the  contingency  of  faith  bein:,' 
present  or  accessible — upon  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  being  heard  of. 
or  known,  is  equally  objectionable: — for  what  is  faith  but  the  belief  of 
testimony?  Or  what  is  it  in  the  most  popular  sense  but  something 
wrought  in  the  heart,  a  compound  of  knowledge  and  feeling,  of  assent 
and  consent?  And  what  was  the  blood  of  Jesus  shed  upon  Mt.  Cal- 
vary but  matter,  and  a  few  pounds  of  matter,  viewed  by  itself  abstractly 


THE    MILLENMAL    HARBlNOElt    ABRIDGED.  563 

as  some  view  water;  I  say,  what  was  it  but  matter?  And  are  no: 
both  blood  and  faith  less  accessible  to  mankind  than  the  element  of 
water?  How  much  more  water  than  faith,  or  candidates  for  immersion? 
And  is  there  not  as  much  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God  in 
creating  water,  as  in  creating  air,  words,  letters,  faith,  etc.?  Is  not 
water  more  universal  than  language,  words,  books,  preachers,  faith, 
etc.?  This  objection  lies  as  much  against  any  one  means  of  salvation 
as  another;  nay.  against  all  means  of  salvation.  "Whenever  a  case  shall 
occur  of  much  faith  and  little  water;  or  of  a  little  faith  and  no  water, 
we  will  repel  it  by  other  arguments  than  these. 

Objection  2. — "It  makes  void  the  value,  excellency,  and  importance 
of  both  faith  and  grace."  By  no  means.  If  a  man.  say,  with  Paul, 
we  are  justified  by  faith;  does  it  follow  that  grace  is  made  void? 
Or,  if  one  say  we  are  justified  by  grace;  does  it  make  the  blood  of 
Christ  of  none  effect?  Or,  if,  with  Paul,  a  man  say  we  are  iu stifled 
by  his  blood;  does  it  make  faith,  repentance,  and  grace  of  no  effect? 
Nay,  indeed,  this  gives  to  faith  its  proper  place,  and  its  due  value. 
It  makes  it  the  principle  of  action.  It  brings  us  to  the  water,  to 
Christ,  and  to  heaven.  But  it  is  as  a  principle  of  action  only,  it 
was  not  Abel's  faith  in  his  head,  or  heart;  but  Abel's  faith  at  the  altar, 
which  obtained  such  reputation.  It  was  not  Enoch's  faith  in  pria 
ciple,  but  Enoch's  faith  in  his  xcalk  with  Ood,  which  translated  him 
to  heaven.  It  was  not  Noah's  faith  in  God's  promise  and  threatening, 
but  his  faith  exhibited  in  building  an  ark,  which  saved  himfelf  and 
family  from  the  Deluge,  and  made  him  an  heir  of  a  new  world,  an 
heir  of  righteousness.  It  was  not  Abraham's  faith  in  God's  call,  but 
his  going  out  in  obedience  to  that  call,  that  first  distinguished  him 
as  a  pilgrim,  and  began  his  reputation.  It  w'as  not  faith  in  God's 
promise  that  Jericho  should  fall,  but  that  faith  carried  out  in  the 
blowing  of  rams'  horns,  which  laid  its  walla  in  ruins,  etc.  It  is  not 
our  faith  in  God's  promise  of  remission,  but  our  going  down  into  tlie 
water,  that  obtains  the  remission  of  sins.  But  any  one  may  see  why 
faith  has  so  much  praise,  and  is  of  so  much  value.  Because,  without 
it,  Abel  would  not  have  offered  more  sacrifices  than  Cain;  Enoch  would 
not  have  walked  with  God;  Noah  would  not  have  built  an  ark,  Abra- 
ham would  not  have  left  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  nor  offered  up  his  son 
upon  the  altar.  Without  it,  Israel  would  not  have  passed  through  th3 
wilderness,  nor  crossed  the  Jordan;  and  without  it,  none  receive  the 
remission  of  their  sins  in  immersion.  And,  again,  we  would  remind 
the  reader,  that  when  he  talks  of  being  saved  by  faith,  he  should  bear 
in  mind,  that  grace  is  not  lost  sight  of,  nor  blood,  nor  water,  nor 
reformation,  discarded. 

We  enter  the  kingdom  of  nature  by  being  born  of  the  flesh.     We 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  or  come  under  the  reign  of  Jesus  Christ 


570  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

in  this  life,  by  being  born  of  water,  and  the  Spirit.  We  erter  th9 
kingdom  of  eternal  glory  by  b3ing  born  again  from  the  earth,  and 
neither  by  faith,  nor  the  first  regeneration.  Neither  by  faith,  nor 
baptism;  but  by  being  counted  worthy  of  the  resurrection  of  tjfp  just. 
"I  was  hungry,  and  you  fed  me."  Not  because  you  believed,  or  were 
born  of  water;  but,  because  "I  was  hungry,  and  you  fed  me,"  etc. 

There  are  three  births,  three  kingdoms,  and  three  salvations.  One 
from  the  womb  of  our  first  mother,  one  from  the  water,  and  one 
from  the  grave.  We  enter  a  new  world  on,  and  not  before,  each 
birth.  The  present  animal  life,  after  the  first  birth;  the  spiritual, 
or  the  life  of  God  in  our  souls,  after  the  second  birth,  and  the  life 
eternal  in  the  presence  of  God,  after  the  third  birth.  And  he,  who 
dreams  of  entering  the  second  kingdom,  or  coming  under  the  dominion 
of  Jesus,  without  the  second  birth — may,  to  complete  his  error,  dream 
of  entering  the  kingdom  of  glory  without  a  resurrection  from  the 
dead. 

Grace  precedes  all  these  births — shines  in  all  the  kingdoms,  but  will 
be  glorified  in  the  third.  Sense  is  the  principle  of  action  in  the  first 
kingdom;  faith,  in  the  second;  and  sight  spiritual,  in  the  third.  The 
first  salvation  is  that  of  the  body  from  the  dangers  and  ills  of  life,  and 
God  is  thus  "the  Saviour  of  all  men."  The  second  salvation  is  that  of 
the  soul  from  sin.  The  third  is  that  of  both  soul  and  body  united, 
delivered  from  moral  and  natural  corruption,  and  introduced  into  the 
presence  of  God,  when  God  shall  be  all  in  all. 

Objection  3. — "It  is  so  uncharitable  to  the  Paidobaptists!"  And  how 
uncharitable  are  the  Paidobaptists  to  Jews,  Turks,  and  Pagans! !  Will 
they  promise  present  salvation  from  the  guilt,  pollution,  and  the 
dominion  of  sin,  with  the  well-grounded  hope  of  heaven,  to  Jews, 
Turks,  Pagans,  or  even  Roman  Catholics?  Or  will  the  Roman  Catholics 
to  them!!  How  uncharitable  are  they  who  cry  "uncharitable"  to  Us! 
Infants,  idiots,  deaf,  and  dumb  persons,  innocent  Pagans  wherever 
they  can  be  found,  with  all  the  pious  Paidobaptists,  we  commend  to 
the  mercy  of  God.  But  such  of  them  as  wilfully  neglect  this  salvation, 
and  who,  having  the  opportunity  to  be  immersed  for  the  remission  of 
their  sins,  wilfully  neglect  or  refuse,  we  have  as  little  hope  for  them 
as  they  have  for  all  who  refuse  salvation  on  their  own  terms  of  the 
gospel.  While  they  inveigh  against  us  for  laying  a  Scriptural  and 
rational  stress  upon  immersion,  do  we  not  see  that  they  lay  as  great, 
though  an  unscriptural  and  irrational,  stress  upon  their  baptism  or 
sprinkling;  so  much  so,  as  to  give  it  without  faith,  even  to  infants,  so 
soon  as  they  are  born  of  the  flesh? 

Objection  4. — "But  do  not  many  of  them  enjoy  the  present  salvation 
of  God?"  How  far  they  may  be  happy  in  the  peace  of  God,  and  the  hope 
of  heaven,  I  presume  not  to  say.     And  we  know  so  much  of  human 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  571 

nature  as  to  say,  that  he,  that  imagines  himself  pardoned,  will  feel 
happy  as  he  that  is  really  so.  But  one  thing  wo  do  know,  that  none 
can  rationally,  and  with  certuinty,  enjoy  the  peace  of  God.  and  the 
hope  of  heaven,  but  they  who  intelligently,  and  In  full  faith  are  bora 
of  water,  or  immersed  for  the  remission  of  their  sins.  And  as  the 
testimony  of  God,  and  not  conceit,  imagination,  nor  our  reasoning 
upon  what  passes  in  our  minds,  is  the  ground  of  our  certainty,  we  se.? 
and  feel,  that  we  have  an  assurance  which  they  can  not  have.  And 
we  have  this  advantage  over  them,  we  once  stood  upon  their  ground, 
had  their  hopes,  felt  their  assurance;  but  they  have  not  stood  upon 
our  ground,  nor  felt  our  assurance.  Moreover,  the  experience  of  the 
first  converts  shows  the  difference  between  their  immersion,  and  the 
immersions,  or  sprinklings,  of  modern  gospels. 

Objection  5. — "This  has  been  so  long  concealed  from  the  people,  and 
so  lately  brought  to  our  view,  that  we  can  not  acquiesce  in  it." 

This  objection  would  have  made  unavailing  every  attempt  at  refor- 
mation, or  illumination  of  the  mind,  or  change  in  the  condition  and 
enjoyments  of  society,  ever  attempted.  Besides,  do  not  the  experience 
of  all  the  religious — the  observation  of  the  intelligent — the  practical 
result  of  all  creeds,  reformations,  and  improvements — and  the  expecta- 
tions, and  longings  of  society,  warrant  the  conclusion  that  either  some 
new  relation,  or  some  new  development  of  the  revelation  of  God,  must 
be  made,  before  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  all  true  Christians  can 
be  realized,  or  Christianity  save  and  reform  the  nations  of  this  world? 
We  want  the  old  gospel  back,  and  sustained  by  the  ancient  order  of 
things:  and  this  alone,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  is  ali 
that  we  do  w^ant,  or  can  expect,  to  reform  and  save  the  world.  And  if 
this  gospel,  as  proclaimed  and  enforced  on  Pentecost,  can  not  do 
this,  vain  are  the  hopes,  and  disappointed  must  be  the  expectations  of 
the  so-called  Christian  world. 

RECAPITULATION. 

As  Christian  faith  rests  upon,  and  Christian  practice  proceeds  from, 
the  testimony  of  Goil,  and  not  from  the  reasonings  of  men,  in  thi.s 
recapitulation  I  will  only  call  up  the  evidences  on  one  single  proposi 
tion,  assumed,  sustained,  and  illustrated  in  the  preceding  pages — and 
that  is  the  ninth  proposition,  as  sustained  by  the  apostolic  testimony 
We  wish  to  leave  before  the  mind  of  the  diligent  reader  the  grpat  im- 
portance attached  to  Christian  immersion,  as  presented  in  the  Evangel- 
ists, the  Acts,  and  the  Epistles. 

1.  In  the  Evangelists. — It  is  called  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Matthew 
and  Mark  introduce  the  Messiah  in  his  own  person  in  giving  the  com- 
mission. Luke  does  not.  Matthew  presents  Jesus,  saying.  "Go.  con- 
vert the  nations,  immersing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son, 


572  THE    MILLEXXIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

and  the  Holy  Spirit,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  which  I  havp 
commanded  you."  This,  of  course,  in  order  to  salvation.  Mark  pre- 
sents him,  saying,  "Go  into  all  the  world,  proclaim  the  glad  tidings  to 
the  whole  creation:  he  who  believes,  and  is  immersed,  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  who  believes  not,  shall  be  condemned."  Luke,  however,  does 
not  introduce  the  Lord  in  his  own  person  in  giving  the  charge;  but 
records  it,  in  his  own  conception  of  it,  in  the  following  words' — That 
"reformation  and  forgiveness  of  sins  should  be  announced  in  his  nama 
to  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem."  No  person,  we  presume,  will 
question  but  that  Luke  thus  records  the  commission;  and,  if  so,  then 
it  is  indisputable  that,  as  Luke  neither  mentions  faith  nor  immersion, 
he  substitutes  for  them  the  received  import  of  both,  when  and  where 
he  wrote.  Metonymically  he  places  repentance,  or  rather  reformation, 
for  faith;  and  remission  of  sins  for  immersion.  In  Luke's  acceptation 
and  time  forgiveness  of  sins  stood  for  immersion,  and  reformation  for 
faith — the  effect  for  the  means  or  cause.  In  the  commission  salvation 
is  attached  by  the  Lord  Jesus  to  faith  and  immersion  into  his  name. 
He  that  believes,  and  is  immersed,  shall  be  saved.  Thus  immersion  is 
taught  in  the  testimonies  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke. 

2.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. — Sermon  1,  Peter  says,  "Reform  and 
be  immersed,  every  one  of  you,  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for 
the  remission  of  your  sins,  and  you  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  Sermon  2,  he  says,  "Reform  and  be  converted,  that  your  sins 
may  be  blotted  out;  that  seasons  of  refreshment  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  may  come,  and  that  he  may  send  Jesus,"  etc.  In  the  same 
discourse,  he  says,  "God  having  raised  up  his  Son  Jesus,  has  sent 
him  to  bless  you,  every  one  of  you,  turning  from  his  iniquities."  In 
his  3d  Sermon,  recorded  Acts  x.,  he  says,  "To  him  all  the  prophets 
bear  witness,  that  every  one  who  believes  in  him  shall  receive  remis- 
sion of  sins  by  his  name."  Paul  at  Antioch,  in  Pisidia,  declares,  that 
through  Jesus  was  proclaimed  the  remission  of  sins;  and  by  him 
all  that  believe  are  justified  from  all  things.  Ananias  commanded  Paul 
to  arise  and  be  immersed,  and  to  wash  away  his  sins,  calling  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  Thus  it  is  spoken  of  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles. 

3.  In  the  Epistles. — The  Romans  are  said  to  have  been  immersed 
into  Christ  Jesus — into  his  death;  to  have  been  buried  with  him,  and 
consequently  to  have  risen  with  him,  and  to  walk  in  a  new  life.  The 
Corinthians  are  said  to  have  been  washed,  justified,  and  sanctified  by 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God.  The 
Galatians  "were  immersed  into  Christ,  and  had  put  him  on."  The 
Ephesians  were,  married  to  Christ  by  immersion,  as  brides  were  wont 
to  be  washed  in  order  to  their  nuptials.  The  assembly  of  the  disci- 
ples, called  the  congregation  of  the  Lord,  making  the  bride  of  Christ, 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  573 

were  said  to  be  cleansed  by  (he  hath  of  xoatrr  and  thr  word.  The 
Colossians  were  buried  uith  Christ,  raised  tcith  him,  and  are  raid  to 
have  been  forgiven  all  tresijusses  when  they  were  raised  with  him, 
(chapter  ii,  11,  13,  14,  where  their  resurrection  with  Jesus  am?  their 
having  all  sins  forgiven  are  connected).  All  the  saints  are  said  to 
bo  saved  by  immersion,  or  "the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit"  (Tit.  iii.  5).  The  believing  Jews  had 
their  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience,  and  their  Iwdies  v/ashed 
with  clean  water,  or  water  which  made  clean.  Peter  taught  all  the 
saints  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  that  the  water 
of  baptism  saved  them,  as  the  water  of  the  Deluge  saved  Noah  in  ths 
Ark;  and  that  in  immersion  a  person  was  purged  from  all  his  former 
sins.  And  John  the  Apostle  represents  the  saved  as  having  "washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,"  and  all 
the  baptized  little  children  as  "having  their  sins  forgiven."  Such  are 
the  evidences  found  in  the  Epistles.  How  numerous  I  how  clear  I  and 
how  unequivocal!  Are  we  not,  then,  warranted  to  say,  Except  a  maa 
be  regenerated  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God?  and  that  all  who,  believing,  are  immersed  for  the 
remission  of  their  sins,  have  the  remission  of  their  sins  in  and  tb rough 
immersion? 

COXCLUSIOX. 

A  word  to  the  regenerated. — You  have  experienced  the  truth  of  the 
promise,  and  being  induced  by  that  promise,  you  have  become,  like 
Isaac,  the  children  of  promise.  You  heard  the  testimony  of  God  con- 
cerning Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  you  believed  it.  You  were,  in  conse- 
quence of  your  faith,  so  disposed  towards  the  person  of  Jesus,  as  to 
be  willing  to  put  yourselves  under  his  guidance.  This  faith  and  this 
will  brought  you  to  the  water.  You  were  not  ashamed,  nor  afraid  to 
confess  him  before  men.  You  solemnly  declared  you  regarded  him  as 
God's  only  Son,  and  the  only  Saviour  of  men.  You  vowed  allegiance 
to  him.  Down  into  the  water  you  were  led.  Then  the  name  of  the 
Holy  One  upon  your  faith,  and  upon  your  person,  was  pronounced. 
You  were  then  buried  in  the  water  under  that  name.  It  closed  itself 
upon  you.  In  Its  womb  you  were  concealed.  Into  the  Lord,  as  in  the 
water,  you  were  Immersed.  But  In  the  water  you  continued  not.  Of 
It  you  were  born,  and  from  it  you  came  forth,  raised  with  Jesus,  and 
rising  in  his  strength.  There  your  consciences  were  released;  for 
there  your  old  sins  were  purged  away.  And  although  you  received 
not  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  confirmed  the  testimony  to 
the  first  disciples,  you  felt  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  were 
enlightened,  and  tasted  the  bounty  of  God:  for  seasons  of  refreshment 
from  the  presence  of  God  came  upon  you.  Your  hearts  were  sprinkled 
from  evil  consciences,  when  your  bodies  were  washed  In  the  cleansing 


574  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

water.  Then  into  the  kingdom  of  Jesus,  you  entered.  The  King  ol! 
righteousness,  of  peace,  and  joy,  extended  his  sceptre  over  you,  and 
sanctified  in  state,  and  in  the  Spirit,  you  rejoiced  in  the  Lord  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  Being  washed,  you  were  sanctified,  as 
well  as  acquitted.  And  now  you  find  yourselves  under  the  great  Ad- 
vocate, so  that  sin  can  not  lord  it  over  you;  for  you  always  look  to 
the  great  Advocate  to  intercede  for  you,  and  thus  if  sin  should  over- 
take you,  you  confess  and  forsake  it,  and  always  find  mercy.  Adopted 
thus  into  the  family  of  God,  you  have  not  only  received  the  name, 
the  rank,  and  the  dignity;  but  also  the  Spirit  of  a  son  of  God,  and  find, 
as  such,  that  you  are  kings,  priests,  and  heirs  of  God.  You  now  feel 
that  all  things  are  yours,  because  you  are  Christ's;  and  Christ  is  God's. 
The  hope  of  the  coming  regeneration  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just,  animates  you.  You  look  for  the  redemp- 
tion, the  adoption  of  your  bodies,  and  their  transfiguration.  For  this 
reason,  you  purify  yourselves  even  as  he  is  pure.  Be  zealous,  then, 
children  of  God;  publish  the  excellencies  of  him  who  has  called  you 
into  this  marvellous  light  and  bliss.  Be  diligent,  that  you  may  receive 
the  crown  that  never  fades,  and  that  you  may  eat  of  the  tree  of  life 
which  grows  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise  of  God.  If  you  suffer  with 
Jesus,  you  will  reign  with  him.  If  you  should  deny  him,  he  will 
deny  you.  Add,  then,  to  your  faith,  courage,  knowledge,  temperance, 
patience,  brotherly  kindness,  and  universal  benevolence;  for  if  you 
continue  in  these  things  and  abound,  you  shall  not  be  barren  nor  un- 
fruitful in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  But 
should  you  be  deficient  in 'these  things,  your  light  will  be  obscured, 
and  a  forgetfulness  that  you  have  been  purified  from  your  old  sins 
will  come  upon  you.  Do,  then,  brethren,  labor  to  make  your  calling 
and  election  sure;  for  thus  practicing,  you  shall  never  fall;  but  shall 
have  an  easy  and  abundant  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

A  word  to  the  unregenerate. — Amongst  you  are  sundry  classes  of 
character.  Some  of  you  who  believe  the  gospel,  and  are  changed  in 
heart,  quickened  by  the  Spirit,  are  not  generally  ranked  amongst  fho 
unregenerate.  In  the  popular  sense  of  this  term,  you  are  regenerate 
But  we  use  it  in  its  Scriptural  acceptation.  Like  Nicodemus,  and  liTie 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  you  believe  in  Jesus,  and  are  willing  to  take 
lessons  from  him  in  the  chambers.  You  have  confidence  in  his  mis- 
sion, respect  and  venerate,  and  even  love  his  person;  and  would  desira 
tc  be  under  his  government.  Marvel  not  that  I  say  to  you,  You  must 
be  born  again.  Pious  as  you  are  supposed  to  be,  and  as  you  may  think 
yourselves  to  be,  unless  you  are  born  again,  you  can  not  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Cornelius  and  his  family  were  as  devout  and  as 
pious  as  any  of  you.    "He  feared  God,  gave  much  alms  to  the  people, 


THE    MILLENNIAL   HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  575 

und  prayed  to  God  continually."  Yet,  mark  it  well,  I  beseech  you,  it 
was  necessary  "to  tell  hitn  uxirds  by  which  himself  and  his  house  might 
be  saved."  These  words  were  told  him:  he  believed  them,  and  received 
the  Holy  Spirit;  yet  still  he  must  be  born  again.  For  a  person  can 
not  be  said  to  be  born  again  of  any  thing  uhich  he  receives;  and  still 
less  of  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  immersed,  and 
Into  the  kingdom  of  God  he  came.  Do  as  Cornelius  did,  and  then 
you  will  think  of  it  in  another  light — then  you  would  not  for  a  world 
be  unregcnerate.  To  have  the  pledge,  the  promise,  and  seal  of  God  of 
the  remission  of  all  your  sins,  to  be  adopted  into  his  family,  and  to 
receive  the  Spirit  of  a  son  of  God,  be  assured,  my  pious  friends,  are 
matters  of  no  every  day  occurrence;  and  when  you  feel  yourselves  con- 
stitutionally invested  with  all  thes^e  blessings,  in  God's  own  way,  you 
will  say,  that  "his  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  his  thoughts  as  our 
thoughts;  for  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  his  ways 
higher  than  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts  than  our  thoughts."  It  is 
hard  to  make  a  slave  feel  and  act  as  a  freeman.  As  difficult,  we 
often  find  it,  to  make  the  unregenerate  feel  and  know  the  value  and 
importance  of  regeneration.  But  the  regenerate  would  not  be  unregen- 
rate  for  the  universe. 

God  has  one  way  of  bestowing  every  thing.  We  can  not  gather 
grapes  off  thorns,  nor  figs  off  thistles.  The  reason  is,  there  they  do 
r.ot  grow.  We  can  tell  no  other  reason  why  they  can  not  grow  there, 
but  that  they  do  not  grow  there.  We  can  not  have  any  blessing,  but 
in  God's  own  way  of  giving  it.  We  can  not  find  wool  save  on  the 
back  of  the  sheep,  nor  silk  save  from  the  worm  which  spins  it  from 
itself.  Corn  and  wheat  can  not  be  obtained,  but  from  those  plants 
which  yield  them.  Without  the  plant,  we  can  not  have  the  fruit 
This  is  the  economy  of  the  whole  material  system.  And  in  the  world 
of  spirits,  and  spiritual  influences,  is  it  not  the  same?  Moral  law  is 
as  unchangeable  as  the  laws  of  nature.  Moral  means  and  ends  are  as 
Inseparable  as  natural  means  and  ends.  God  can  not  bestow  grace 
upon  the  proud,  and  can  not  withhold  it  from  the  humble.  He  does 
not  do  it,  and  that  is  enough.  He  could  shower  down  wheat  and 
corn,  and  give  us  rivers  of  milk  and  wine,  were  it  a  question  of  mere 
power.  But  taking  all  together,  his  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  he 
can  not  do  it.  So  neither  can  he  give  us  faith  without  testimony, 
hope  without  a  promise,  love  without  an  amiable  object,  peace  without 
purity,  nor  heaven  without  holiness.  He  can  not  give  to  the  unborn 
infant  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  vivacity  which  the  air  imparts,  nor 
the  agility  and  activity  which  liberty  bestows.  He  does  not  do  it, 
and.  therefore,  we  say,  he  can  not  do  It.  Neither  can  he  bestow  the 
blessings  of  the  Reign  of  Heaven  upon  those  who  are  children  of 
disobedience. 


576  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

I  know  how  reluctant  men  are  to  submit  to  God's  government;  and 
yet  they  must  all  bow  to  it  at  last,  "To  Jesus  every  knee  shall 
bow,  and  to  him  every  tongue  must  confess."  But  they  will  object 
to  bowing  now,  and  torture  invention  for  excuses.  They  will  tell  me 
all  that  I  have  said  is  true  of  natural  and  moral  means  and  ends;  but 
immersion  is  not  a  moral  means,  because  God  forgave  sins  and  saved 
men  before  immersion,  was  appointed.  "It  is  a  positive,  and  not  a 
moral  institution."  And  is  there  no  moral  influence  connected  with 
positive  institutions?  A  written  law  is  a  positive  institution:  for  moral 
law  existed  before  written  law.  But  because  it  has  become  a  positive 
institution,  has  its  moral  power  ceased?  The  moral  influence,  of  all 
positive  institutions  is  God's  will  expressed  in  them.  And  it  matters 
not  whether  it  be  the  eating  or  not  eating  of  an  apple,  the  building 
of  an  altar,  or  the  building  it  with,  or  without  the  aid  of  iron  tools; 
the  offering  of  a  kid,  a  lamb,  a  bullock  or  a  pigeon,  it  is  just  as 
morally  binding,  and  has  the  same  moral  influence,  as,  "You  shall 
honor  your  father  and  mother;"  or,  "You  shall  not  kill."  It  is  the  wiLr, 
OF  God  in  any  institution,  which  gives  it  all  its  moral  and  physical 
power.  No  man  could  now  be  pardoned  as  Abel  was — as  Enoch  was — 
as  David  was — as  the  thief  upon  the  cross  was.  These  all  lived  before 
the  second  will  of  God  was  declared.  He  took  away  "the  first  will,'' 
says  Paul,  "that  he  might  establish  the  second  will,"-  by  which  we  are 
sanctified.  We  are  not  pardoned  as  were  the  Jews  or  the  Patriarchs. 
It  was  not  till  Jesus  was  buried  and  rose  again,  that  an  acceptable 
offering  for  sin  was  presented  in  the  heavens.  By  one  offering  up 
of  himself,  he  has  perfected  the  conscience  of  the  immersed  or  sancti- 
fied. Since  his  oblation,  a  new  institution  for  remission  has  been 
appointed.  You  need  not  flatter  yourselves,  that  God  will  save  or 
pardon  you,  except  for  Christ's  sake;  and  if  his  name  is  not  assumed 
by  you,  if  you  have  not  put  him  on,  if  you  have  not  come  under  his 
advocacy,  you  have  not  the  name  of  Christ  to  plead,  nor  his  inter- 
cession on  your  behalf — and,  therefore,  for  Christ's  sake  you  can  not 
be  forgiven.  Could  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  Aaron,  think 
you,  if  living  now — could  they,  I  ask,  find  forgiveness  at  the  altar? 
And  will  you  imagine,  that  he,  who  honored  every  institution  by 
Moses,  by  connecting  rewards  and  punishments  with  the  obedience  or 
disobedience  of  his  commands,  be  less  jealous  for  the  honor  of  the 
institution  of  his  Son?  And  will  that  Son  who,  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  honor  his  Father's  institution,  was  immersed  in  the  Jordan, 
bestow  pardon  or  salvation  upon  any  who  refuse  to  honor  him,  and 
him  that  sent  him?  He  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  adapt  means  to 
ends.  He  has  commanded  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and 
think  you  that  he  will  change  his  institution,  because  of  your  stubborn 
or  Intractable  disposition.    As  well,  as  reasonably  might  you  pray  for 


THE    MILLENNIAL    IIARBIWOER    ABRIDGED.  577 

loaves  from  heaven,  or  manna,  because  Israel  ate  it  in  the  desert, 
as  to  pray  for  pardon  while  you  refuse  the  remission  of  your  sins 
by  immersion. 

Demur  not  because  of  the  simplicity  of  the  thing.  Remember  how 
simple  was  the  eating  of  the  fruit  of  that  tree,  "whose  mortal  taste 
brought  death  into  the  world,  and  all  our  woe."  How  simple  was  the 
rod  in  the  hajid  of  Moses  when  stretched  over  Egypt  and  the  Red  Sea. 
How  simple  was  looking  at  the  brazen  serpent.  And  how  simple  axe 
all  God's  Institutions.  How  simple  the  aliments  of  nature;  the  poisons 
too,  and  their  remedies.  Where  the  will  of  God  is,  there  is  omnipo- 
tence. 'Twas  simple  to  speak  the  universe  into  existence.  But  God's 
will  gives  efficacy  to  every  thing.  And  obedience  ever  was,  and  ever 
will  be,  the  happiness  of  man.  It  is  the  happiness  of  Heaven.  *Ti3 
God's  philanthropy  which  has  given  us  something  to  obey.  To  the 
angels  who  sinned  he  has  given  no  command.  'Twas  gracious  to  give 
ur  a  command  to  live — a  command  to  reform — a  command  to  be  born 
again — to  live  for  ever.  Remember  light  and  life  first  came  by  obedi- 
ence. If  God's  voice  had  not  been  obeyed,  the  water  would  not  have 
brought  forth  the  earth,  nor  would  the  sun  have  blessed  it  by  his 
rays.  The  obedience  of  law  was  goodness  and  mercy;  but  the  obedience 
or  faith  is  favor,  and  life,  and  glory  everlasting.  None  to  whom  this 
gospel  is  announced  will  perish,  except  those  who  know  not  God,  and 
obey  not  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  Kiss,  then,  the  Son,  lest  he  bo  angry, 
and  you  perish  for  ever. 

To  the  unregenerate  of  all  classes,  whose  education  and  prejudices 
compel  them  to  assent  to  the  testimony  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke.  John, 
Taul,  Peter,  James  and  Jude.  You  own  the  mission  of  Jesus  from 
the  bosom  of  the  Eternal — and  that  is  all  you  do!  Each  of  you  is 
living  without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world — aliens  from  the 
family  of  God — of  various  ranks  and  grades  among  men;  but  all 
involved  in  one  condemnation,  because  light  has  come  into  the  world, 
and  you  love  darkness,  and  the  works  of  darkness,  rather  than  the 
light.  To  live  without  hope  is  bad  enough;  but  to  live  in  constant 
dread  of  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,  is  still  worse.  But  do  you  tremble 
not  at  the  word  of  God? 

If  you  can  be  saved  here,  or  hereafter,  then  there  is  no  meaning  in 
language,  no  pain  in  the  universe,  no  truth  in  God — Death,  tho  grave, 
and  destruction  have  no  meaning.  TTie  frowns  of  Heaven  are  all  rmiles, 
if  you  perish  not  in  your  ways. 

But  you  purpose  to  bow  to  Jesus,  and  to  throw  yourselves  upon  his 
mercy  at  last.  Impious  thought  I  When  you  have  given  the  strengtn 
of  your  intellect,  the  vigor  of  your  conFtitution.  the  warmth  of  your 
affections,  and  the  best  energies  of  your  life,  to  the  world,  the  flesh,  ani 
the  Devil;   you  will  stretch  out  your  palsied  hands,  and  turn  your  dim 


578  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

eyes  to  the  Lord,  and  say,  "Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me!"  The  first 
fruits  and  the  fatlings  for  the  Devil,  and  the  lame  and  the  blind  for 
God,  is  the  purpose  of  your  heart;  and  the  tJest  resolution  you  can 
form! 

The  thief  upon  the  cross,  had  he  done  so,  could  not  have  found 
mercy.  'Tis  one  thing  to  have  known  the  way  of  salvation,  assented 
to  it,  and  to  have  in  deliberate  resolution  rejected  it  for  the  preesnt, 
with  a  promise  of  obeying  it  at  some  future  period,  and  to  have  never 
known  it,  nor  assented  to  it,  till  the  end  of  life.  Promise  not,  then,  to 
yourselves  what  has  never  happened  to  others.  The  Devil  has  always 
said,  "You  may  give  to-morrow  to  the  Lord — only  give  me  to-day."' 
This  has  been  all  that  he  has  asked,  and  this  is  what  you  are  disposed 
to  give.  Promise  not  to-morrow  to  the  Lord,  for  you  will  be  still  less 
disposed  to  give  it  when  it  comes;  and  the  Lord  has  not  asked  you 
for  to-morrow.  He  says.  To-day,  when  you  shall  hear  his  voice,  harden 
not  your  hearts.  But  you  say,  you  are  willing  to  come  to  the  Lord 
to-day  if  you  knew  the  way,  or  if  you  were  prepared!  Well,  what 
does  the  Lord  require  of  you  as  preparation?  He  once  said,  "Let  the 
wicked  man  forsake  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts; 
and  let  him  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him:  and  to 
our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon."  He  says  also,  "Draw  nigh 
to  me,  and  I  will  draw  nigh  to  you;"  "Cleanse  your  hands,  you 
sinners;  and  purify  your  hearts,  you  men  of  two  souls;"  Wash  you, 
make  you  clean;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings;"  "Reform  and 
be  converted;"  "Turn  to  the  Lord;"  "Be  immersed  for  the  remission 
of  your  sins;"  and  "Submit  to  the  government  of  Jesus."  "What! 
just  as  I  am!"  Pray,  how  are  you?  Have  you  such  a  persuasion  in 
your  heart  of  the  mission  of  Jesus,  as  God's  own  Son,  and  the  only 
Saviour;  and  have  you  so  much  confidence  in  his  personal  character  as 
to  be  willing  to  surrender  yourself  to  him  for  the  present  and  tho 
future — for  time  and  eternity?  "I  have,"  you  say.  As  one  that  has 
heard  his  voice,  I  say  then,  Come  and  be  regenerated,  and  seasons 
of  refreshment  from  the  Lord  will  come  to  you. 

"But  I  thought  I  ought  to  feel  like  a  Christian  first,  and  to  have  the 
experience  of  a  Christian,  before  I  came  to  the  Lord."  Indeed'  Did 
the  Lord  tell  you  so?  "His  ministers  taught  me  so."  It  is  hard 
knowing  who  are  his  ministers  nowadays.  His  commissioned  min- 
isters taught  you  not  so.  They  were  not  taught  to  say  so.  The  Master 
knew  that  to  wait  for  health  before  we  went  to  the  physician;  to  seek 
for  warmth  before  we  approached  the  fire;  to  wait  till  we  ceased  to 
be  hungry  before  ever  we  approached  the  table — was  not  reasonable. 
And  therefore,  he  never  asked,  as  he  never  expected,  any  one  to  feel  like 
a  Christian  before  he  was  immersed,  and  began  to  live  like  a  Christian. 
None  but  the  Ritizens  of  any  country  can  experience  the  good  or  evii 


THE    MILLE'SSIAL    UARBllsGER    ABlilDGED.  '^19 

or  the  government  which  presides  over  it.  None  but  the  married  can 
experience  the  conjugal  relation  and  feelings.  None  but  sons  and 
(laugiiters  can  have  the  experience  of  sons  and  daughters;  and  none 
but  those  who  obey  the  gospel  can  experience  the  sweets  of  obedience. 
I  need  not  add,  that  none  but  the  disobedient  can  experience  the  pains, 
the  fears,  and  terrors  of  the  Lord,  the  shame  and  remorse  which  are 
the  first  fruits  of  the  anguish  and  misery  which  await  them  in  another 
world.  As  the  disobedient,  who  stumble  at  the  word,  have  the  first 
fruits  of  the  awful  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  which 
awaits  them;  so  the  obedient  have  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit — the 
salvation  of  their  souls,  as  an  earnest  until  the  salvation  to  be  revealed 
at  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 

And  now  let  me  ask  all  the  unregenerate.  What  do  you  propose  to 
yourselves  by  either  delaying  or  refusing  to  come  to  the  Lord?  Will 
delaying  have  any  tendency  to  fit  you  or  prepare  you  for  his  salvation? 
Will  your  lusts  have  less  power,  or  sin  have  less  dominion  over  you 
by  continuing  under  their  control?  Has  the  intoxicating  cup  by  indul- 
gence diminished  a  taste  for  it?  Has  the  avarice  of  the  miser  been 
weakened  or  cured  by  yielding  to  it?  Has  any  propensity  been  destroyed 
by  gratifying  it,  in  any  other  way  than  as  it  destroyed  the  animal 
system?  Can  you,  then,  promise  yourselves  that,  by  continuing  in  dis- 
obedience, you  will  love  obedience,  and  be  more  inclined  to  submit 
when  you  have  longer  resisted  the  Spirit  of  God!  Presume  not  on 
the  mercy  of  God,  but  in  the  way  that  mercy  flows.  Grace  has  its 
channels,  as  the  waters  have  their  courses;  and  its  path,  as  the  light- 
ning of  the  clouds.  Each  has  its  law,  as  fixed  as  the  throne  of  God; 
and  think  not  that  God  will  work  a  miracle  for  your  salvation. 

Think  you  that  the  family  of  Noah  could  have  been  saved  if  they 

had  refused  to  enter  into  the  Ark?    Could  the  first  born  of  Israel  have 

escaped  the  destroying  angel,  but  in  houses  sprinkled  with  blood?  or 

could  Israel  have  escaped  the  wrath  of  Pharaoh,  but  by  being  immerse  1 

into  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea?    These  things  are  written  for 

our  admonition  upon  whom  the  consummation  of  past  ages  has  come 

Arise,  then,  and  be  immersed,  and  wash  away  your  sins,  calling  upon 

the  name  of  the  Lord.    The  many  xclio  refuse  grace  will  neither  prove 

you  wise  nor  safe  in  disobedience. 

"MuUiiiulc.-s  arc  no  mark.— That  you  will  v\^\\t.  bo  found; 
A  fi'W  wcro  savod  in  llu>  Ark,— For  many  millions  drownM. 
Obiy  Ihc  gospi'l  cull,— Anil  enter  while  you  may: 
Christ's  flock  have  long  boon  small,— But  none  are  safe  but  they." 

ETERNAL  LIFE. 

In  18,59,  page  12.5,  "H.  T.  A."  (Henry  T.  Anderson)  writes: 
What  can  appear  more  paradoxical  than  this:    to  live,  and  yet  be 
dead;    to  be  dead,  and  yet  live?     How  difficult,  how  hard  to  be  lu'ard. 


580  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

was  the  word  of  the  Messiah — "if  a  man  keep  my  saying,  he  shall  never 
see  death."  Is  it  possible  that  a  believer  in  Christ  shall  never  die? 
Jesus  said  to  Mary,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life;  he  that 
believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live;  he  that  liveth 
and  believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die.  Believest  thou  this?"  What 
say  you,  kind  reader?  Believest  thou  that  thou  shalt  never  die?  If  thy 
faith  is  not  yet  established,  come,  let  us  reason  together. 

We  will  visit  first  the  garden  of  Gethsemane.  "Who  is  this,  that 
lies  upon  the  ground  and  prays — "0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me?"  Why  is  it  that  he  is  in  such  agony?  Do  you 
see  that  his  sweat  is,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of  blood  falling  to  the 
ground?  Can  it  be  that  he  fears  the  suffering  which  his  bodv  must 
undergo,  while  upon  the  cross?  Can  the  prospect  of  physical  suffering 
account  for  this  agony?  The  thieves,  who  suffered  with  him,  are  they 
enduring  this  intense  agony  in  view  of  the  cross?  Where  will  you  find 
an  instance  like  this?  It  can  not  be  found.  This  is  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  He  has  come  to  the  hour  which  he  has  dreaded.  The  sins 
of  the  human  family  are  laid  upon  him;  and  he  suffers  for  man.  He  is 
about  to  become  a  curse  for  us,  while  he  bears,  in  his  body,  our 
sins  upon  the  tree  of  the  cross.  He  is  about  to  make  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin,  and  endure,  in  mind  and  body,  that  curse  that  is  dje 
to  us.  See,  now,  an  angel  comes  and  strengthens  him;  and  he  arises 
and  goes  to  his  disciples,  and  meets  the  traitor  and  his  company  of 
ofticers  and  men,  who  have  come  to  take  him.  He  is  bound  and  car- 
ried to  the  High-priest.  He  is  delivered  to  Pilate,  and  condemned  to 
death.  There  is  darkness  over  all  the  land,  from  the  sixth  till  the 
ninth  hour.  Hear  him  as  he  cries,  "Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani  ?" 
What  means  this?  Has  God  forsaken  him?  Yes;  for  he  has  become 
a  curse  for  us;  and  God  withdraws  from  him  while  he  is  a  curse. 
Sin  is  upon  him.  Our  sins  are  counted  to  him.  He  dies  for  us;  and 
we  can  never  die.  He  abolishes  death.  By  his  death  he  takes  away 
death;  and  we  live  forever  in  him.  If  he  dies  for  us,  we  can  not 
die.  Strange,  would  it  be,  that  we  should  die  after  that  he  has  suf- 
fered death  for  us.  It  can  not  be  that  we  shall  ever  die.  We  live 
because  he  lives. 

But  God  had  forsaken  him  only  while  the  curse  was  upon  him. 
The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  He  has  now  endured  the  curse.  He  has 
discharged  the  debt.  The  curse  is  removed,  and  he  rises,  no  longer 
cursed;  but  now,  free  from  the  curse,  he  is  accepted  of  God,  and  offers 
himself,  to  God,  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  heaven.  God  accepts  the  offer- 
ing, and  we  are  free.  We  can  not  die.  "If  any  man  will  keep  my 
saying,  he  shall  never  see  death."  "He  that  believeth  on  me  shall 
never  die."  Do  you  believe  this,  reader?  If  you  do  not  believe  this, 
then,  do  you  believe  that  he  has  died  for  you?     How,  then,  can  you 


THK    MUJJJXXIAL    IIAliliL\(Ji:i:    AlUUDGlU).  581 

die?  Do  you  think  of  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  and  rr.nclude 
that  this  has  been  the  lot  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  and  of  all 
the  followers  of  Christ,  in  all  ages?  And  do  you  count  this  the  death 
from  which  you  are  freed?  If  so,  you  labor  under  an  error  The 
dissolution  of  soul  and  body  is  not  the  death  from  which  you  are 
freed.  Nor  was  it  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body  that  the  Messiah 
so  much  dreaded.  He  was  separated  from  God  on  account  of  sin. 
Inasmuch  as  he  assumed  our  nature,  and  our  sins  were  laiil  upon 
him,  he  must  endure  that  which  was  due  to  sin — a  separation  from 
God,  while  he  thus  endured  the  curse.  This  is  the  death  which  he 
underwent  for  sin.  And,  as  he  took  our  sins  upon  him,  and  died  for 
our  sins,  we  are  surely  free  from  death,  being  free  from  sin,  whose 
wages  is  death. 

The  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  reasons  thus — "The  love  of  Christ  cou- 
straineth  us;  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were 
all  dead."  The  human  family  is  dead.  Christ  died  for  them,  that 
they  might  live.  If  all  have  died,  there  is  a  cause — the  sin  of  our 
first  parents.  "In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely 
die."  The  fruit  was  eaten,  and  our  parents  died  that  very  day.  They 
were  alienated  in  mind  from  God,  and,  as  proof  of  that  alienation,  that 
inward  death,  they  hid  themselves  from  Jehovah.  Man  has  hid  him- 
self from  God,  from  the  day  of  transgression  until  now,  being  alienated 
In  mind.  Separation  from  God  is  the  consequence  of  alienation.  Men- 
tal alienation,  or,  if  any  one  wishes,  spiritual  alienation,  is  the  death 
that  Adam  died  on  the  day  on  which  he  ate  the  fruit.  His  personal 
separation  from  God  was  a  consequence  of  that  alienation.  His  pos- 
terity have  been,  and  are  now,  alienated  from  God;  and  hence,  their 
personal  separation  from  him.  Sin  is  the  cause  of  this.  Sin  is  begot- 
ten in  the  spirit.  This  is  spiritual  alienation.  Sin  is  brought  forth 
in  an  act;  and  then  follows  a  separation  of  ourselves,  in  person,  from 
God.  Adam  died  in  the  garden,  and  was  driven  out  because  he  was  thus 
spiritually  separated  from  God. 

But  now,  Christ  has  died  for  us,  having  taken  our  sins  upon  him, 
and  endured  that  most  terrible  of  sufferings,  being  forsaken  of  his  God. 
What  now  constitutes  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy?  Christ  has  died 
for  our  sins.  We  believe  in  Christ,  and  live.  We  pass  from  death 
unto  life.  We  shall  not  come  into  condemnation.  "He  that  heareth 
my  word,  and  believeth  in  him  that  sent  me,  hafh  everlasting  life, 
and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life.  .Jesus  is  that  eternal  life  which  was  with  the  Father,  but  has 
been  manifested  to  us.  He  came  into  the  world  in  which  darkness 
and  death  reigned  without  restraint.  He  is  the  true  light,  who,  hav- 
ing come  into  the  world,  gives  light  to  every  man.  As  the  sun  Is  th*( 
source  of  light  and  life  to  thf^  natural   world,   so  is  .Jesus  th"  source 


582  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

of  spiritual  light  and  life  to  the  spiritual  world.  Those  who  receive 
his  truth  are  enlightened  in  mind,  and  warmed  into  life  in  spirit. 
The  spirit  of  man,  though  an  ever-active,  ever-enduring,  never-perishing 
substance,  is,  as  respects  God,  in  a  state  of  death.  When  the  gospel 
is  heard,  which  is  the  word  of  life,  the  spirit  of  man  is  made  alive, 
begotten  again,  and  by  means  of  the  word  of  life,  has  a  new  life 
imparted  to  it,  by  which  it  is  enabled  to  enjoy  the  reign  of  God.  The 
Spirit  of  God  begets  life  in  the  human  spirit  by  means  of  the  truth 
On  the  part  of  the  spirit  of  man,  there  is  a  conception  of  divine  life, 
which,  diffusing  itself  through  the  whole  inward  man,  manifests  itself 
in  the  production  of  fruits  of  righteousness.  This  divine  life,  which 
is  imparted  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  the  everlasting  life  which  the 
Saviour  promises  to  those  who  hear  his  words.  The  receiver  of  this 
life  can  not  die,  provided  he  remains  faithful  to  the  Lord  Messiah. 
He  is  alive,  and  his  life  is  sustained  by  the  Lord  of  life. 

Now,  if  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  which  was  endured  by 
Jesus,  was  the  death  which  he  suffered  for  us,  it  would  follow  that  we 
could  not  suffer  thus;  for  we  can  not  endure  that  which  he  endured  for 
us.  We  being  under  the  power  of  death,  he  came  and  died  for  us,  that 
we  might  be  saved  from  that  in  which  we  were  held.  He  entered  the 
prison-house  and  broke  its  bars  and  set  us  free.  Delivered  from  sin  and 
death,  we  live  to  God  in  Christ. 

To  be  or  to  exist,  is  not  to  live.  The  human  spirit  will  endure 
through  the  ages  of  ages.  Yet,  whether  it  lives  or  not  depends  on  its 
acceptance  of  that  eternal  life,  which  God  gives  through  the  Messiah. 
To  cease  to  be,  is  an  idea  not  to  be  found  in  the  oracles  of  God.  To 
perish  or  to  be  destroyed,  is  not  to  cease  to  be.  "0  Israel,  thou 
hast  destroyed  thyself."  Yet  Israel  was  in  existence.  The  righteous 
perish,  says  Isaiah,  and  no  man  layeth  it  to  heart.  The  righteous 
can  not  cease  to  be.  To  be  dead,  is  not  to  cease  to  be.  Death  is  not 
non-existence.  It  is  true  that  the  Sadducee^s  used  the  word  in  this 
sense  of  non-existence;  for  they  denied  the  existence  of  spirits  or 
angels.  When  men  died,  they  ceased  to  exist,  in  their  estimation. 
When  the  Saviour,  in  reply  to  a  question  put  by  them  on  the  subject 
of  the  resurrection,  quoted  the  words  of  Jehovah — "I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  the  God  of  Jacob;"  he  most  pfirtinently 
added,  "God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead."  If  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob  were  dead,  in  the  Sadducean  sense;  that  is,  if  they  had  no 
existence;  then,  it  would  follow,  that  God  is  the  God  of  nothing,  or 
of  something  not  existing — which  consequence  was  so  obvious  and  so 
manifestly  opposed  to  reason,  that  even  the  Sadducees  were  silenced 
by  it.  God,  then,  is  the  God  of  those  who  live;  therefore,  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob  live;  and  as  they  live,  they  will  again  come  forth 
to  life. 


THE    MILLFXMAL    UARBI'SGER    ABRllXiKD.  583 

But  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  are  among  the  dead.  Then,  the 
dead  yet  live;  and  being  dead  is  ceasing  to  be  in  a  certain  state  or 
condition;  in  other  words,  death  is  a  change  of  state.  Dissolutio.i 
ol"  spirit  and  body  is  the  death  to  which  we  all  tend.  By  this  disso- 
lution we  enter  another  state  of  being. 

It  may  be  profitable  here,  to  notice  the  style  of  the  inspired  writers. 
The  distinction  between  the  "me"  and  the  '"not  me,"'  is  made  broad 
and  clear  by  the  inspired  men.  Hear  Paul,  in  his  letter  to  the  Phil- 
ippians,  "I  am  in  a  strait  between  two,  having  a  strong  desire  to 
depart  and  be  with  Christ;  which  is  far  better:  nevertheless,  to  abide 
in  the  flesh  is  now  needful  for  you."  There  he  speaks  of  himself  as 
departing  and  abiding  in  tLe  flesh.  Now,  if  he  departed,  evident  is 
it  that  he  would  leave  behind  him  that  in  which  he  was  then  abiding 
— the  flesh;  for,  surely,  no  one  supposes  that  Paul  went  to  heaven 
In  the  flesh.  It  ia,  therefore,  evident  that  Paul,  and  Paul's  flesh  are 
not  the  same.  The  "I"  that  departed;  the  "I"  that  abode  in  the 
flesh,  certainly  was  not  the  flesh.  I,  and  my  body,  are  two  things. 
The  "I"  is  not  the  body;  but  something,  which,  though  abiding  in 
the  body  for  a  while,  departs  after  a  while,  and  leaves  the  body. 
When  I  say  my  tody,  I  speak  of  that,  which,  though  mine,  is  not 
me  or  myself.  Thus  the  Ego,  and  the  non-Ego,  are  distinguished  by 
the  great  philosophers  of  Holy  Writ. 

Peter  also  makes  the  same  distinction.  "The  Lord  Jesus  has 
showed  me  how  that  shortly  I  must  put  off  this,  my  tabernacle." 
Peter,  and  the  tabernacle  of  Peter,  are  most  obviously  distinguished. 
Peter  is  the  Ego;  the  tabernacle  of  Peter,  the  non-Ego.  Peter  is  the 
true  living  being;  the  tabernacle  of  Peter,  that  in  which  he  lived. 
The  pulling  down,  the  destruction  of  a  tabernacle,  is  not  the  non- 
existence of  the  inhabitant.  Therefore,  men,  though  dead  to  us,  live 
to  God.     They  are  unseen  of  us,  but  known  and  seen  by  God. 

But  there  is  a  life,  which  the  righteous  possess,  which  never  dies — 
the  everlasting  life.  The  spirit  of  man  possessed  of  the  truUi  of  God, 
becomes,  as  we  have  seen,  alive  to  God;  is  possessed  of  a  life  which 
makes  it  akin  to  the  divine  nature — indeed,  the  Apostle  Peter  speaks 
of  our  being  "partakers  of  the  divine  nature."  This  divine  nature 
is  the  true  source  of  the  everlasting  life.  We  receive  Christ:  and, 
from  him,  is  imparted  to  us  the  divine  nature,  which  gives  that  new 
life,  by  which  we  become  victorious  over  sin  and  the  flesh. 

The  Apostle  John  gives  these  words  of  John  the  Baptist:  "He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son,  hath  life;  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son.  shall 
not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him. '  The  wickeil 
exist  eternally  without  life — a  paradox;  be  it  so:  it  is  true.  They 
exist  eternally;  they  possess  that  existence  which  belongs  to  th'3 
nature  of   spirits;    but   without   that   life,    which    results   from    being 


584  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

partakers  of  the  divine  nature.  Without  the  divine  nature,  no  spirit 
can  love  God  or  be  obedient  to  him.  This  divine  nature  is  imparted 
to  us  w^hen  we  believe  in  Christ.  It  is  not  faith  which  gives  us  this 
divine  life.  Jesus  himself,  who  is  the  life  of  the  world,  gives  us 
this  life  through  faith.  Strong,  indeed,  are  the  words  of  our  holy- 
Apostle: — "We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his 
bones."  We  are  to  Christ  what  Eve  was  tO'  Adam.  We  are  his  bride. 
We  partake  of  his  nature,  being  joint-partakers  of  his  spirit.  He 
took  our  nature,  and  thus  raised  the  human  to  the  divine.  He  lives 
eternally,  and  we  are  supported  by  him.  He  is  our  light,  our  life,  our 
strength.  From  him  there  comes  forth  a  vis  activa,  a  vis  viva,  a 
living,  active  power,  that  entering  into  the  spirit  of  man  vivifies, 
enlightens,  and  transfuses  life  through  the  whole  man. 

God  is  light.  God  is  life.  God  is  love.  What  must  be  the  con- 
dition of  that  spirit,  which  is  enlightened  by  this  divine  light,  quick- 
ened by  this  life,  and  filled  with  this  love?  Is  it  not  a  partaker  of 
the  divine  nature?  Has  not  the  divine  descended  and  taken  flesh? 
Why  should  not  the  divine  transfusie  itself  into  the  human?  Is  it 
credible  that  the  Logos  became  flesh?  Then  the  divine  has  united 
itself  with  the  human.  When  we  are  united  to  Christ,  the  human 
becomes  united  with  the  divine.  Else,  how  is  he  that  is  joined  to  the 
Lord,    one   spirit? 

We  are  to  Christ  as  Eve  to  Adam,  Paul  being  judge:  "We  are 
members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones."  Wonderful  words 
are  these!      Wonderful  union   with   the  Messiah! 

How,  then,  can  we  die?  Death  is  abolished.  Life  reigns  in  us. 
Though  our  bodies  must  see  the  dust,  we  live,  and  shall  live,  forever- 
more.  The  present  body  is  unflt  for  that  habitation,  which  God  has 
prepared  for  the  righteous.  It  must  undergo  a  change,  either  by 
being  raised  from  the  dust,  or  by  being  changed  when  the  Lord  shall 
descend  from  heaven:  "For  we  shall  not  all  sleep,"  no;  some  will  be 
found  on  earth  when  the  Messiah  comes,  and  these  will  not  sleep,  but 
undergo  a  change  which  is  necessary  for  them,  that  they  may  meet 
our  coming  Redeemer.  A  living,  regenerate,  sanctified  body  in  which 
to  live  forever — a  resurrection,  becomes  a  consequence  of  the  pos- 
session of  life  by  "^^he  spirit.  To  the  body  will  be  given  a  life  which 
is  eternal.  A  pure  spirit  will  inhabit  a  body  that  is  immortal  and 
incorruptible.  This  mortal  (body)  must  put  on  immortality:  this 
corruptible  (body)  must  put  on  incorruption.  In  this  body  there  Is 
nothing  that  can  secure  it  from  corruption.  From  the  dust  there 
can  come  nothing  that  is  immortal.  That  which  is  immortal  and 
incorruptible  comes  from  heaven.  So  our  Apostle  teaches  that,  "if 
our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  perish,  we  have  a  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."     This  heavenly  house,  or 


rm:  milij:xmal  iiAi:Hi\ut:n  ahuuxjed.  585 

body,  which  is  immortal,  will  swallow  up  our  mortality.  Our  mortal 
body  will  be  clad  with  an  immortal  one  from  heaven,  which  will  thus 
swallow  up  all  that  is  mortal,  and  then  our  living  spirit  will  inhabit 
forever  a  living,  immortal,  incoiTuptible,  heavenly  body.  Death  will 
then  be  swallowed  up  of  life.  ii.  t.  a.. 

In  1864,  page  529,  W.  K.  Pendleton  writes: 

Life  and  death,  it  may  be  truly  said,  are  emphatically  Bible  themes. 
As  nothing  short  of  Revelation  can  give  us  correct  and  reliable  infor- 
mation concerning  them,  so  we  do  well  to  take  care  that  our  views 
and  beliefs  as  to  them  are  derived  from  the  Scriptures.  Nothing  is 
more  important  to  man  than  the  subject  of  his  origin  and  destiny. 
We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  nothing  actually  so  much  engages  hia 
attention,  for  tliis,  unfortunately,  is  not  so;  but  that  nothing  should 
BO  much  interest  his  mind  and  heart,  must  be  admitted  by  every  one 
who  reflects.  Whence  am  I?  whither  do  I  go,  and  what  shall  be  my 
future  destiny?  Who  is  not  infinitely  concerned  in  these  great 
questions? 

Life  and  death  are  introduced  to  us  in  the  opening  chapters  of 
human  history.  In  the  first,  we  are  presented  with  the  origin  of  life; 
in  the  second,  with  the  origin  of  death.  God  is  the  author  of  the  one, 
Satan  of  the  other.  Life  and  all  that  is  from  God  is  good;  death  and 
all  that  is  from  the  devil  is  evil.  Life  is  a  creation;  it  is  derived; 
it  had  a  beginning;  and  hence  is  not,  necessarily  and  essentially, 
eternal.  The  Scriptures  nowiiere  assert  the  essential  eternity  of 
human  life.  Even  before  the  fall — in  the  primitive  state  of  paradi- 
saical purity  and  innocence — Adam  and  Eve  enjoyed  a  life  that 
required  to  be  nourished  and  sustained  by  influences  out  of  itself — a 
life  that  needed  food  to  make  it  immortal.  Hence  among  the  trees 
of  the  Garden,  there  is  one,  with  virtue  above  all  the  rest — "the  tree 
of  life."   a  life-giving  tree. 

Whether  we  regard  this  tree  as  literally  contributing  the  pabulum 
of  life — the  essence  and  element  of  immortality,  directly,  as  an  elixir 
vitae;  or  rather  as  a  sacramental  fruit,  in  and  through  which,  it 
pleased  the  Creator  to  confer  this  power  of  life  by  endless  divine 
communication,  does  not  materially  affect  the  question.  In  the  first 
case,  the  fruit  of  the  tree  must  be  supposed  to  draw  this  power,  not 
from  the  created  sources  of  its  own  life,  for  they  could  not  impart 
what  was  not  in  them,  to  wit,  the  power  of  immortality;  but  from 
the  original  and  eternal  fountain  of  life,  which  is  God  himself.  In 
the  second  view,  this  power  flows  into  man  through  the  eating  of  this 
fruit,  sacramentally,  that  is  through  the  divine  appointment,  and  not 
by  any  process  which  we  can  call  natural.  In  either  case,  therefore, 
the  source  of  the  life  is  originally  in  God;  but  in  the  latter,  there 
seems  to  be  a  harmony  with  the  conception  of  elementary  simplicity 


586  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

in  the  principle  of  life,  that  we  do  not  so  readily  perceive  in  the 
former  of  these  views. 

Life  is  not  organization — it  is  distinct  from  it.  It  is  rather  th<? 
cause  of  organization.  The  organization  of  each  particular  life  had 
its  beginning  in  a  previous  life,  but  it  is  sustained  and  perpetuated 
by  the  life  that  is  communicated  to  it.  The  organization  of  Adam 
was  from  God,  and  was  first  made  before  the  brea,th  of  life  was 
breathed  into  it  by  the  Elohim.  After  this,  the  life  thus  divinely 
communicated,  sustained  and  perpetuated  the  organization — the  body. 
But  the  life  itself  is  not  necessarily  immortal.  It  needs  the  sustain- 
ing supplies  of  the  eternal  fountain,  and  for  this  there  is  provided 
"The  tree  of  life."  The  difference  between  this  tree  and  all  the 
other  trees  of  the  Garden  of  which  man  was  permitted  freely  to  eat, 
was  this:  they  sustained  the  organization  by  the  assimilative  and 
organific  power  of  the  principle  of  life,  but  "Tfte  tree  of  life'"  sustained 
the  principle  of  life  itself.  Now  we  can  understand  how  an  organi- 
zation like  the  body,  which  is  not  simple,  but  composed  of  many 
elements,  can  be  formed  and  sustained  out  of  supplies  furnished  to 
the  assimilative  and  organific  power  of  life,  in  what  we  call  a  natural 
way;  but  we  can  not  so  understand  the  support  and  perpetuation  of 
life  itself,  which  is  simple,  and  not  compound.  It  must  be  given,  not 
as  something  else,  a  heterogeneous  compound  to  be  digested  and 
wrought  up  into  the  product  we  call  life,  but  as  life  itself — simple 
and  pure,  for  what  is  the  power  that  can  take  of  the  tree  of  life  and 
digest  life  out  of  it?  It  is  not  the  power  of  life,  for  this  would  be 
to  make  a  finite  power  the  origin  of  itself,  which  is  absurd.  It  is  not 
the  organization,  for  the  organization  is  itself,  the  effect  of  the  power 
of  life,  and  this  would  be  to  make  an  effect  the  cause  of  its  own 
cause — an  instance  of  reasoning  in  a  circle,  that  the  merest  tyro  in 
logic  can  not  fail  to  perceive.  Since,  therefore,  life  must  evermore 
be  sustained  by  direct  supplies  from  the  eternal  and  original  fountain 
in  God,  we  prefer  the  view,  which  regards  "the  tree  of  life"  as  a 
sacramental  medium,  through  the  eating  of  which,  just  as  in  tho 
symbols  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  our  first  parents  were  furnished  with 
supplies  of  life,  directly  by  God,  from  whom  originally  we  came,  and 
in  whom  alone,  perpetually,  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being. 

But  whether  naturally  or  sacramentally,  the  tree  of  life  was 
designed  to  maintain  in  man  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  It  was 
placed  in  the  midst  of  Paradise,  and  the  freest  access  to  it,  and  par- 
ticipation of  its  life-giving  fruit,  were  granted  to  the  happy  occupants 
of  the  Garden  of  delights.  There  was  no  interruption  of  this  high 
privilege  so  long  as  they  continued  to  observe  the  only  condition  upoji 
which  it  was  suspended.  Access  to  it  was  life.  Separation  from  it 
was   death.     The  awful   hour  of  disobedience   was  the  hour   of  this 


THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED.  587 

separation,  and  so  through  disobedience  death  came.  The  forbidden 
fruit  was  plucked;  the  test  of  fealty  was  broken,  and  practical  infidel- 
ity becomes  the  sin  for  which  banishment  and  death  are  Inflicted 
upon  the  first  transgressors. 

But  though  man  is  excluded  from  the  garden,  and  the  tree  of  life 
Is  carefully  and  powerfully  guarded  against  his  approach,  by  the 
symbolic  cherubim,  yet  he  does  not  leave  his  native  and  happy  home 
without  fond  remembrances  of  its  immortal  fruit,  and  the  divinely 
implanted  hope  of  an  ultimate  return  to  its  forfeited  blessings.  The 
way  is  guarded,  but  the  tree  still  remains.  Its  fruit  is  still  the  sac- 
ramental medium  of  immortal  life;  and  the  longing  of  the  soul  for 
its  life-giving  power  is  the  earnest  of  its  future  enjoyment.  And  so 
the  hope  of  immortality  springs  up  in  the  human  soul  from  the  inher- 
ited memory  of  the  tree  of  life,  which,  like  a  divine  intimation, 
descends  to  us  with  the  experience  of  the  fall,  to  soften  its  hardships, 
and  lift  us  from  the  tyranny  and  hopelessness  of  despair,  up  to  the 
anticipation  of  a  blessed  return  to  eternal  life. 

With  the  sentence  of  death  resting  upon  him,  and  the  conscious- 
ness of  corruption  and  decay  already  working  in  him,  and  in  the 
absence  of  a  positive  promise  of  a  future  return  to  the  tree  of  life, 
Adam  would  have  despaired.  He  would  have  seen  in  his  approaching 
death  the  extinguishment,  to  him,  of  all  being.  The  idea  of  immor- 
tality would  indeed  have  remained,  a  relic  from  the  wreck  of  Para- 
dise;— but  the  hope  of  it  must  rest  upon  a  ground  of  faith,  and  this 
faith  upon  the  foundation  of  a  divine  promise.  Without  such  a  prom- 
ise, man  might  indeed  dream  over  the  thought  of  an  immortal,  bliss- 
ful future,  and  indulge  his  soul  in  happy  pictures  of  an  imaginary 
paradise  to  come,  but  the  sad  misgivings  of  his  calmer  moments  of 
reason,  would  dash  from  his  lips  the  pleasing  chalice,  and  leave  him 
with  the  consciousness  of  the  stern  reality,  that  he  is,  apart  from  the 
divine  promise,  "without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world." 

The  question  whether  the  unaided  reason  can  arrive  at,  or  demon- 
strate, the  idea  of  immortality,  is  clearly  one  for  which  there  is  left 
no  necessity  in  the  field  of  investigation,  because  it  is  unquestionably 
one  of  tradition.  What  could  be  more  indelibly  impressed  upon  the 
mind  of  Adam,  than  this  great  idea?  It  was  this  that  led  him,  ever- 
more, to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  life.  It  was  this  that  the  tree 
of  life  symbolized  and  sacramentally  communicated;  and  it  was  from 
this  that  he  was  cut  off  because  of  transgression,  and  by  his  banish- 
ment from  Eden.  And  would  he  not  tell  of  it — talk  about  it  to  Seth, 
and  Enos,  and  Calnan,  and  Mahalalef-l,  and  Jared,  and  Enoch,  and 
Methusaleh,  with  whom  he  was  cotemporary  for  243  years?  And 
would  not  Methuselah  tell  it  to  Noah,  with  whom  he  was  cotempo- 
rary for  600  years?     And  would  not  Noah  tell  it  to  Shem.  and  Bhem 


588  THE    MILLENNIAL    HARBINGER    ABRIDGED. 

10  Abraham,  with  whom  he  was  cotemporary  150  years?  And  from 
Abraham  could  it  fail  to  come  fresh  and  unquestioned  to  Joseph, 
through  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  from  Joseph  to  Amram,  and  from 
Amram  to  Moses — the  immortal  historian  of  this  divine  tradition? 
It  is  idle,  therefore,  tO'  assume  that  the  idea  of  immortality  is  to  be 
derived  through  reasoning,  when  we  have  so  clear  and  satisfactory 
a  traditional  origin  for  it,  in  the  direct  knowledge  of  Adam  while 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 

The  tree  of  life,  therefore,  we  must  regard  as  the  sacramental 
symbol  of  immortality,  and  this  "pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire,  this 
longing  after  immortality,"  as  the  original  instinct  of  our  first  parents, 
which  led  them  to  the  tree  of  life  for  the  replenishment  of  their 
wasting  power,  and  which  still  turns  the  hearts  of  all  their  children 
with  fond  anticipation  to  the  time  of  a  blessed  restoration  to  its  lifo- 
giving  fruit. 

But,  under  the  sentence  of  banishment  from  this  medium  of  life 
becausie  of  sin,  upon  what  ground  can  man  expect  to  return  to  its 
enjoyment,  save  that  of  acquittal  or  pardon?  The  cherubim  guard  the 
way,  and  though  the  tree  of  life  is  still  blooming  in  the  sweet  fields 
of  Eden,  we  can  not  of  ourselves  approach  it.  Condemned  to  die 
through  the  power  of  Satan,  we  can  only  hope  to  live  again  through 
the  bruising  of  his  head.  Forbidden  to  eat  because  of  unrighteous- 
ness, we  can  only  return  to  the  privilege  through  righteousness.  It 
is  in  the  promise  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  then,  that  this  instinc- 
tive desire  for  immortality  becomes  a  well  grounded  hope,  and  though 
death  meets  us  this  side  of  the  cherubim-guarded  portals  and  lays  us 
low,  yet  in  the  very  jaws  of  the  grave  the  death-Destroyer  comes  to 
our  aid  with  the  promised  deliverance,  and  carries  us  over  to  the 
sunny  banks  of  the  river  of  the  water  of  life,  and  to  the  tree  whose 
fruit  is  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  w.  K.  p. 


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